Babycakes and I spent a good long time deciding what recipes to post for Easter. We couldn’t come up with anything that was really synonymous with the holiday, so we brainstormed for recipes that were sweet and pastel colored. One of the first things we came up with were macarons (the French spell it macaron, Americans spell it macaroon. Since I was a French major, and after all these are Parisian macarons, I’m going to go with the French on this one).
You may have noticed we went a few weeks between posts. This is because a.) We do have a few other posts that are almost ready to go, please be patient with us! And b.) We failed miserably the first time we made macarons. The almonds weren’t ground fine enough, we didn’t whip our eggs enough, the macarons didn’t rise, and of course I was the one who forgot to leave the oven door ajar. Disaster!
Luckily, our second try came out pretty well. I did again accidentally shut the oven door for the last two minutes, so the color did not come out as we hoped, but at least they rose this time!
Good luck and have fun, it’s only dessert!
YOU WILL NEED:
1 1/4 c. plus 1 tsp confectioner's sugar
1 c. (4oz.) finely ground sliced, blanched almonds
6 tbs fresh egg whites from about 3 large eggs (room temperature works best)
pinch of salt
1/4 c. granulated sugar
food coloring (optional)
filling of your choice (we mixed two tsp of raspberry jam with our leftover macaron batter)
PREPARATIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar and ground almonds.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip egg whites with salt on medium speed until foamy. Increase speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar. Continue to whip until stiff glossy peaks form. If you plan to dye your macarons, this is where you would add two drops of food coloring. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the confectioners' sugar mixture until completely incorporated.
4. Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Fit a pastry bag with a 3/8-inch #4 round tip, and fill with batter. Pipe 1-inch disks onto prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies. We spooned our mixture onto the parchment paper because bits of almond that weren't properly ground kept getting stuck in the pastry tip. The batter will spread a little. Let stand at room temperature until dry, and a soft skin forms on the tops of the macarons and the shiny surface turns dull, about 15 minutes.
5. Bake, with the door of the oven slightly ajar, until the surface of the macaroons is completely dry, about 15 minutes. It is very important that the door stays slightly ajar or it will alter the taste and color of the macarons!
6. Remove baking sheet to a wire rack and let the macarons cool completely on the baking sheet. Gently peel off the parchment. Their tops are easily crushed, so take care when removing the macarons from the parchment. Use immediately or store in an airtight container, refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month.
(the greenish color is what happens when you accidentally close the oven door for the last two minutes!)
7. To fill the macarons: Fill a pastry bag with the filling. Turn macaroons so their flat bottoms face up. On half of them, pipe about 1 teaspoon filling. Sandwich these with the remaining macaroons, flat-side down, pressing slightly to spread the filling to the edges. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
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