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The Dough-Eyed Girl

~ There's no metaphysics on Earth like dessert.

The Dough-Eyed Girl

Tag Archives: Cookie

Matcha Macaron at Harney & Sons

09 Wednesday Jan 2013

Posted by Dough-Eyed Girl in Cookies, Uncategorized

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Cookie, Macaron, Manhattan, Matcha, Soho, Tea


Matcha Macaron
When I was studying abroad in Paris waaaay back in 2006, I displayed typical American gustatory behavior and devoured everything in sight in obscene (to a Frenchperson) quantities: pain, vin, fromage, pâté, tartine, jambon. Whatever it was, I ate it, and had seconds. But there was one solitary foodstuff that made the others pale in comparison: the macaron.

Soon, I was on a mission to try all the best macarons Paris had to offer. I went to Pierre Hermé (several times, my favorite), Ladurée (classic, unimpeachable), and anywhere else a French friend had a tip. Sadly, I can’t remember the names of all the places I visited, but photos from that time period show the evidence in my chipmunk-chubby cheeks.

When done right, a macaron is an ethereal, sublime sandwich cookie. The cookie, essentially an almond meringue, should be light and airy and slightly chewy, but with a firm, crunchy shell that crackles at the bite. The filling, whether it is ganache or jam or buttercream, should be smooth yet firm, able to cement the cookie together but not so stiff that it puts up a fight. Large macarons should be approximately three inches in diamtere; small macarons, one inch. The cookie to filling ratio should be such that every bite, even on an edge, should be 60-65% cookie, 35-40% filling (in my humble estimation). When done properly, the effect is a extraordinary, a stunning blend of crispy and velvety textures; pronounced true flavors (the fillings need to shine); the feeling of eating a sweet, crispy cloud.

While on my sampling tour, I had nuanced views of each cookie, all of them solid contenders, but some marginally better than others. It was easy to take for granted the uniformity in quality amongst the board. No place had a subpar macaron; some were simply shades, or swaths, better.

Of course, I did take the Parision macaron for granted, as I promptly learned when I returned to the States. Even in New York City, finding even a respectable macaron was virtually impossible. One boutique had fillings so runny that the top cookie slid off while holding it (and that was at a shop devoted to macarons); another prominent chocolatier offered macarons so small and chalky that they were practically calcified marbles. One pâtissier came close, but the cookie was underfilled. Almost no, city-made macaron escaped unscathed. (The Ladurée macarons are imported from France, cheaters.)

Since my favorite macaron thus far comes from a tea parlor (Bosie, to be exact; stay tuned for that post), I decided to give the Harney & Sons pastry counter a try while I was shopping in Soho for Christmas gifts. I selected a pleasingly green matcha macaron ($3.00) because while in a tea shop, stick to tea flavors, I say.

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Granola Cookie from Jean & Kate

21 Wednesday Nov 2012

Posted by Dough-Eyed Girl in Cookies

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Cookie, Cranberry, Granola

It has now been over three weeks since Sandy hit, and while some parts of New York City and the northeast are still in recovery mode, for most people in the five boroughs (save, perhaps, Staten Island) life has essentially returned to normal. Power is largely returned, offices have reopened, every subway line is running (albeit with service changes).

Even the weather has stabilized a bit. Sort of. We went from the most devastating storm in the city’s history to calm skies, to a blizzard, to an unseasonably warm and sunny weekend. I can only speak for myself, but judging from the number of people out on that beautiful weekend, I don’t think I was the only one overjoyed to ditch the puffy coat and recharge my Vitamin D.

Naturally, the thing to do on a glorious Sunday is to take a walk. So that’s what I did. I put on my walking shoes and marched myself over to the Manhattan Bridge, where the DUMBO Smorgasburg was doing a brisk business.

It was my first time at this new Smorgas post, and while DUMBO seems a tad smaller than it’s sibling to the north, the offerings were still appetizing and inventive. Also pleasing to see was that almost half of tents were hawking some sweet good. There were doughnuts and candy, macarons and macaroons, pies of all sizes, even homemade pop tarts. So many choices, so little space in my stomach…

With all these options, which did I go for? The adorable mini cheesecakes? A slice of s’mores pie? A four bite tartelette?

No, none of these. Instead, I went for… a granola cookie.

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Lavender Shortbread at Bakeri

26 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by Dough-Eyed Girl in Cookies

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Brooklyn, Cookie, Lavender, Norway, Shortbread, Williamsburg

When I was young, my parents hired a bunch of au pairs to take care of my siblings and me while they were at work. They came from all over Europe: Spain, Sweden, Germany, Holland. Does that seem like a lot? It is. Technically, they were each supposed to stay for a year, but my two brothers and I were never “easy” children, so any given au pair lasted for a maximum of six months before she sent herself back to her home country.

That is, all but one: a Norwegian woman who not only lasted the full year, but somehow even liked us. After she left, she would faithfully write us letters (imagine the pure joy of receiving an airmail envelope when you are eight-years-old) and, better yet, send us Christmas care packages every year. It didn’t matter that we were Jewish. No dreidel-wrapped toy could compare to our annual Norwegian God Jul bag of marshmallow ropes, caviar in a toothpaste tube (for one brother who adored the stuff), and cartons of licorice all-sorts (which none of us touched).

Thanks to the wonders of Facebook, my family still keeps in touch with this babysitter, and I’ve always felt a sort of kinship to Norway because of her. In fact, one of the things that drew me to N. when we first met was that he has a research fellowship in the same Norwegian city where she is from. Coincidence? I think not. Okay, maybe.

So when I heard about Bakeri, a bake shop opened by a Norwegian, whose name means “bakery” in Norwegian and which stocks treats like Fjørd bread (a loaf chock full of imported whole grains) and skolebrød, I couldn’t wait to check it out.

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