My office is located in what's referred to as my agency's "satellite" building, which is located roughly 0.8 miles away from our headquarters building in downtown D.C. Having personnel split between two buildings does cause some inconveniences. We have a shuttle bus that runs continuously between the two buildings throughout the day to transport people who need to get from one building to the other.
One consequence of my location in the satellite building is that Joe, the paralegal who's been helping me with a matter since last fall and whose office is located at headquarters, does not have easy access to the baked goods that I bring to the office each week. When I remember, I set aside a baked goods allotment for him and I put it on the shuttle for delivery. (The shuttle not only carries passengers from building to building, but also documents and packages that can't wait for interoffice mail.)
In honor of Joe's birthday this weekend, I asked him if he had a baked goods request, and he asked for pistachio maracoons. Given how iffy these were the last time I made them, I was a little nervous about disappointing him with suboptimal baked goods, and I asked if he wouldn't prefer a nice birthday cake or cupcakes instead... But he was sure, so I put forth my best effort.
Last time I made these macaroons, they were a little undercooked and moist in the middle, so I increased the baking time a bit this time around. The batter came out completely different than before. Instead of puffing up in the oven, these cookies stayed fairly flat and I baked them until they were a deep golden brown to make sure that they were done in the middle. The finished product looked nothing like a traditional macaroon -- it was rather flat and looked almost like a regular cookie. But the texture was spot on, extremely chewy. Also, since the cookies were so thin, the ratio of pistachio buttercream filling to macaroon was much higher than last time.
I was really not particularly pleased with the overall way these came out, since they just looked wrong and should have been a lot thicker. But I was happy with the strong pistachio flavor, the very chewy texture, and the borderline excessive amount of buttercream filling. Maybe one of these days I will finally get this recipe right. In any case, Joe professed his approval, which I guess is all that matters!
Recipe: "Pistachio Macaroons" from How to Be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson.
Previous Post: "A Tough Cookie to Crack," March 5, 2009.
One consequence of my location in the satellite building is that Joe, the paralegal who's been helping me with a matter since last fall and whose office is located at headquarters, does not have easy access to the baked goods that I bring to the office each week. When I remember, I set aside a baked goods allotment for him and I put it on the shuttle for delivery. (The shuttle not only carries passengers from building to building, but also documents and packages that can't wait for interoffice mail.)
In honor of Joe's birthday this weekend, I asked him if he had a baked goods request, and he asked for pistachio maracoons. Given how iffy these were the last time I made them, I was a little nervous about disappointing him with suboptimal baked goods, and I asked if he wouldn't prefer a nice birthday cake or cupcakes instead... But he was sure, so I put forth my best effort.
Last time I made these macaroons, they were a little undercooked and moist in the middle, so I increased the baking time a bit this time around. The batter came out completely different than before. Instead of puffing up in the oven, these cookies stayed fairly flat and I baked them until they were a deep golden brown to make sure that they were done in the middle. The finished product looked nothing like a traditional macaroon -- it was rather flat and looked almost like a regular cookie. But the texture was spot on, extremely chewy. Also, since the cookies were so thin, the ratio of pistachio buttercream filling to macaroon was much higher than last time.
I was really not particularly pleased with the overall way these came out, since they just looked wrong and should have been a lot thicker. But I was happy with the strong pistachio flavor, the very chewy texture, and the borderline excessive amount of buttercream filling. Maybe one of these days I will finally get this recipe right. In any case, Joe professed his approval, which I guess is all that matters!Recipe: "Pistachio Macaroons" from How to Be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson.
Previous Post: "A Tough Cookie to Crack," March 5, 2009.
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