As a college student studying abroad, I spent a great deal of time sauntering around the streets of Spain, on the hunt for local bakeries hiding in the copious nooks and crannies of European boulevards (because, let’s be honest—study abroad consists of little actual study).  One of my favorite items to order was a dessert borrowed from neighboring France (though some claim the origins are Italian) the Parisian macaron (or macaroon): tiny, beautiful, colorful gems that are celebrated throughout Europe and beyond.

On the surface macaroons look simple but, in fact, they are extremely tricky to execute—they require steadfast precision and unwavering technique.  For my inaugural endeavor, I choose chocolate, a flavor that is the most difficult flavor to master, and turned to baking expert David Lebovitz for guidance. Lebovitz, an American sugar guru in Paris, writes a killer blog, which is where I found this recipe.  (Incidentally, I was fortunate enough to take a class from David when he was in Dallas and highly recommend his Perfect Scoop ice cream cookbook.)

My first attempt was a success and I even managed to create the little “pied,”  the distinctive band around the base of each cookie.  Here is my advice as a newly minted macaroon enthusiast: curb your impatience and allow the cookies to sit overnight.  In my excitement, I hastily ate one (ok, three) immediately upon cooling and was dismayed to find them a bit stiff. They need time to rest to settle into their optimal texture.

I also recommend the I Love Macarons by Hikaso Ogita, a great book that offers different ways to mix and match cookies and fillings with simple step-by-step directions.
Ingredients
Makes about fifteen cookies
Macaron Batter
•    1 cup powdered sugar
•    ½ cup powdered almonds (about 2 ounces)
•    3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
•    2 large egg whites, at room temperature
•    5 tablespoons granulated sugar

Chocolate Filling
•    ½ cup heavy cream
•    2 teaspoons light corn syrup
•    4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
•    1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (180 degrees C).
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2-inch) ready.  Katy’s note: if you don’t have a pastry bag, use a large Ziploc bag with the tip cut off.
Grind together the powdered sugar with the almond powder and cocoa so there are no lumps; use a blender or food processor since almond meal that you buy isn’t quite fine enough.
In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape. While whipping, beat in the granulated sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes.
Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag.
Pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1-inch circles (about 1 T of batter), evenly spaced one-inch apart.
Rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons, then bake them for 15-18 minutes. Let cool completely then remove from baking sheet.
To make the chocolate filling:
Heat the cream in a small saucepan with the corn syrup. When the cream just begins to boil at the edges, remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let sit one minute, then stir until smooth. Stir in the pieces of butter. Let cool completely before using.

Jump for the details of the Arboretum’s Friendship Tea, which ends on February 28.
To begin, you’ll take a little stroll (three minutes) to the DeGolyer Garden Café. It’s a pleasant way to start the day. We checked in, were seated at a table (but take note: there are three couch-y areas to enjoy, as well), and were immediately greeted by sweet Nelson, the tea host, and his white gloves. The first tea in line was Cranberry Spice, a subtle tea with a holiday flavor. Nice, but uncomplicated. (We like our tea with a little complication.) It was served with Lemon Grass Soup, an amazing broth made of heavy cream, curry, and coconut milk. It was a knockout. We immediately ordered champagne—we always take champagne with our tea—and it was tasty, a little on the sweet side.

Peach Cinnamon Hibiscus tea was next, served with tea sandwiches: Poppyseed Bread with Cream Cheese, Turkey with Orange Butter on Rosemary Bread, Egg Salad on Pumpernickel, Creamed Cucumber on White Bread, and Chicken Salad on Croissant. The tea was complex (the way we like it) with a big peach flavor and more subtle floral and spice notes underneath. Though the sandwich breads were a bit dry and the egg and chicken salads needed some life, we loved the pound cake-esque poppy seed bread with cream cheese and the combination of the sweet citrus butter and woody herb flavored bread on the turkey sandwich. The cucumber sandwich was delightful, too, fluffy and fresh.

Fanciest Formosa tea came next, and from what I have researched, it’s a Taiwanese oolong tea, which is described as pale and fruity. We saw the pale, but didn’t taste the fruity. Didn’t matter. Desserts were the star of this third course. On the tiered serving tray we found date bars, tea cakes, chocolate covered strawberries, lemon curd tarts, and orange currant scones served with strawberry jam and clotted cream. The date bars were a sugar lover’s dream: gooey nutty flavor with a crystallized sugar crunch and a cookie bottom. Delish! The tea cakes were light and comforting. The chocolate covered strawberries had an equal fruit-to-chocolate ratio, and the lemon curd tarts were flaky, tangy, and gooey enough to be served in heaven. But the orange currant scones take took cake. (Get it… cake? I’m so witty.) They were, perhaps, some of the best scones we’ve had. They were warm and flaky, thick on the inside, and filled with sticky currants. With the cream and strawberry jam, we only wished they were bigger.

We went ahead and tried the Vanilla Mint tea, too. It took a few sips to taste the vanilla and the mint, but once we did, we preferred it to the Fanciest Formosa, but either way, a lighter tea is a good way to end this gluttony.

We spent about two and a half hours in the DeGolyer Tea Room, but the pace is yours to set. Nelson will keep up if you’re chugging and gobbling or help you move at a leisurely pace if you’re sipping and nibbling. The tea service runs from Thursday to Sunday and begins at 11 am. (It’s never too early for champagne, is it?) Though the Arboretum does different tea services throughout the year—Holiday Tea is in early December, for example—the Friendship Tea only lasts through the 28th of this month, so make your reservations now. You’ll pay $38 for standard tea or $48 for champagne tea (yes, please), but the price includes admission to the Garden, parking, and gratuity. (Plus, you’ll find a 15 percent-off coupon for the gift store on your plate.) An affordable and worthy experience we say. For reservations, call 214-515-6610.

This is a cookie.

Tomorrow is the first full day of Hanukkah and eatZi’s has a special holiday menu to make it easy for you to entertain friends and family. It’s all here. They also have Hanukkah-themed cookies from O’My Goodness.

“Each O’My Goodness! cookie is created by hand in a peanut-free environment, which is a plus for parents of children with peanut allergies. They’re free of trans fats and baked under the supervision of the Chicago Rabbinical Council so the cookies are Pas Yisroel and Kosher. After being individually cut and baked, each cookie gets a base coat of royal icing and is then hand-decorated. It takes O’My Goodness! three days to complete each cookie. Available at eatZi’s for $4.99 each.”

The texture is perfect–the right balance of crumbly and moist. And here’s a revelation–it actually tastes like peanut butter, as opposed to some overly sweet sugar-dusted, dried-out hunk of cardboard. The verdict: “The best peanut butter cookie I’ve ever eaten,” declared one Web-ette. I concur. Later I will report how well they freeze, because that’s where they’re going–straight to my freezer to pull out on another rainy day.