Better Baking Slice of Life Challenge 2013 #30 of 31

I love baking and I especially love baking with friends.  There's something about working closely with someone to create something delicious.  Kate and I teach together and we planned a baking day for Spring Break.  Kate likes to bake as much as I do and she is a wonderful cook.  So, I knew we were up to try something a bit challenging.  I've been wanting to make French Macarons forever.  When I suggested that we make these, Kate agreed.  I should probably tell you that Kate always says, "yes" when I suggest a project at school (and I say yes to her ideas too).  However, sometimes Kate regrets saying yes to my ideas because they often get a little complicated.  I was hoping she wouldn't regret macaron making.

She arrived early Friday morning with a bag of ingredients, ready to go.  I had spent the previous evening reading up on the art of macarons.  This baking day was not going to be a back-of-the-bag recipe adventure. We reread the directions, decided who was going to do what, and got started.  We measured, weighed, whipped, and folded ingredients.  Then came piping the dough onto the parchment paper.  Sticky, almondy goo oozed all over our hands.  We laughed over and over again through our trials and errors.  As we worked,  Kate discovered that the combination of my affinity to cooksillustrated.com and my addiction to Amazon.com has afforded me some neat kitchen gadgets.  She started a wish list of things to get for her kitchen.  Then she saw my basket filled with an assortment of baking chips.  (I have quite the assortment.)  I know she thinks I'm a little crazy to have so many.  In my defense, I can pretty much whip up any kind of cookie without having to run to the grocery first.

Next step:  filling the cookies. We made vanilla cookies with lemon buttercream and chocolate with coffee buttercream.  (I know, YUM, right?)  Then we were ready to do the taste test.  They didn't look exactly like they were supposed to, but the taste was exceptional.  We decided that we make a good baking team.

Later in the evening, friends converged upon my house laden with food and beverages.  Kate and I arranged our macarons on a platter and added them to the bounty.  They were a hit with everyone!  We spent the evening telling stories, laughing, reminiscing, and of course, eating.  It was the perfect way to end the day. There's nothing better than spending time with good friends who are always there for each other no matter what.

You can read Kate's blog post here and get her perspective on the day.  Her class is participating in the Slice of Life Challenge too.

Thanks to Ruth and Stacey for hosting Slice of Life Challenge.  You can view other slices at their site.