Last week Fran’s mah jongg group met at our house. While they tend not to each very much before, during or after their games, but I was asked to make something for this week. I had not made pan au chocolat in quite a while and had just seen this recipe for Oreo macarons online. There were very few of anything left.

Pain au Chocolate

INGREDIENTS

• Puff pastry
• Chocolate
• Confectioner’s sugar

METHOD

1. Roll out puff pastry
2. Dust with confectioner’s sugar
3. Cut into 2” wide
4. Lay chocolate at one end, roll one time, press down gently and roll again, press gently again
5. Add second row of chocolate and roll one last time, press gently
6. Chill overnight
7. Brush with egg wash
8. Bake 360 deg 20-25 min on parchment lined baking sheet

Oreo Macarons

INGREDIENTS

• 3 eggs whites, room temperature
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1¼ cups powdered sugar
• ¾ cup superfine almond flour
• 2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoons black food coloring
• 2 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 cup of softened butter
• 1 teaspoons of vanilla
• 2 tablespoons of milk
• ½ cup cookies and cream filling
  • 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature (takes about 2 hours to reach room temp)
  • 4 oz. salted butter, at room temperature (1 stick)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups powdered sugar

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 285ºF/140ºC.
2. In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy.
3. Keep beating and slowly add sugar until stiff peaks form.
4. Sift powdered sugar, cookie crumbs, almond flour, and cocoa powder over the egg whites.
5. Fold the dry mixture into the egg whites completely, but make sure to not overmix or the macarons will not rise.
6. Once the batter reaches a lava-like consistency, add the food coloring. Mix until just combined, without over mixing.
7. Place the mixture into a piping bag or zip-top bag. Cut of the tip to pipe.
8. Pipe 1½-inch dollops onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Tip: take a little batter to “glue” down the edges of the parchment paper so it stays put.
9. Let the cookies rest at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour, until they are no longer wet to the touch and a skin forms on top.
10. While resting, make the filling
    1. Cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth.
    2. Mix in the powdered sugar until smooth.
11. When the cookies are dry to the touch, bake for 15-18 minutes until they have risen.
12. Let rest for 10 minutes before filling. To fill, pipe about about a tablespoon of the buttercream onto one macaron and place another on top.
13. Macarons are best kept refrigerated until serving.