STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

alb · Marc Jacobs

Please help me nail down desserts for our party!

Kelly · Hermes

What about cupcakes? I know it sounds kind of boring, but I think everyone loves cake AND you can get pretty fancy about it. If you do a google image search for "mardi gras cupcakes" a lot of ideas pop up.

relrel · Marc Jacobs

I actually did a New Orleans bread pudding for our Super Bowl Party. It was one I found on Emeril's site, it's the Breading Pudding with bourbon cream sauce. It turned out really super easy and everybody seemed to enjoy it.

It's not necessarily finger food though, since you would need a bowl and a spoon to eat it!

Boots · Gucci

OK, here's a follow up to the FB post with recipes. It's a long post. Sorry everybody!

If you wanted to do simple macarons, you would just dip them in chocolate. But when I was searching for a good recipe for you I found this on F&W (all recipes are from Food & Wine).

Chocolate Macarons

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/3 cups almond flour (see Note)
2 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
5 large egg whites, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon light corn syrup
1 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400° and position racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large, wide bowl, using a large rubber spatula or a handheld electric mixer, mix the confectioners' sugar with the almond flour and cocoa powder. Add 2 of the egg whites and mix until evenly moistened.
In a small saucepan, combine the granulated sugar with the water and bring to a boil; using a moistened pastry brush, wash down any crystals from the side of the pan. Boil over high heat until the syrup reaches 240° on a candy thermometer.
In another large bowl, using clean beaters, beat the remaining 3 egg whites until soft peaks form. With the mixer at high speed, carefully drizzle the hot sugar syrup over the egg whites and beat until the meringue is firm and glossy.
Stir one-fourth of the meringue into the almond-cocoa mixture. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the remaining meringue. Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a plain 1/2-inch tip; pipe onto the prepared baking sheets in 1 1/2-inch mounds, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Tap the sheets and let dry at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Transfer the meringues to the oven and immediately turn off the heat. Bake the meringues for 5 minutes. Turn the oven on to 400° again and bake the meringues for 8 minutes, until the meringues are puffed and the tops are firm and glossy. Transfer the baking sheets to racks and let the meringues cool completely.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the cream with the corn syrup and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat. Add the chocolate and let stand until melted, about 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Transfer the ganache to a bowl and let cool to room temperature, whisking occasionally; it will become very thick.
Carefully peel the meringues off of the parchment paper. Spoon the ganache into a small pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch tip. Alternatively, use a resealable sturdy plastic bag and snip off a corner. Pipe the ganache onto the flat sides of half of the meringues. Top with the remaining meringues and serve.

Chocolate-Almond Toffee (no picture)

Ingredients

2 sticks unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 cup salted roasted almonds3/4 cup coarsely chopped, 1/4 cup finely chopped
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt, crumbled
1/2 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Directions

Line an 8-by-11-inch baking pan with foil. Spray the foil with vegetable oil. In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the sugar and water and bring to a boil. Wash down the side of the pan with a moistened pastry brush. Cook over moderate heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until a deeply golden caramel forms and the temperature reaches 300° on a candy thermometer, 15 minutes; if the sugar and butter separate, stir vigorously to blend. Remove from the heat and add the coarsely chopped almonds, vanilla and salt. Scrape the toffee into the prepared pan; let cool for 10 minutes.
Sprinkle half of the chocolate over the toffee and let stand until melted. Spread the chocolate over the toffee and sprinkle with half of the finely chopped almonds. Freeze the toffee for 10 minutes.
Invert the toffee onto a foil-lined baking sheet and peel off the foil backing. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the remaining chocolate. Spread the melted chocolate over the top of the toffee and sprinkle with the remaining finely chopped almonds. Let the toffee cool, then break into shards.

Ganach-Stuffed Chocolate Chip cookies

Ingredients

COOKIES

1 cup walnuts
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

GANACHE

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
5 tablespoons heavy cream
2 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 tablespoons crème fraîche

Directions

Make the Cookies: Preheat the oven to 375°. Spread the nuts in a pie plate and toast for 8 minutes; let cool, then chop.
In a bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and salt. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle (or using a handheld mixer), cream the butter with the sugars and vanilla at medium speed, about 1 minute. Beat in the egg. With the mixer at low speed, beat in the dry ingredients. Beat in the walnuts and chocolate chips. Spoon level tablespoons of the dough onto 2 ungreased baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, until firm.
Make the Ganache: Put the chocolate in a bowl. In a saucepan, bring the cream and corn syrup to a boil; pour over the chocolate and let stand for 1 minute. Whisk until smooth. Whisk in the crème fraîche. Refrigerate the ganache, stirring occasionally, until thick and spreadable, 1 hour.
Bake the cookies for 12 minutes, until golden; let cool on the sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Sandwich the chocolate-chip cookies with the ganache and serve.

Truffles

Ingredients

GANACHE

1 quart heavy cream
3 pounds bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
Pinch of salt

TRUFFLE FLAVORINGS:

1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum
4 teaspoons pure peppermint oil
2 teaspoons instant espresso dissolved in 2 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon ground cardamom

OPTIONS FOR COATINGS

Finely crushed toffee bits
mint candies
pretzels
dehydrated raspberries
amaretti cookies
malted milk balls
chocolate cookies
finely chopped toasted almonds
chocolate covered espresso beans
toasted coconut
roasted salted peanuts
candied ginger
cinnamon-sugar
confectioners sugar mixed with cocoa powder and large pinch kosher salt

Directions

Make the ganache: In a large saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer. In a large bowl, combine the chopped chocolate with the butter and salt. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let stand until the chocolate and butter are melted, about 5 minutes. Whisk the ganache until smooth and shiny.
Divide the ganache into 4 bowls. To flavor it, add either the rum, peppermint oil, espresso or cardamom to each batch. Cover the ganache and refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours.
Line 3 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a 1-tablespoon-size ice cream scoop, drop level tablespoons of the ganache onto the baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 1 hour.
Coat the truffles: Spoon the coatings into small bowls. Moisten your hands with ice water and roll the ganache into balls, then roll in the coatings. Package the truffles in decorative bags or boxes.

Make Ahead

Notes

- Peppermint filling with powdered sugar, chocolate cookie crumbs or mint candies
- Espresso filling with cinnamon-sugar, amaretti or cocoa powder-salt mixture
- Rum filling with coconut, candied ginger or toffee
- Cardamom filling with cinnamon-sugar, amaretti or candied ginger
- Plain chocolate filling with raspberry, malt balls or peanuts

Truffle ideas:

gossipgirl · Dooney & Bourke

OMG those ganache cookies look fantastic! I MUST MAKE THEM TONITE!!!!!

alb · Marc Jacobs

Thanks, everyone!! Boots, those recipes are fabulous! I am definitely making the ganache stuffed chocolate chip cookies and will probably also do a simple macaroon and one other thing. I'll post again when I have more of an idea, b/c I would love your (and others) opinions.

I'm thinking about having three things, but I don't think they all should have chocolate just so there will be more variety. it's been difficult to find non-chocolate finger food type desserts, but you've put me on the right track with the macaroons. thanks so much!

carmenb513 · Coach

thanks guys... I am extremely hungry and ready to excercise my inner fat girl now.

XtinaStyles · Marc Jacobs

How about some colorful petite fours? They're like cake but mini and bite-sized.

Ive made this recipe in the past: http://veganyumyum.com/2008/01/petits-fours/

gossipgirl · Dooney & Bourke

Ok - I totally made those ganache cookies last nite. My SO loved them. I did cheat tho, I had store bought cookie dough in the fridge, so they too 1/2 hour to make!

Boots · Gucci

gossipgirl wrote:

Ok - I totally made those ganache cookies last nite. My SO loved them. I did cheat tho, I had store bought cookie dough in the fridge, so they too 1/2 hour to make!

I've made variations of them before but cheated by using Nutella spread. It's all good. biggrin

Suasoria · Chanel

For the non-chocolate, what about mini cheesecakes?

greendiamond · Marc Jacobs

I love the mini cheesecake idea. I use Nilla wafers for the crust.

Also, how about fruit skewers? They might be a nice, light alternative after a heavy night of eating. I like to put mine on those plastic, glittery multi-colored swizzle sticks you find at the grocery store. They are smaller than the average skewer, but you can fit 4 or so pieces of fruit. A yogurt dipping sauce would be nice with it.

XtinaStyles · Marc Jacobs

greendiamond wrote:
Also, how about fruit skewers? They might be a nice, light alternative after a heavy night of eating. I like to put mine on those plastic, glittery multi-colored swizzle sticks you find at the grocery store. They are smaller than the average skewer, but you can fit 4 or so pieces of fruit. A yogurt dipping sauce would be nice with it.

Ditto this - to be fancy you could do a trio of sauces - yogurt, berries or honey, and chocolate

Yana · Dooney & Bourke

Hi!
I"m no baker myself, but i did this EASY QUICK chocolate mousse:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/The-Easiest-Chocolate-Mousse-Ever-241657
really really FAST, just a few ingredinets. The only thing is that it's impressive when you pour it in individual containers/cups to refrigirate, so the serving is individual & VERY impressive. The only thing for it: you must know the number of guests, if the party is too big ( over 10-14 people) - then it's probably irrelevant. But do try it another time! The guests will very impressed! ( I served with chopped nuts on top - my twist on it, I love the crunch)

Starstuff · Kenneth Cole

greendiamond wrote:

Also, how about fruit skewers? They might be a nice, light alternative after a heavy night of eating. I like to put mine on those plastic, glittery multi-colored swizzle sticks you find at the grocery store.

This is a great idea. When my husband and I have parties, we always do this and ppl love having something non-diary, non-meat to eat. We like to do chunks of cantelope, grapes, blackberries, strawberries etc.

Boots · Gucci

Starstuff wrote:

greendiamond wrote:

Also, how about fruit skewers? They might be a nice, light alternative after a heavy night of eating. I like to put mine on those plastic, glittery multi-colored swizzle sticks you find at the grocery store.
This is a great idea. When my husband and I have parties, we always do this and ppl love having something non-diary, non-meat to eat. We like to do chunks of cantelope, grapes, blackberries, strawberries etc.

Good suggestion. I usually only think to do it during the summer. But I'd love to be able to go to a party that have something sweet and light for me to munch on.

alb · Marc Jacobs

hey girls:

just wanted to give an update. our party's tonight and we are serving the ganache cookies (which we made last night and they are amazing!), coconut macaroons, and choc. brownies with white choc chunks, profiteroles, and a mystery dessert a friend is bringing. kind of heavy on the chocolate but it will have to do.

i loved the ideas of the petit fours, cupcakes, and fruit kabobs but we ran out of time and needed to make the desserts a few days early. would have loved to have the fruit though! thanks to all for the suggestions, i'm saving them for the next party.

and again those ganache cookies i think are the best choc chip cookies i've ever had. hope the guests like them as well! thanks, boots!

wetbandit42 · Marc Jacobs

alb wrote:

and again those ganache cookies i think are the best choc chip cookies i've ever had. hope the guests like them as well! thanks, boots!

Alb, did your cookies turn out very thin and crispy around the edges? Mine were so thin - I don't know if it's because I didn't refrigerate them until firm? They taste great, but they don't look very appetizing. I skipped the ganache (I don't need the extra calories!) but they are delicious.

Boots · Gucci

Yay! Glad I could help. Hope the party was a success!

Wetbandit- I usually pop mine in the freezer for a few minutes to firm them up. It helps the cookies hold their shape (at least I think it does.) And I while I am obsessively hard on myself when I make something as it doesn't look just like the photo, I usually console myself if they taste delicious.