Macaron Day 2013 – Toronto

After two glorious days of sugar, I’ve finally found the energy to go through my photos and tweets from Macaron Day 2013.  If you don’t know, Macaron Day is a day that celebrates the deliciously sweet meringue-based confectionery while also supporting a local charity. A complimentary macaron is offered to customers who mention that they are celebrating Macaron Day while proceeds of the additional macarons that are purchased on this day are donated to the Red Door Family Shelter. Eighteen bakeries participated in Toronto this year and after last year’s pitiful attempt to participate (see my picture here), I vowed to visit as many as I could while also purchasing at least one additional macaron per location.

I had one hour during my lunch break to visit as many as I could near my office. My first stop was Yorkville Espresso Bar, which derailed me slightly because of all the road construction that was around the store. I received a mini macaron and purchased one of their signature espresso flavours. This ended up being one of my favourite flavours and I’m so happy that they are near my office because I have a feeling I will be visiting often.

Cranberry Oatmeal Cookie Cereal

I’ve been toying with the idea of making my own cereal for a couple weeks now. The amount of boxed cereal we go through is insane and as much as I want to believe it, the cereal we eat isn’t exactly considered healthy. We may not be stuffing our faces with Corn Pops or Lucky Charms, but most cereals on the market that are marketed as healthy are also loaded with less “whole grains” and more sugar and high fructose corn syrup than many people realize. HFCS is pretty must one of the worst things you can put in your body (thanks Jillian Michaels!). I stopped baking with corn syrup a few years ago and I even remember throwing out the giant bottle I had in my cupboard, which I probably only had so I could make puff wheat squares.

Chocolate Chip Four Leaf Clover Cut-Out Cookies

Okay, I get it. Food, especially baked goods should not be green. However, I like to think that there are two exceptions to that rule.

1). Baked goods are allowed to be green if mint is involved

2). The green baked goods are for St. Patrick’s Day

Luckily, these four-leaf clovers fall into both categories.

Cookie Crumbled Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

After a busy week, one of my favourite ways to unwind is in the kitchen. It doesn’t matter if it’s making supper for the night, baking cookies for the week or preparing muffins for weekend breakfast. Something about following a recipe’s instruction, measuring and shifting flour and taking that first bite is so soothing, it seems to melt away all my built up stress.

Yes, I’m strange that way.

Cinnamon Macadamia Nut Cookies

You know those handy cookie scoop devices that allows you to create perfectly round cookies each and every time you bake? Well, have you ever broken one?

This seems to be my habit as of late. Over Christmas holidays, I was in charge of making the chocolate truffles for our dessert platter. I was over-enthusiastic with my scooping and likely running on a sugar-high from all my secret taste-testing, when I clenched too hard on the mechanical scoop handle and managed to twist the gear inside. The sliding blade became dislodged and stuck out at a sad angle from the device. This was a heavy-duty scoop too and the first time on record that it broke.