Pumpkin Chai Macarons

Welcome to Fall!!!

The days and nights are finally getting cooler here on the central coast. This makes one feel more in the appropriate holiday spirit, as Thanksgiving is just around the corner. In honor of the season of cold noses being tickled by mugs of steamy chai lattes (or hot cocoas), I decided to play around with the combination of pumpkin and chai. 

As I hadn't played with macarons in a stretch, I thought, what better way to dive back in to experiments (which might be successful*).

The shell is where the chai flavor is coming from, and then the filling is the silky, mild pumpkin spiced buttercream.

I hope you can try it while it is the season!

The colors in these apples, pomegranates, Turks Turbans, and grape leaves capture so much of what I think of fall! Go jump in a pile of leaves. It's okay, I give you permission. :)

Menu for Friday March 9th

Desserts for Two

Carrot Bundt Cakes

Tiramisu Cupcakes (possibly for two)

Mini Apple-Berry Pies

Breakfast Items

Morning Buns

Castle Croissants (Peanut Butter and Chocolate)

Chocolate Croissants

Prosciutto Gruyere Croissants

Millionaire's Granola

Blueberry Biscotti

Chocolate Lovers

Caramel Stuffed Brownies!!!

Cookies

Chocobloc

Monster

Bleeding Heart

Triple Play

Vegan Almond-Sunflower

Ranger

Chocolate Chip

S'Mores

Lavender Shortbread

Snickerdoodle

Palmiers

Macarons

Raspberry-Champagne

Pistachio

Vanilla-Coffee

Mocha

Chocolate

Oreo

Vanilla-Raspberry

Hope to see you all tomorrow at Rutiz Family Farm!

Menu for Friday February 10th

Hi all! This Friday I'm at Rutiz Family Farm again, from 1pm to 5pm. I'm really excited to be there and I'll be giving out samples of my famous pistachio macarons.

Cookies:

Chocobloc:                                 Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal, Pecan and Toffee

Monster:                         to satisfy your inner child, this cookie has peanut butter, oatmeal, chocolate chips and M&Ms

Bleeding Hearts:                     like heart shaped PopTarts, but with a cinnamon pecan crust and a raspberry filling

Snickerdoodle:                           A tangy butter cookie with a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar

Oatmeal Cranberry Raisin:  Just as the name says, a classic

Chocolate Chip:                     traditional buttery, soft, chocolate chip cookie

Ranger:                                         Oatmeal, Coconut and Rice Krispies make this butterly delicious ;)

Lavender Shortbread:         a crisp heart shaped cookie, with light lavender notes, and drizzled with white chocolate

Almond Sunflower (Vegan, Gluten free): slightly crunchy, and dipped in vegan chocolate, yum

Pistachio Macarons (Gluten Free)      A french meringue cookie with the nutty goodness of pistachios

Tarts:

Lemon          A crisp buttery crust in contrast with a tangy meyer lemon filling with a dusting of powdered sugar

Chocolate Caramel    A crisp buttery crust with a caramel center and topped with chocolate

Brownies:

Caramel stuffed Brownie ( A rich fudge-y chocolate brownie with a layer of caramel, topped with pecans and chocolate)

Croissants:

Butter Croissants

Chocolate Croissants

Prosciutto Gruyere

Morning Buns (A cinnamon roll made with croissant dough, and has orange zest in the filling)

Cake:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake (serves 2)

Pie:

Apple-Berry Pie (serves 2 generously, or 4 reservedly) (contains Granny Smith, Blackberries and Raspberries)

Millionaire’s Granola (Pistachio, Pecans, Pine Nuts, Cashews, Coconut, Oatmeal, Local Honey and Sea Salt)

Rocky Road Biscotti (A crisp chocolatey biscotti with pecans, toffee, mini marshmallows and loads of chocolate)

Pistachio Macarons

Perhaps you have heard of the macaron trend. It is one of those which has picked up after the cupcake craze. Macarons are French meringue cookies which have nut flour folded into them, and then two shells are sandwiched together with buttercream or jam or ganache in the center. When you bite into it, there is a slight crunch as you break the shell, which transforms into a chewy cookie when you hit the center, and a smoothness when you get the filling. QUITE a satisfying dessert.

The most popular flavor of macarons amongst my customers is the "little green cookie," otherwise known as the Pistachio macaron.

Pistachio Macarons in a Teacup

Ingredients: Almonds, Pistachios, White Sugar, Powdered Sugar, Egg Whites, Butter and Salt

These cookies can be found almost every Friday at Rutiz Family Farm in Arroyo Grande.

 (If the weather is at all cooperative)