HAPPY SWIRLS TONKA MACARONS

Posted in macarons by sallybr

Remember when I shared the video that was going to be used for a bake-along in the Great British Bake Off Fan page? Well, that happened this past weekend. I did not know exactly what to expect, but I can tell you this was one of the most rewarding experiences ever for me! Many, many bakers took the challenge of baking French macarons, most doing it for the first time, and I kept following their pictures and questions as they did it. I know macarons are finicky, I have bakes that turn into epic disasters, but everybody seemed to have fun and made some pretty awesome-looking macs! Of course, seeing so many macarons popping on my screen, made me itchy to bake some. I wanted them to be colorful, fun, with a happy aura, because happy is how I still feel about the bake-along. Thank you to all who participated, thank you Caroline and Christine for making it happen… I am still in awe.

HAPPY SWIRLS TONKA MACARONS
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

For the shells:
200g Icing/powdered sugar (1 ⅔ cups)
115 g Ground Almonds/Almond Meal (1 + scant ¼ cup)
115 g egg whites at room temperature (approx. 4 eggs)
1/8 tsp of cream of tartar (optional)
100 g granulated sugar (½ cup)
¼ tsp vanilla paste or extract
pink, blue, and yellow gel food color

Line 3 heavy baking sheets with parchment/baking paper or Silpat mats. Layer the powdered/icing sugar and ground almonds/almond meal in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture looks like fine meal, about 12 pulses. Pass through a sieve and transfer to a small bowl or to a sheet of parchment/baking paper. Set aside.

Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Make sure that the bowl and the whisk are impeccably clean. Starting on medium speed, whip the whites with the cream of tartar until they look like light foam. The whites should not appear liquid. The foam will be light and should not have any structure.

Slowly rain in the granulated sugar in five additions, trying to aim the stream between the whisk and the side of the bowl. Turn the speed up to high. Continue to whip the meringue until it is soft and shiny. It should look like marshmallow creme (marshmallow fluff). Add the vanilla. Whip the egg whites until the mixture begins to dull and the lines of the whisk are visible on the surface of the meringue. Check the peak. It should be firm. Transfer the whites to a medium bowl.

Fold in the ground almond/almond meal mixture in two increments. Paint the mixture halfway up the side of the bowl, using the flat side of a spatula. When the mixture is starting to get incorporated but still looks a bit rough, divide in three equal amounts in small bowls (eyeballing is fine). Add color to each bowl and proceed to finalize the macaronage with the color mixed in. With such a small portion, they get to the smooth stage quickly, so be careful, the moment you can do a figure 8 as you pour the batter from the spatula, stop folding it.

Put the mixtures in three different small piping bags. Prepare a large piping bag with a large round piping tip (WILTON 1A) and place the three smaller bags inside after cutting them open. Pipe shells, I like to count numbers in my head and use the same count for each shell so they end up similar in size.

I pipe inside the circles to about 1 ¾ inches/4.5cm but you can go to 1 ½ inches (3.8cm) & the macarons will spread & fill the circle while drying.

Slam each sheet hard four to six times on the counter/worktop. Let the unbaked macarons dry until they look dull but not overly dry. Drying time depends on humidity. In a dry climate, the macarons can dry in 15 to 20 minutes; in a humid climate, it can take 35 to 40 minutes.

While the macarons are drying, heat the oven to 300 F (150 C/130C Fan oven/Gas Mark 2). Bake one sheet at a time on the middle rack. Check in 11 minutes. If the tops slide or move (independently of the ‘feet’ when you gently twist the top), then bake for 2 to 3 more minutes. Check one or two. If they move when gently touched, put them back in the oven for 1 to 2 more minutes until they don’t move when touched. Let the macaroons cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan. The macarons should release without sticking.

Assemble the macarons: find two macarons similar in size and add a good amount of filling to the bottom of one of them. Place the other on top and squeeze gently to take the filling all the way to the edge. Store in the fridge for 24 hours for perfect texture.

for the filling: use the tonka bean whipped ganache as described in this post.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I am still debating whether I like the additional decoration of the silver “splash.” Sometimes less is more, right? But I wanted to take them into the “galaxy environment. Basically you mix pearl dust powder with alcohol, and use a brush or a toothbrush to flicker little spots on the shells, after they are cold. Keep in mind that it is going to be messy, so I advise you cover your working surface with some plastic wrap and then space the shells a bit to work on each one independently.

I think that the splashing effect is better with a solid color or maybe with two colors only. Still, it was fun to do it. The tonka bean ganache was hanging around in the fridge since my last adventure with it (remember the bonbons?) so I just used it all up for this little project.

One more thing to keep in mind if you mix three colors. In my tutorial video I tell you to keep the piping bag vertical and just pipe the shells without moving it. Well, if you want to get a more swirled effect with the colors, you should VERY GENTLY make a circular movement with the tip as you pipe. Be gentle, it is a very subtle movement. You can do that for some shells, pipe vertically for others, pretty soon you’ll realize how to get the effect you like.

Macarons are just so much fun! Everybody agrees….

If you did the bake-along and for some reason your macs did not turn out the way you wanted, don’t be discouraged. They are finicky creatures and often small details can make them fail. Just try to do another batch as soon as possible, while you have all the boo-boos fresh in your mind. Send me an email if you need help at sallybr2008 at gmail dot com.

Before I leave you, I would like to share a photo of macarons made by Amanda, who participated of the bake-along. The reason I picked her photo when there were so many wonderful ones made in the group? She failed at her first attempt, they did not turn out good. She went back next day, after going over the video and the recipe again, and made these babies, that would make Pierre Herme’ proud.

They are delicate, perfectly shaped, elegant, with perfectly piped filling. I swear she made me do a Super Extended Version of the Very Happy Dance.

Again, thank you to all who participated, I had no idea it would be so exciting to be the hostess of a bake-along. I might have to come up with another tutorial at some point. Just let me make one thing clear. Gingerbread sculptures are OUT of the question!

ONE YEAR AGO: Chocolate Tartlets with Honey-Caramel Filling

TWO YEAR AGO: Zucchini Soup with Tahini

THREE YEARS AGO: Black Sesame Macarons

FOUR YEARS AGO: Fine Tuning Thomas Keller

FIVE YEARS AGO: Cauliflower Tortillas

SIX YEARS AGO: Majestic Sedona, Take Two

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Secret Ingredient Turkey Meatballs

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Swedish Meatballs and Egg Noodles

NINE YEARS AGO: Italian Easter Pie

TEN YEARS AGO: Black Olive Bialy

13Apr2020

SPRINGTIME MACARONS BAKE-ALONG

Posted in macarons by sallybr

If ten years ago someone would tell me I would be hosting a video tutorial on how to make French macarons, I would roll on the floor laughing. Literally. Somehow, that is actually happening. Mind-blown. Here’s the full story behind it. Back in June last year I joined a Facebook group called “Great British Bake Off Fans“, hosted by Christine and Caroline. The group currently has about 20 thousand members, and every once in a while opens to accept new participants, by invitation only. They often host “bake-alongs.” One baker posts a detailed video of a recipe, and members can bake from Friday through Sunday, posting their results and asking questions if they run into trouble. Much to my surprise (and with the obvious hyperventilation starting right after I said yes), they asked me to host a macaron-baking video. The big party will take place this Friday. My video (which includes unfortunate footage of yours truly with meringue glued to her chin), is available right now on youtube, thanks to the hard work of Caroline, who edited my 10 short videos, added text, music, and a few well-deserved jokes here and there.

Some steps are omitted from the video, for instance the time the shells rest after piping. I cannot imagine me trying to entertain you with short stories for 30 minutes. And for that I am sure you are grateful. I should warn you that the sound could have been a bit louder. It was my first time doing it, and I now believe a microphone of some kind would be appropriate. I had to place the cell phone a bit far away to get good coverage of a larger area and that compromised the sound a bit. But thanks to Caroline adding text to the video, I think you can get by. Just set your volume to the highest and I hope it will work for you.

SPRINGTIME MACARONS
(adapted from Colette Christian’s recipe)

Fold in the ground almond/almond meal mixture in two increments. Paint the mixture halfway up the side of the bowl, using the flat side of a spatula. Scrape the mixture down to the center of the bowl. Repeat two or three times, then check to see if the mixture slides slowly down the side of the bowl. Add drops of gel color and mix them briefly with a toothpick. Put the mixture in a piping bag fitted with your choice of piping tip (round, ¼ or ½ inch in diameter or 6 – 12 mm). If you don’t have a macaron mat, draw circles on baking/parchment paper about 2inches/5cm in diameter & turn the paper over before placing on the baking sheets. Pipe shells, I like to count numbers in my head and use the same count for each shell so they end up similar in size.

I pipe inside the circles to about 1 ¾ inches/4.5cm but you can go to 1 ½ inches (3.8cm) & the macarons will spread & fill the circle while drying.

Assemble the macarons: find two macarons similar in size and add a good amount of filling to the bottom of one of them. Place the other on top and squeeze gently to take the filling all the way to the edge. Store in the fridge for 24 hours for perfect texture.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

A FEW IMPORTANT NOTES BEFORE YOU START

If you want to add solid color instead of the swirls, add GEL FOOD DYE about 1 minute after you finished incorporating all the granulated sugar in the meringue, at the same time that you add the vanilla extract (or other flavoring of your choice). Stop the machine, lift the whisk and add the color right at the bottom of the whisk, this way it goes smoothly into the batter and will not get splashed everywhere.
If you have almond flour that has been laying around for a while, it is a good idea to dry it in a very low oven before using. You can do that the day before. Just add the flour to a baking sheet (over parchment paper) and place in a 250F oven for 20 to 30 minutes. Let it cool completely and use. Humidity is a big enemy of macarons, so if my almond flour has been open for more than a month, I do that just as added precaution.
Hollows. DO NOT worry about them. For the most part they will “fill” once you add the filling and place in the fridge. Particularly in your first batches, don’t worry about perfection. They happen, and they almost always go away through maturation.
Every oven is different. It took me many batches of macarons to figure out the best placement of the rack and the temperature of the oven. Once you are comfortable making the batter, you can play with all the conditions and figure out the perfect environment to bake yours. In my case it is 300F with the rack slightly under the center of the oven. One tray at a time. No convection. Your oven might behave in a different way. You can make several small trays and tweak the baking as you go, writing down your results. Just like in a lab!
Contrary to many other baking goodies, macarons will not be hurt if you open the oven to check on them. In fact, Pierre Hermé, the Macaron King, recommends opening the door of the oven to allow some steam (therefore moisture) to be released. I sometimes open the oven at around 6 minutes to look at the little feet forming. And then again at the 11 or so minute mark to check for doneness.
For different ideas to decorate the macs, I invite you look at a few of my posts. I love doing drizzles with candy melts and adding sprinkles (see this post). If you have an air-brush system and stencils, you can have a ton of fun with it (see this post). You can keep it simple and just add sprinkles to the shells right after piping (see this post). You can dye different colors of batter to the piping bag for a nice effect, although I would do that only after you are more comfortable with making them (see Coffee Caramel macarons in this post). You can cut shapes using candy melts and glue to the shells (see this post). For a very elegant and incredibly simple effect, use a fan brush and pearl dust with vodka or lemon extract (see this post)
Fillings. Over the years I’ve published many posts on macarons using all kinds of fillings. I suggest you go to my INDEX PAGE and look at the Macaron category for ideas. If you want to keep it super simple for your first time, open a jar of your favorite store-bought jam and use it. Absolutely nothing wrong with it.

I will be ready to answer your questions during the bake-along, and I hope you will have fun in your kitchen! See you then….

Caroline, thank you so so much for all the work you put into editing the video, and Christine, you know how much I love the site that you created and turned into a cozy, friendly, wonderful spot in the blogosphere.

ONE YEAR AGO: Macarons for a Little Princess

TWO YEARS AGO: Gilding the Sourdough Loaf

THREE YEARS AGO: Lolita Joins the Bewitching Kitchen

FOUR YEARS AGO: Cashew Cream Sauce

FIVE YEARS AGO: Blood Orange Margaritas

SIX YEARS AGO: Smoked Salmon Appetizer

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Clementine Cake

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Springtime Spinach Risotto

NINE YEARS AGO: The end of green bean cruelty

TEN YEARS AGO: Torta di Limone e Mandorle

20Mar2020

MACARONS FOR ALL SEASONS AND REASONS

Posted in macarons by sallybr

Staying safe in Corona virus time: read the guest blog post by Phillip Klebba here.

Crazy times ahead for all of us. I find it difficult to go on blogging as if life is normal, but on the other hand, this site is one of my ways to feel connected, and blogging keeps me sane. Or so I hope. Instead of sharing a recipe, I will talk briefly about a series of macarons that happened in our kitchen over the past few months, since last December to be more precise. When we had no idea of all that was probably already brewing in our beautiful planet. Macarons always make me smile, the idea is to bring a smile to you too…

All recipes in this collection used the same basic method that you can find here.

I start with perhaps my favorite…

These were decorated with air-brush and stencil. Some were piped as donuts and topped with drizzles of Candy melts and sprinkles. The filling was a simple almond buttercream (butter, powdered sugar and smooth almond butter).

These were made around the holiday season, using a white chocolate ganache with mint, and decorated in two different ways. Some were painted with golden pearl dust and topped with little stars (for detailed technique, look here). Others were decorated with Royal icing, as at the time we were busy making sugar cookies and had a lot of icing laying around.

Very similar filling, except that I used mini-mint chocolate chips to make the ganache. Shells were left plain and decorated with air-brush and stencils. Come to think of it, a blueberry filling would turn these perfect for the 4th of July!

For these shells, I divided the batter in two portions, before proceeding with the macaronage step (when things are still pretty roughly mixed). One portion stayed clear, the other was dyed with gel food color (Chesnut by Progel). Each was placed in a small piping bag, and both were slipped inside a larger bag with a round piping tip (see top right photo in the above picture). The filling, a coffee ganache, was from this post.

Galaxy Macarons were all the rage a few years ago. I made them three times, but to be honest, I have not reached my desired goal yet. The batter is divided in four portions, dyed black, dark blue, light blue and pink. My main mistake is using too much of the darker colors, so they become too dominant. But this batch was my best, and I decided to share. Stay tuned for future adventures in this theme. Filling was a blueberry ganache made along the lines of this recipe.

Very simple batch, dyed Purple using Artisan Accents gel color. As soon as the batter is piped, sprinkles are added on top. Some shells were left naked and decorated later with Candy melts. The filling was another variation of the Galaxy macs, this time using Black Cherry Jam.

Very simple design using once again the air-brush and a stencil. Shells were dyed with a mixture of green and yellow gel dye from Artisan Accents. The filling was American type buttercream (butter and icing sugar) with the addition of Tart Apple flavoring from Amoretti.

Loved these! Shells were dyed orange (Artisan Accents gel color), and the filling was a white chocolate ganache with Passion Fruit flavoring once again from Amoretti. After filling, macarons were dipped in a mixture of “magic shell” (like this version). Before the coating set, Sprinkle Party!

Thrilled about this and urge you to consider flavoring the shells this way. Simply open a bag of Double Chai tea (I used Stash) and add to the dry almond-powdered sugar mixture. Follow your recipe as you normally would. Shells were decorated with air-brush and several different stencils. The filling was a modification of that from my recent batch. I made a white chocolate ganache and added to it the leftover mango-jellie that I had in the fridge. The chai flavor is amazing on the shells, and I can tell you I’ll be playing with all sorts of teas in the future.

This batch follows along the lines of mixing several colors (in this case purple, red and orange), but instead of separating the batter, you simply paint the inside of the empty bag with a stripe of undiluted food dye. Fill with the full amount of batter to be piped, and as it moves along it will drag the colors with it. The pattern will be random, the proportion of colors changing as you go. Two things I do not like about this method: you need to make sure the dye reaches way to the bottom of the bag, close to the opening, and as you add the second and third colors, there is a high chance you will mess up the stripes already there. Still, it is a very popular method to make colorful shells. The filling was a Cranberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream which in fact I had made to use in a cake the day before. Recipe should be on the blog soon.

Last but not least, a similar effect using a different technique which I read about it in a forum for Mac-addicts on Facebook. Instead of painting the bag, just add a few drops of gel dye on top of the batter once it is ready to go. Quickly move it around with a toothpick, fill the bag and start piping. The picture on the right top corner shows how I did it. You can use many more colors in this case, as you are not limited by the small area inside the piping bag. I loved it! Very easy to do, no mess, no fuss. Expect to see more of this technique in the future. These macs were filled with a White Chocolate Coconut Whipped Ganache. I made it using shredded coconut, simmering heavy cream with it, allowing to cool, straining, and proceeding with a regular ganache.

I hope you enjoyed this small collection of macarons, and that it made your social isolation a bit more colorful…

ONE YEAR AGO: Lentils and Radicchio? Yes, please!

TWO YEAR AGO: Tres Leches Cake

THREE YEARS AGO: The Joys of Grating Squash

FOUR YEARS AGO: Auberge-Pecan Walnut Bread

FIVE YEARS AGO: Gluten-free and Vegan Raspberry Bars

SIX YEARS AGO: Lasserre, a French Classic

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Sourdough Bread with Walnuts and Dates

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Braised Brisket with Bourbon-Apricot Glaze

NINE YEARS AGO: The Real Vodka Sauce

TEN YEARS AGO: Pork Tenderloin and Blue Cheese

29Feb2020

THE HOME BAKERS COLLECTIVE: FEBRUARY PROJECT

Posted in Home Bakers Collective, macarons by sallybr

If you don’t know what the Home Bakers Collective is all about, I invite you to read my post about it with a click here. This month’s challenge was conceived by the one and only Carlos, Tent-Baker-Extraordinaire, Newly-Dad of Franklin Chip, a chocolate lab who is the most adorable thing roaming the planet at the present time. Check him out. Back to the challenge. Methinks Carlos made this one for me. Because, seriously, look at his brief: If you were a macaron, which macaron would you be? Can you imagine my sheer joy? Of course, I could not wait to bake this batch, although it was not as easy and straightforward to decide what to do. I had two main paths in my mind, one focusing on color, the other on flavor. It was tricky to come up with something that would join both harmoniously. So I went with flavor. Tropical, of course, but with some spice. Swirls and sprinkles, of course. Because by now everybody knows I am a serial sprinkler.

SALLY’S SPICY MANGO AND COCONUT MACARON
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

for the shells:
200 g powdered sugar
115 g almond meal
115 g egg whites at room temperature
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
100 g superfine sugar
orange gel color from Artisan Accents
2 drops coconut extract

for the mango gelee filling:
2g gelatin (powdered or 1 sheet)
water to bloom gelatin (10 mL if using powdered)
60g sugar
60g water
60g mango puree (I used canned)
2tsp lime juice
1/4 tsp Sarawak pepper, ground
1g agar

for the coconut ganache filling:
4g powdered gelatin (I used Knox)
20g cold water
375g heavy cream
130g white chocolate
1/4 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
to decorate:
Royal icing or Candy melts + sprinkles (optional)

Line 3 heavy baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat mats. Layer the powdered sugar and almond meal in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture looks like fine meal, about 15 seconds. Pass through a sieve and transfer to a small bowl. Set aside.

Place the egg whites and pinch of cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip the whites with the cream of tartar until they look like light foam.

Slowly add in the granulated sugar in three to four additions, trying to aim the stream between the whisk and the side of the bowl. Turn the speed up to medium-high. Continue to whip the meringue until it is soft and shiny. It should look like marshmallow creme. Add the gel color and the coconut extract drops. Staying at medium-high speed, whip until firm. Transfer the whites to a medium bowl.

Fold in the almond meal mixture in three increments. Paint the mixture halfway up the side of the bowl, using the flat side of a spatula. Scrape the mixture down to the center of the bowl. Divide in two portions, color one orange, leave the other plain. Proceed with the macaronage, mixing each mixture to the correct texture (molten lava is the term of choice, I like to form a figure 8 with the batter and also check a small amount placed on parchment, the texture should smooth out in 30 seconds or so). Place both batters inside the same piping bag fitted with an 8mm tip, or any tip you feel comfortable for piping.

Slam each sheet hard four to six times on the counter. Let the unbaked macarons dry until they look dull, about 30 minutes.

While the macarons are drying, heat the oven to 300 F. Bake one sheet at a time on the middle rack. Check in 11 minutes. If the tops slide, then bake for 2 to 3 more minutes. Let the macaroons cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.

Make the gelee filling: Bloom the gelatin by submerging it in water until it softens, about 10 minutes. Combine the 60g water with mango puree, lime, pepper and agar. Bring the mixture to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat, add gelatin. Pour into a baking sheet lined with plastic wrap and place in fridge until set. Cut small circles that will sit in the center of each shell.

Make the coconut ganache. Place the powdered gelatin into a small saucepan along with the cold water, let it sit for 10 minutes. It will turn into a hard paste.

Add the heavy cream into a saucepan along with the shredded coconut. Simmer until it almost boils, turn the heat off, cover the pan and allow it to sit for 15 minutes. Drain the shredded coconut, bring the weight back to 375g with additional heavy cream. Bring to a simmer, then add to the chocolate. Add the gelatin, and mix well to incorporate everything together and melt the chocolate. Use an immersion blender if desired. Place the mixture in the fridge for a few hours. It is best if made the day before and kept refrigerated. Whip before using.

Assemble the macarons: find two macarons similar in size and add a round of mango gelee in the center. Surround with coconut ganache. Close the shell.

Decorate the tops with swirls and sprinkles. Because, why not?

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This was my first time making a double filling for the macarons and there’s definitely a learning curve associated with it. For instance, the agar-layer generates a bit of moisture, so if you are not consuming the macarons within two days, the texture will suffer a bit. I think the issue can be prevented with a very thin layer of melted white chocolate before filling the shells, to form a barrier. But if you intend to consume the macarons in a couple of days, I would not worry about it.

The pepper. I had several options to try, including Szechuan peppers that would probably be pretty cool to use also. In the end, I sat down with Mr. Pierre Herme’ and he advised me to search for Sarawak pepper. Well, ok, it was not exactly him, flesh and bone (borrowing a Brazilian expression), but his book. Minor detail. So I amazoned the pepper, and used the same amount he did in his Mahogany Macarons, recipe found here. My agar layer is however totally different from his filling, just the pepper in common.

I loved the contrast of mango-gelee and the shell, plus the creaminess of the ganache around it. Infusing the ganache with shredded coconut gave it enough flavor, and more natural than coconut extracts, which often will give that odd sun-tanning lotion aura.

Did I hit my self-macaron perfectly? Well, it is not as colorful as I could make it, but I think the swirls and sprinkles compensate for the restraint in the color department. The taste is spot on, to quote a certain judge from a certain baking show. What do you think, does it “look” like yours truly?

Carlos, I loved this challenge and I can hardly wait to see what everyone else baked!

To all my readers, make sure to stop by The Home Bakers Collective, and say hi to my friends, each one waiting for you with a very personal macaron in hand. (It might take a few hours after publication of my post for the collective to get updated, so try later if there’s nothing there yet).

ONE YEAR AGO: Bouillabaise for a Chilly Evening

TWO YEARS AGO: Bergamot-Cherry Macarons

THREE YEARS AGO: Roasted Veggies with Queso Cotija Dressing

FOUR YEARS AGO: Creamy Broccoli and Mushroom Casserole

FIVE YEARS AGO: Maple Walnut Biscotti

SIX YEARS AGO: Barley Risotto with Peas

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Oatmeal Fudge Bars

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Cauliflower Steaks

NINE YEARS AGO: Soft Spot for Chevre

TEN YEARS AGO: Quick sun-dried Tomato Crostini

18Dec2019

MACARONS FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON

Posted in macarons by sallybr

One recipe, two colors, four different ways to decorate, from simple to a little more time-consuming. It is definitely the reason why I adore macarons. You can dress them up for party or keep them simple, and play with filling flavors that match any season. For these Christmas-inspired versions, I filled some with raspberry jam and others with white chocolate-mint ganache.

CHRISTMAS MACARONS
(from the Bewitching Kitchen, adapted from Colette Christian)

for the shells:
200 g powdered sugar
115 g almond meal
115 g egg whites at room temperature
a pinch of cream of tartar
100 g granulated sugar
Red or Green gel color from Artisan Accents
1/4 tsp vanilla paste

for the filling:
Raspberry jam
or
240g white chocolate, chopped
5 Tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 to 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
1/8 cup mini mint chocolate chips (optional)

to decorate:
white candy melts
red food color
gold dust dissolved in lemon extract or vodka
sprinkles of your choice
or
Royal Icing:
40 g egg whites
210 g powdered sugar
lemon juice

Line 2 or 3 heavy baking sheets with Silpat mats. Layer the powdered sugar and almond meal in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture looks like fine meal, about 15 seconds. Pass through a sieve and transfer to a small bowl. Set aside.

Place the egg whites and pinch of cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Make sure that the bowl and the whisk are impeccably clean. Starting on medium speed, whip the whites with the cream of tartar until they look like light foam. The whites should not appear liquid. The foam will be light and should not have any structure.

Slowly rain in the granulated sugar, trying to aim the stream between the whisk and the side of the bowl. Turn the speed up to medium-high. Continue to whip the meringue until it is soft and shiny. It should look like marshmallow creme. Add the gel color and the vanilla. Staying at medium-high speed, whip the egg whites until the mixture begins to dull and the lines of the whisk are visible on the surface of the meringue. Check the peak. It should be firm. Transfer the whites to a medium bowl.

Fold in the almond meal mixture in three increments. Paint the mixture halfway up the side of the bowl, using the flat side of a spatula. Scrape the mixture down to the center of the bowl. Repeat two or three times, then check to see if the mixture slides slowly down the side of the bowl. Put the mixture in a piping bag fitted with one of the tips listed above. Pipe on the prepared baking sheets.

Slam each sheet hard four to six times on the counter. Let the unbaked macarons dry until they look dull, 30 to 40 minutes.

Make the filling: Melt the white chocolate with the mint chips (if using) in a double boiler or microwave, very gently. Add the heavy cream and stir until smooth. Add the peppermint extract. Allow it to cool to almost room temperature and whisk with a hand-held mixer to achieve piping consistency. Do not over-whip or the ganache will go grainy. Use to fill shells.

Decorate with melted Candy melts and sprinkles. For the brush effect, use a fan brush on a mixture of gold dust with lemon extract. To make the Royal Icing mix all ingredients in a Kitchen Aid type mixer for 5 minutes, adjust consistency with lemon juice or powdered sugar.

Store macarons in the fridge for 24 hours before serving.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

These shells were decorated with Royal Icing using either a very fine piping tip (Wilton number 1), or a slightly bigger tip (Wilton number 3). Sanding sugar was sprinkled on some macarons while still wet and allowed to dry. They were filled with White Chocolate Ganache, and tasted amazing!

The filling for this batch was a simple, store-bought raspberry jam, decorated with white candy melts dyed red.

Raspberry Jam filling once again, with a drizzle of white candy melts and sprinkles…

They really make it for a nice, festive presentation that screams Christmas! I made them when I had a special interview at home for our evening news… If you’d like to see it, click here…

But the simplest of all to decorate might be one of my favorites… I love the contrast of gold with green… Red and gold could be wonderful too, I might bake another batch before saying goodbye to 2019.