baking is science for hungry people

[fox]

The Gentleman Caller (I gave him an apron with the above slogan for Christmas) and I are attempting to make homemade kosher-for-Passover desserts for seder at his mother's house. (To me more accurate, we are attempting to make homemade desserts with kosher-for-Passover ingredients, because our kitchens - nor his mother's - are not kosher in any way, but his aunt does keep kosher and both his mother and his aunt avoid chametz during the holiday.) I like coconut macaroons - I don't even mind the ones in a can, but everyone else hates them and I do think homemade is a nice goal. He likes chocolate-dipped marshmallows. So yesterday we did a trial run of each of these.

Side note, Himself didn't realize that it's not just that corn syrup is icky, but that in fact corn is not kfp - so having gone on a Quest for kosher gelatin(e), we went on another Quest for acceptable confectioners' sugar. This whole thing has been a Project. :-)

So I made one batch of macaroons. Unsweetened coconut, sugar, egg whites, and a little potato starch. The final product was tasty, but a) there was too much liquid when I put them on the baking sheet, so there are starchy puddles at the bottom of most of the cookies, and b) the cookies are a little rubbery?

I think next week therefore I will use (less egg white, and) half as much potato starch and substitute matzo cake meal for the other half. That should give them some body but decrease the chewiness, right?

Bakers and science people, please to advise and confirm!

Comments

[twistedchick]

I haven't attempted macaroons using potato starch, but that sounds right.

The SU has come up with an excellent biscotti recipe, if you're interested. Basically, white whole wheat flour (it's from a different kind of wheat), egg, almonds, anise extract (or hazelnut, or whatever flavor you want.)

[mecurtin]

My family loathes coconut in every form, so I can't really help. alas.

Our KFP desserts are a) meringues, which work some years and not others, we've never figured out why, and b) flourless chocolate torte made with ground amaretti (flourless Italian almond cookies), served with pureed raspberries.

[malkingrey]

meringues, which work some years and not others, we've never figured out why

Relative humidity on a given day?

(My father and my aunt used to try to make divinity fudge -- another recipe involving egg whites beaten into dryness -- at Christmas, and they failed every time even though their mother had succeeded in the very same kitchen. I think what they neglected to take into account was that during their childhood their mother was still doing all of her serious cooking on a wood-burning stove, which would have dried out the air in the kitchen quite a bit.)

[starfish]

Oh, man, now I want macaroons. I made some a few years ago, dicked around with the recipe (as you do), and they were SO GOOD. Like, slightly chewy but not heavy, and just brown enough. Alas, I didn't record my dickery (as you don't) so the recipe is lost to the sands of time.

Maybe I will try something for Kass' seder.

[sneezer222]

If there is liquid on the pan, I would think it was over/under mixing of the egg whites.

This very simple recipe is a good one:
http://www.rd.com/food/recipes-cooking/passover-recipe-chewy-macaroons/

Linda

[fox]

My recipe doesn't call for whipping the egg whites at all - just combine the ingredients and go. But my carton of egg whites (b/c I didn't want to separate eggs and waste the yolks) claimed that 3T of product would replace the white of one egg, and I think they must have been thinking of super-giant eggs, because wow. So the coconut absorbed as much as it could and then there was no place for the rest to go.