Both a nostalgic taste from childhood and a an ideal balance of the human tongue’s most beloved flavors of salty and sweet, peanut butter and jelly is just plain appetizing. Among the simplest combinations of ingredients out there, PB&J sandwiches boast a simple, nutritious snack at any age.  I say at any age because even a quarter-way through my life, this rich, salty and sucrose-filled mixture is still a favorite. So I’m assuming at this rate, as an eighty-year old I will still receive the occasional tug of my tongue asking for peanut butter and jelly.   Even without the seemingly necessary component of bread and liquidified versions of peanuts and raspberries (or grapes or strawberries), I find that I can fulfill my sporadic yet all too often craving for PB&J’s with a perfectly proportioned mixture of unsalted roasted peanuts and dried sweetened cranberries.  I take this mixture in a bag with me almost everywhere- seriously, if not for a 1-quart filled-to-the-brim bag of these munchies, I would have been a seriously starved and headache-ridden young lass after the eve of this past new years.  Yes, this combo even cures hangovers.

Whichever way you creatively combine these flavors, here’s a (hopefully) new one for you to try: PB&JM’s.  M= Macaroons or Macarons, depending on what side of the planet you’re from.  But to be eloquently française I will refer to these blissful bites as Macarons, since of course France is their lieu d’origine. Being quiverously afraid of French pastry is not an all so uncommon fear among the seasoned cook, but macarons for me really took the cake.  What I came to understand, however, is that they really shouldn’t be all that intimidating.  If you can make a killer meringue then you got this one in the bag.  I say this flippantly though, over-looking the fact that I had to throw away the first batch.  But with some tips and this recipe you most definitely must discover this elegant, petite homemade indulgence.  But if you are like me and don’t succeed at first, just remember that it’s probably just the French’s way of laughing at uz stooped Americaan cookz.

As a spin on the afore-mentioned obsession, I made both a peanut-flavored macaron with jelly filling, and a jelly-flavored macaron with peanut butter filling.  Macarons are actually simple and versatile in this way because you can chose virtually any filling you want, and the meringue component is simply flavored by whatever nut, flavoring, or in my case jelly you wish.

A rendition of a Martha Stewart Recipe:

Makes about 35 macaron halves or 17 whole sandwiches and 1 chance to screw up

For the PB Macarons with J Filling

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

¾ cup peanut flour*

2 egg whites @ room temp

Pinch of cream of tartar

¼ cup superfine sugar

½ cup raspberry jam for filling

2-3 drops of brown gel-paste food coloring

For the J Macarons with PB Filling

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

¾ cup almond flour*

2 egg whites @ room temp

Pinch of cream of tartar

¼ cup superfine sugar

1 tbspn freshly pureed raspberries

½ cup smooth peanut butter for filling

2-3 drops of pink gel-paste food coloring

1. *To make the peanut or almond flour: in a food processor, grind roasted, unsalted peanuts or blanched white almonds until they reach the consistency of a fine powder.  Add the confectioners’ sugar to the nut flour and blend.  Sift this mixture in a medium-sized bowl two times.
2. Preheat the oven to 375˚ and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl whisk the egg whites with a hand mixer on medium speed until they are light in color and foamy.  Add the cream of tartar and blend on medium-high until soft peaks form.  Turn the mixer to high and slowly add the superfine sugar.  Continue beating on high until stiff peaks form.  Add food coloring (and raspberry puree for the Jelly-flavored macrons.) mix to combine.  Add the flour mixture to the eggs and carefully fold until smooth.
4. Transfer the meringue mixture into either a pastry bag with a ½ inch round tip or a large zip-top bag with a ½ inch cut from the corner.  Pipe dollar coin-sized rounds onto the parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing them 1 inch apart.  To avoid a peak and to maintain an even round, pipe the mixture from one side to the other rather than from down to up.  Once it is filled, tap the baking sheet on your counter several times to release trapped air bubbles.  Let stand for 15 minutes.
5. Reduce the temperature to 325˚ immediately before placing the baking sheet into the oven.  Bake one sheet at a time for 10 minutes, rotating once.  In between each batch, make sure that the oven temperature has completely risen to 375˚, but again reduce to 325˚ when placing a new batch into the oven.
6. Let each batch cool for 3-5 minutes before removing from the baking sheet.  Use a knife to spread either the jam or peanut butter in between two round macaron halves.  Smoosh, chew, and enjoy!