Cupcake Macarons

Well hello cupcake.

Hey! You're not really a cupcake.

OK I get it you're a cupcake shaped macarons dipped in chocolate decorated with pink sprinkles and topped with a delicious chocolate sixlet.*

*Sixlets are chocolate covered with a thin candy layer available from cake decorating and Hobby/craft stores, Ebay, Spotlight in Australia.

Now I see that I forgive you, but first let me take just one little bite...ummm maybe 2 or 3.

Ooops.

These pretty little cupcake shaped macaroons are made with my regular macaron recipe. Click HERE for my previous post which includes my macaron recipe.

Then I just coloured 2/3rds of it pink and piped out little cupcake case bottoms, followed up with white puffy cupcake tops. I made my cupcake tops by piping 3 quick puffs right next to each other.

If you want to be super neat you could draw little cupcake templates and pop them under the parchment paper as a guide. But that's just not how I roll. I kinda like the irregularity of the hand piped macarons.  Plus I'm super lazy :)

Yup this is how I bake my macarons for real no fancy stuff, 

just parchment/ baking paper on an Ikea Baking Tray.

Bake as usual, match up like sized macaroons, fill with ganache and chill until set.

Melt some white chocolate#, dip the tops of the cupcakes in the melted chocolate, sprinkle on some pink jimmies and top with a sixlet (or a M & M would be good as well).

#I used Wilton white chocolate melts with a little copra (paramount crystal) melted in to give a smooth finish that sets quickly and reduces the chances of the sprinkles and six let sliding off.

and apologies everyone I know I said I would share the recipe for my golden things macarons this week but something came up and I have not had time to finish the recipe for the blog. But just in case you missed the picture I will share it - oh my goodness they were super delicious.

Linda Vandermeer is a mum, wife, blogger and author of the cookbook ' Sweets on a Stick': More than 150 kid friendly recipes for cakes, candies, cookies and pies on the go!. Published in the US the book is available at most online book stores:

Or here at fishpond (Aus/NZ)

Best of Bubble and Sweet 2012

Thanks everyone for joining me in a fabulous year of baking. I hope you had as much fun reading along as I did creating and sharing my baking journey throughout the year.

I have alot planned for 2013. Remember, you can follow this blog and receive free email updates by entering your details over in the top right hand corner.

For the final post I have compiled a best of Bubble and Sweet.

Best Cakes 2012:

This year ruffles ruled supreme in the big cake stakes. Colorful rainbows and ombre (gradient shades) decorations were just a taste of what was inside with surprising matching or contrasting hues.

Just in time for Halloween and a bit outside of the Bubble and Sweet box was the Monkey Brain cake with jello brain and raspberry sauce. It was gruesomely delicious.

1.How to eat a Tiara Ruffled Princess Cake (photo by Alyce and Colette)
2.Monkey Brain Cake with Jello Brain
3. Pastel Rainbow Ruffle cake
4. Sweet Birdie Ruffle Birdhouse

Other favorite cakes: 

Other favorite cakes included this streamlined ruffle and hand painted aqua wedding cake inspired by a vintage wedding dress with hand painting, a fun candy inspired Christmas cake with gluten free cranberry cake filling, and a fun Ant Picnic cake.

1. A Vintage dress inspired wedding cake
2. Lollipop and candy Christmas tree cake
3. Ant picnic in the park

Best Party Tables 2012:

Fun and fabulous party tables for 2012 included a dreamily pretty shabby chic pink and gold princess party with ruffles and bows, a rustic pie table with a fabulous paper pom backdrop by Ah-Tissue and a sweet as can be bird theme party table.

1. Shabby Chic Princess Party (Photography by Alyce and Colette)
2. Oh Sweet Mum Pie Table (Photography by Naomi V Photography)
3. Sophie's Sweet Birdie Birthday party

Best Cookies 2012:

Quirky ant cookies, a cute scary set of babushka halloween cookies, the sweetest teal, pink and white reindeer cookies and valentine inspired bird cookies were my favorite cookies for 2012.

1. Ant picnic in the park cookies
2. Babushka Munchy Mummy, Evil Ghost and Screaming Ghoul Cookies
3. Sweetest Thing Reindeer Cookies
4. Are You Thinking What I'm Thinking cookies

Best Cheesecakes 2012:

I love cheesecake and hopefully you can share in my love after some of the recipes on the blog this year. Pretty strawberries and cream cheesecake in a jar, photographed in my front garden, delicious mini nutella cheesecakes combining a few of my favorite things and decadent peanut butter and s'mores cheesecakes were among the recipes I shared. I had almost as much fun naming them as eating them. Almost.

1. Strawberry and Cream Cheesecakes in a Jar
2. These are a few of my favorite things Nutella Cheesecakes
3. Totally tastes better than thin - Smores cheesecake
4. If this is wrong I don't want to be right Chocolate Peanut Butter mini Cheesecake

Best Sweets on a Stick 2012 (includes best cake pops 2012)

Sweets on a Stick - it's the name of my book and something I think I do pretty well here at Bubble and Sweet. Macarons in divine hues decorated like lollipops and on top of cake pops were a couple of my favorites. A planter box of cake pops and cookies made using the instructions from my book in pastel hues for a party table was loved by all.

1. Lollipop Macarons
2.Macaron cake pops
3.Cute bird cake pops, flower cookies and cloud in the sky cookies (recipes from Sweets on a Stick)

4.Pot of gold at the end of the rainbow cakepops

Best small cakes 2012 (Includes Best Cupcakes 2012):

Did I go overboard with the mini macarons? - I don't think so. Who could resist the delicious chocolate hazelnut cakes topped with raspberries and mini gold macs or piped butter cream rose topped strawberry cake with delicate pink mini mac? Spiced pear cupcakes were a hit for those looking for something simple. High maintenance decorators preferred high heel shoe cupcakes.

1. Chocolate Hazelnut cakes with French Buttercream (Gluten Free)
2. High heel Shoe cupcakes - high maintenance decorating
3. Pink rose and macaron shabby chic petit fours
4. Spiced pear cupcakes with caramel cream cheese frosting

Best treats 2012 (misc)

Easy to make army of ghost Oreo truffles was the surprise hit of the year being the second most popular post on the whole blog. More mini macs topped other delicious treats including the fun mini pumpkin chiffon pies with pecan pie bites and the milk chocolate mousse pies (which would have to be one of my favorite pictures ever - thank you Naomi V Photography). Peppermint cookie fudge proved to be a fast, easy and delicious treat to share.

1. Army of Ghosts Oreo Truffles
2.Chocolate Cream Mousse Pie (sorry no recipe provided) (Photo by Naomi V Photography)
3. Pumpkin Chiffon Pies  (photo by Naomi V Photography)
4. Peppermint Cookie Fudge

Favorite new product 2012

My favorite new find during 2012 would have to be the edible jelly gems. I mostly used them in cookies but found that with not much work they could dress up anything turning simple marshmallows into a treat fit for a princess.

1. Elegant Ornament Cookies
2. Jewelled Marshmallows
3. How to eat a Tiara   (Photography by Alyce and Colette)
 4. Princess Cookies


Other highlights:

Cake pop and cookie demonstrations at the Bleeding Heart Cafe in Brisbane proved to be even more fun than I thought they would be. The best part was meeting people who read my blog on a regular basis. Another class is being planned for April 2013.

Recipes I created were included in Tickle the Imagination magazine, online and print version, and Peekaboo magazine. Many online newspapers and magazines linked back to my popular posts, and of course many blogger friends linked back to Bubble and Sweet as well.

The absolute best bit

...and the best part of 2012 from a Bubble and Sweet perspective was all the fabulous interaction on the blog, on instagram, on pintrest and on facebook. Truly I still get excited when I receive lovely feedback - it's what keeps me going.

Thank you everyone again for reading the blog and sharing my baking journey.

You helped make my year one of the best yet :)

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Unless stated otherwise recipes, photos and posts by Linda Vandermeer author of Sweets on a Stick: More than 150 Kid Friendly recipes for cakes, candies, cookies and pies on the go. You can pick it up at all good online book shops including these shops:

Or here at fishpond (Aus/NZ)

Elegant Jewelled Snowflake cookies

I made up a list and I checked it twice,

trying to work out who was naught and who was nice.

But seriously my nice list way waaay too long and I really had to cut it back.

In the end I sent out just a few of cookie packages to a couple of people on my nice list.

Well actually the people that I did a cookie swap with last year because I forgot to organise one this year.

It seems Noo from Dessert Menu Please had the same idea and the day after I posted out my treats I received a package with a cracker and inside the sweetest hand drawn little festive cookies :)

Follow random pictures of my life on instagram: http://instagram.com/p/Tewm3zwlAy/

Above is a picture that I posted on my new instagram account. If your following me there you may have seen a few random photo's of my new creative/craft space and other random pictures of my life.

Anyhoo the cookies I sent out are an updated version of the elegant snowflake cookies I made a few years back but I added jelly gems.

Which by the way I am a bit smitten with at the moment.

Oooooohhhhhh Jelly Gems, so pretty..........

The actual cookie was a Christmas inspired cinnamon and cranberry sugar cookie. You can find my recipe in the free online Christmas edition of 'Tickle the Imagination' Magazine if you CLICK HERE.

The original decorating tutorial for the Winter Wonderland Snowflake cookies has a recipe for plain vanilla sugar cookies if your not keen on the Christmassy version. CLICK HERE for the original post and recipe. 

and thank you all so much for reading this year, it always brightens my day to receive comments or see my treats pinned.

From my family to yours wishing you safe and happy Holidays.

Xx
Linda V

Elegant Jewelled Snowflake Cookies

Sugar cookie dough
Snowflake cookie cutter (mine from Bisk-art)
Decorative stamp or embosser
White fondant#
Small plastic rolling pin
brush and water
Jelly Gems
2 round tip (mine was Wilton)
Royal Icing (I used queens royal icing mix from Woolworths - just add water)
Piping bag with small tip
 
edit update - I have a youtube video tutorial on how to make sugar cookie dough

#Fondant dries out pretty quickly so I work with a little fondant at a time covering one or two cookies. The remaining fondant I leave wrapped in a little cling wrap/ glad wrap until I need it.

Line a couple of trays with parchment paper.

Make up batch of sugar cookie dough, chill, roll out on workbench lightly dusted with flour and cut out snowflake cookies.

Pop the cookies onto the prepared trays and put in the freezer for around 15 minutes.
 

Meanwhile preheat over to160C (320 F) and then bake cookies for around 12 - 15 mins.

Remove from oven when they just start to become golden and using the small end of the icing tip quickly remove a small hole from the center of each cookie.

Ooops - no photos of the cookies with holes in them. Just use your imagination :)

Knead fondant until pliable and roll out on a surface lightly dusted with cornflour and using the same snowflake cookie cutter cut out the snowflake shape. Make sure the cookie cutter is clean and dry before you start cutting.

Brush a tiny amount of water onto the cookie and then adhere the snowflake fondant cut out to the cookie, gently rolling on with a small rolling pin if required.

Take the #12 tip and press down to remove a round of fondant from the center of each cookie. I needed to poke it out with the end of my brush.

OK just imagine there is a hole in the middle - I didn't get a picture of one :)

Using a clean foodsafe stamp or embosser press into the middle of each cookie to make a pretty indentation.

Pipe a circle of royal icing around the edge of the round hold in the center of each cookie and place a jelly gem inside using the royal icing to glue it into place.

Pipe decorative dots on the cookie as desired.

Leave out until royal icing is set.

Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for a week.

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Recipe, photo's and post by Linda Vandermeer author of Sweets on a Stick: More than 150 Kid Friendly recipes for cakes, candies, cookies and pies on the go. You can pick it up at all good online book shops including these shops:

Or here at fishpond (Aus/NZ)