TWD BWJ and BCM Rewind

For rewind week I'm posting about four recipes that I made this fall and never wrote up.  I think this means I'm again (at least temporarily) caught up with the group.  I'll discuss them in the order in which I made them.

My grocery store only sells almond paste in a tube, so the hardest part of making the Amaretti (BWJ) was mail ordering almond paste in a can.  After that these came together very easily.  I was thrilled.  My favorite Italian bakery at the beach we love sells these, and I always look forward to them, but I'm always shocked by their price tag.  It's so great to know I can make these at home, much less expensively, anytime that I want.  Paul wished these were a little less sweet.  I'm thinking next time I might try making my own almond paste so that I can have more control of the sweetness level.

I love making rough puff pastry (so quick!  so easy!  so delicious!), but the Sunny-Side Up Apricot Pastries (BWJ) were my first attempt at making real puff pastry at home.  It was fun, but not entirely successful.  I think I rolled over the edges way too much.  It tasted good, but really didn't puff properly.  I'm going to try to watch the video of this episode--and would welcome any other tips--before I attempt this again.  By the time I made these it was no longer apricot season, so I used some home-canned peaches.  This was a fun breakfast, even though it didn't puff properly.

With the leftover dough I made Puff Pastry Pizzettes (BWJ).  I did half with goat cheese and the other half with cheddar.  The cheddar half was supposed to be for Charlotte but of course she refused to touch them.  Oh well, more for us!  We had these for dinner with a couple of salads, but they would be a fun party appetizer as well.

Cooking and baking with these groups has completely changed my opinion about meringue.  I always thought I didn't like it, but now I know I just don't like bad meringue.  When it's fresh and home-made it's delicious.  I'm hoping this Cranberry Crackle Tart (BCM) will become an annual tradition in my house.  I loved the way the tartness of the cranberries played off the sweetness of the meringue.  Another winner.