Surprise Your Guests with Edible Wedding Favors

Macaroons by Pastry Chef Robert Gonzalez of Bistro du Midi/Courtesy photo

We’re sure your guests love mini-frames and luggage tags with your honeymoon destination, but when it comes to wedding favors, it might be a nice change of pace to let them eat cake, literally. These DIY recipes from local pastry chefs create edible wedding favors that you can pop into decorative bags as nice take-homes for your guests.

Madeleines, Bar Boulud’s Pastry Chef Robert Differ

Makes 24

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1- 1/2 tsp  baking powder
1 cup  sugar
2- 1/2 tsp  vanilla sugar
4  eggs
1/2 cup + 1 T  unsalted butter, melted
3- 1/2 T  whole milk

The How To

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. In a medium bowl, combine sugar, vanilla sugar, and eggs. In a small mixing bowl, combine the butter and milk. Make a well in the flour mixture, and pour in the egg mixture. Whisk until just combined. Whisk in the milk mixture.

Cover with plastic touching the batter and refrigerate for at least an 1 hour, or overnight.

Preheat oven to 375F. Butter two Madeleine pans, then divide the batter (can be piped with a piping bag) into both pans. Bake for about 7 minutes, until the cakes spring back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and immediately turn the cakes out of the pans onto a wire rack to cool.

Note: These can be dusted with powdered sugar or dipped with the edge into melted white or dark chocolate and sprinkled lightly with nuts.

Fortune cookies, Bel Ari and Les Zygomates’ Pastry Chef Bailey Reynolds  

Makes 45 cookies

Ingredients

2/3 cup of whites
2/3 cup of unsalted, melted butter
2 cups of powdered sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 cup of honey

The How To

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the egg whites and sugar, and beat on medium speed until frothy, about 30 seconds. Add flour and honey, mix until combined. Add melted butter and mix until incorporated.

Drop a heaping teaspoon of batter onto a baking mat fitted in a baking pan, or use a nonstick baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining batter, spacing dollops at least 5 inches apart. Using the back of a tablespoon, spread each one into a 4-inch circle. Place baking pan in oven, and bake the favors until the edges darken slightly, about 5 minutes.

Transfer the baking pan to a heat-resistant surface. Working quickly, slide an offset spatula under a cookie, and flip it over. Roll the cookie into a loose tube, and insert a paper fortune into the middle so that both the edges extend from the cookie. Using your index finger, make an indentation in the center of the tube, then pinch each end together with your other hand. Repeat the rolling-and-folding process with remaining cookies.

Note: The cookie messages could display a number of things, such as fun facts about the couple or simply a thank you for sharing their special day.

Macaroons, Bistro du Midi Pastry Chef Robert Gonzalez

Makes 4 dozen

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups Almond Flour

1 1/3 cups Confectioner’s sugar

4 each egg whites

1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar

1/2 cup Sugar

A few drops of food coloring (optional)

The How To

Sift together almond flour and confectioner’s sugar. Set aside.

Using a standing mixer with a whisk attachment, begin to whip egg whites and cream of tartar to soft peak.

Gradually add sugar to egg whites while whipping until a full peak meringue is achieved.

If you wish, add a few drops of food coloring.

Place meringue into a large bowl. Using a spatula, fold in the almond mixture in three portions. Continue to fold the mixture after all the dry ingredients have been added and the mixture looks smooth and glossy.

Transfer the macaroon base to a pipping bag fitted with an 805 round tip. Pipe macaroons evenly spaced onto parchment paper. Allow to sit out for 30 to 45 min until the macaroon skin is dry and no longer sticks to your finger when touched.

Bake at 275F for 10-12 min until the macaroons are set but not browned.

Scotcheroos Millionaire Truffles, Legal Harborside’s Pastry Chef Kristin Wilson

Makes 50 to 75

Ingredients

1 cup corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter
4 cups Rice Krispies

For dipping chocolate:
6 ounces milk chocolate
6 ounces butterscotch chips

The How To

Heat to dissolve sugar. Add peanut butter, then Rice Krispies. Set aside to cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Scoop with a mini ice cream scoop. Cool in fridge while getting the dipping chocolate ready. Melt together and dip truffles in to coat. Let cool.

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