Macarons
When I get together with my friend Reagan of Reabakes, we always bake something fun and delicious. This time, we decided to give macarons a whirl. Before I go any further, let me tell you that macarons are not for the faint of heart. You will want to do these on a warm, sunny day. They are finicky, and can mess up easily, but are most definitely worth the time and effort.
INGREDIENTS:
Confectioners' sugar (close to 2 cups or 200g)
Almond Flour (close to 1 cup or 100g)
Room temperature egg whites (should be about 120g, around 3 large egg whites- you will need to let these sit overnight before starting the recipe)
1/8 teaspoon salt
Sifted granulated sugar (40g or 3 Tablespoons)
Food Coloring
Filling (we did butter cream frosting and strawberry jam)
Sifter
Kitchen scale (you will measure your flour and sugar to confirm)
Piping bag with a 1/2 inch tip
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees using the convection setting. Line your baking sheets with silicone mats (our baking sheets were perforated).
Begin measuring the confectioners sugar and almond flour (sift almond flour before combining with sugar). Transfer to a bowl and combine with a whisk, set aside.
Sift granulated sugar into a small bowl.
In a completely dry and grease-free bowl, beat the egg whites and salt together on medium speed for 1 minute. Switch to high speed and beat until stiff peaks form (watch to not overbeat). Take a rubber spatula and gently fold in the sifted granulated sugar, a little at a time.
Next you will slowly beat in your food coloring for (a little goes a long way, about half a drop for pastel) whatever color you’d like.
Take another rubber spatula and fold in the confectioners' sugar and almond flour mixture until totally combined. Be careful when combining, this is a delicate process and your mixture should be smooth and glossy.
Sit batter aside for 10-20 minutes. Prepare pastry bag and when ready, fill the piping bag with the macaron batter. You will begin piping small rounds (1 1/4-inch circles) onto your baking sheets. Firmly tap the baking sheets a few times against the counter to release any air bubbles.
Let the rounds sit on the pan for at least 45 minutes before baking. Air will help them set-up and form a dry shell.
Once the oven is preheated, bake the macarons for 10 minutes. You will do them one baking sheet at a time. Halfway through (5 minutes) you will rotate the pan turning the front to the back to ensure both sides are evenly baked. Bake the first batch until the cookies are shiny and rise 1/8 inch to form a "foot," about 20 minutes. Repeat for next pans. Transfer to a rack to cool completely. Peel the cookies off the mats.
With either buttercream or jelly (we did both, you can make whatever filling you’d like) and sandwich two shells together to form your macaron. Enjoy!
