Birthday Macarons

Today the blog is one year old and as a (somewhat) gift to myself, I made macarons. This was a great gift because I love these amazing little French cookies but this gift was also a terror. After a year of cooking with beer, I’ve gained quite a bit of confidence in the kitchen although at times, it may be better labeled as hubris. For example, I told myself that I would be able to execute making macarons successfully on my first try. Ohhh no no no. I should’ve known these tiny devils were going to give me a hard time and totally mess up my kitchen. Nevertheless, I refused to give up and finally made perfect macarons on the third attempt (let’s not talk about what happened on the fourth). The end result was a chocolate filled dream.

Clearly there is a moral here and the moral is don’t give up. I want to say thank you to all my followers for not giving up on me during this year with Drink and Spoon. Like the first rounds of macarons, my first blog posts were messy and weird. The pictures were not good and half the time the recipes didn’t even include beer. Now, I can’t even belief some of the stuff I have been able to create. While there are still quite a few screw ups in the kitchen, Drink and Spoon has become something really great. Cheers to that.

PorchDrinking.com | Religious Experience Cookies

 

Merry Christmas, y’all! Since the most celebrated religious holiday of the year is currently happening, I’ve decided to commemorate the occasion with a big batch of sweets. I don’t care if you’re spiritual or not, you’ll definitely be praying for more after you eat these Religious Experience Cookies. For this recipe, we’ve invited The Reverend by Avery Brewing to help us find salvation. With its caramel tasting malts and strong stone fruit flavors, it is the perfect way to marry two cookies into one giant sandwich. Happy holidays and enjoy your cookie feast!

For the recipe, visit the link below!

http://www.porchdrinking.com/cooking-beer-religious-experience-cookies/

Walnut Butter Cookies topped with Xocoveza Chocolate

As soon as the temperature outside starts getting cooler, my oven starts to warm up! Fall marks the beginning of cookie season and what better way to kick it off than with my new favorite beer by Stone Brewing Company, Xocoveza. This brew is a chocolate, cinnamon, nutmeg, chile pepper and coffee-infused milk stout. If this is hard to wrap your head around, just think about drinking a glass of chocolate gold. It really is that amazing. I’ve had other chocoloate-chile beers but none that compare to Xocoveza. I think the trick is that there isn’t an overpowering spiciness but rather just the wonderful flavors of the chiles minus the kick. Go find yourself a bottle to see what I’m talking about. If you can spare a little bit to cook with, try out these Walnut Butter Cookies that are topped with a Xocoveza Chocolate sauce. Please, don’t limit yourself to just topping cookies with this chocolate goodness – it would be great on ice cream, muffins, cupcakes, etc. You can thank me later.

Galentine’s Day – Chocolate Dipped Coconut Almond Macaroons and Espresso Oak Aged Yeti by Great Divide

“What is Galentine’s Day? Oh, its only the best day of the year!”- Leslie Knope, Park and Recreation

Clearly I have a Parks and Rec addiction.  But I love everything about it and I can’t stop. So, in honor of my favorite show and my favorite holiday, I made a treat to celebrate Galentine’s day, where its just “ladies celebratin’ ladies!” These cookies are actually amazing. I brought them to a meeting and everyone was quite pleaed (I even let boys eat them too). To go with the breakfast theme of Galentine’s, they are paired with the Espresso Oak Aged Yeti by Great Divide. The combination of the two tastes somewhat like a Samoa Girl Scout Cookie. If you’re a good friend, you’ll make this recipe for all your gal pals (even if you’re a dude).