Lemon Ginger floating Macarons – MacAttack IV

That time once again for all Mac-obsessed bakers to strap in and get with the piping.  Our challenge this month was to base a macaron on an April Holiday.  My son turns two on the 5th, but you have no idea how hard it is to make Thomas the train macarons.  In Boston we celebrate Patriot’s day, so thought of a red/white/blue cookie, but it seemed too obvious.  Rather, I went with an April Fools day approach.

Tonka Bean Madeleines

Let me start by saying, I don’t expect this post to land me in jail, but I’m not 100% on that.  In the endless search for new things to experiment with, ingredients, techniques, or kitchen toys, it’s a rare and beautiful thing to find one that’s illegal.  Unlike most countries in Europe, The US does not allow the import of Tonka Beans (at least those to be used in food preparation).  The general concern is that these seeds contain the chemical coumarin, which can act as a blood thinning agent.  Taken in large doses, it can be fatal.  Oddly enough, you would think it’d be important to define “large doses”, but I haven’t come across that yet.