macarons

Heart Shaped Macarons (Italian Meringue Method)

February 3, 2017

Did you know there is more than one method for making macarons!? Up until very recently, I had no idea! Apparently there are several methods. The one that I have posted about before, the French method, is the traditional method. But there is also an Italian meringue method and a small batch method (more on this later).

Even though I have had more success with the Laduree macaron recipe, they can still be hit or miss. Which is why I have been eager to try the Italian method for my Valentine’s Day-themed heart shaped macarons!

The ingredients for the Italian method are largely the same as the French: almond flour, confectioner’s sugar, egg whites, and granulated sugar. This method requires making a sugar syrup with the granulated sugar and a bit of water.

First, I sifted together the almond meal and the confectioners sugar.

Then, instead of whisking all of the egg whites into a meringue, I mixed half of the egg whites into the almond/sugar mixture to create an almond paste.

Which also seemed like a good time to add in some food coloring.

The next big difference to this recipe is meringue. With the French method, you just whip up the meringue with a bit of granulated sugar. The problem is that this meringue is very fragile and if you over or under mix the batter, you can completely ruin the cookie.

For the Italian method, you an Italian meringue by drizzling a hot sugar syrup into egg whites that were already been whisked into soft peeks.

Once my meringue was back to room temperature, I mixed it into the almond paste. I was very skeptical that my macarons would turn out okay considering how much I had to mix the batter. It will feel like you killing the meringue, but since it’s an Italian meringue, it was much sturdier and held up to the mixing.

I knew the batter was completely mixed when I had no more lumps of the almond paste and the batter just fell off the back of my spatula in a steady ribbon.

And since these macarons are for Valentine’s Day, of course I had to make them into hearts! I outlined a heart shape onto the back of the parchment paper, then used that as a guide to pipe my macarons. I basically pipped a ‘V’ shape, putting more pressure on the piping at the top of the ‘V’, and less at the point. I also used a toothpick to help fill in the shape and make the point even pointier.

I also wanted to add a little something extra to these macarons, so I spattered them with some edible gold paint. It’s one of my favorite decorating techniques because all I do is dip the brush in the paint and shake it over the cookies. No skill required!

When it comes to filling, macarons can be filled with really anything. I love filling them with Nutella or chocolate ganache. But since this if Valentine’s Day, I decided to go with a raspberry cheesecake filling! Which is essentially my cream cheese frosting and a dollop of raspberry preserves.

I will say, I am a big fan of this method. It worked out wonderfully and every macaron came out perfectly! That may seem like I have low expectations, and that’s because I do.

If you have ever tried making macarons at home, you know that sometimes they work, sometimes, they don’t. And sometimes the first macarons piped out turn out fine, while the ones at the end do not. So yes, I value consistency when it comes to my macaron recipes!

My only gripe is that it takes significantly more time and is a bit more cumbersome than the already cumbersome French method. If you plan on making lots of macarons, this is the method for you!

And at the very least, you will have some very delicious macaons to reward you for all your extra effort!

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Pumpkin Spice Macarons

October 5, 2015

I’m going to be honest…I don’t LOVE pumpkin flavored foods. Pumpkin spice lattes are not my thing and I avoid pumpkin pie like the plague. But everyone else seems to love pumpkin so much, and it is the ultimate Fall flavor, so every Fall I try some new pumpkin recipes thinking that maybe THIS will be the year I finally get what all the hype is about.

Well these macarons are helping me get there. The macaron itself is just vanilla flavored, but the filling is this subtle cream cheese based filling with a bit of pumpkin puree and a generous about of pumpkin pie spice. The resulting macaron has just a hint of the pumpkin flavor that is complimented by the cream cheese and spice flavors and the vanilla cookies.

As I have mentioned before in other macaron posts (chocolate hazelnut, cake batter), macrons are tricky! Which is why I don’t try to do too much with the cookie part and save the all flavor for the filling. But if you want even more pumpkin spice flavor, feel free to mix in some pumpkin pie spice to the batter before you pipe them.

If you have never made macarons, do not be intimidated! There are lots of youtube videos and instructional blog posts that will help you master the art!

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Chocolate Hazelnut French Macarons

August 5, 2014

Its probably fair to say that chocolate and hazelnut is one of my favorite flavor combinations, which should be obvious if you read last weeks post. I am racking my brain to try and think of anything else that comes close…maybe strawberry and vanilla, chocolate and peanut butter, or caramel and sea salt. Coincidentally, all would make excellent macaron flavors.

I have shared a macaron recipe before, but this time I am really going to go into the steps of making macarons. I have done a lot of experimenting and found some techniques that have worked well for me and ensure that my macarons turn out perfect!

Every basic macaron recipe starts with the same 5 ingredients: almond flour, powdered sugar, granulated sugar, egg whites, and cream of tartar. I prefer to use Bob’s Red Mill almond meal because its a pretty finely ground and the skins have been removed. The Trader Joes stuff will work, but I would recommend processing it in a food processor before you sift it or else you will be throwing away good pieces of almond.

I also highly recommend sifting the almond meal BEFORE you measure it. Even if you use Bob’s Red Mill almond meal AND you process it, inevitably you will still have large almond pieces left over. Once I have 3/4 cup of sifted almond meal, I whisk it into my powdered sugar and make sure there are no clumps.

The next major step is to whip up the eggs until they form a meringue. To make the meringue, I start with room temperature egg whites. I separate the eggs about 2 hours before I want to make the macarons, but this can be done overnight, too. I start whisking the eggs on high until the look a little foamy, then I add a pinch of cream of tartar. Eventually, the eggs will start to look opaque, which is when I slowly add the granulated sugar. Once all the sugar is in, I basically set the whisk on high and forget it until the eggs are shiny and white and resemble shaving cream.

Because I wanted to flavor the macarons, I added hazelnut extract and food coloring to the meringue. If you forget, you can add it in when you mix in the almond meal, but I always worry that I might over mix the batter.

I fold the almond meal into the meringue pretty gently. I just keep going until I no longer see dry almond meal and sugar. A lot of people liken the consistency of properly mixed macaron batter to molten lava.

To me, that is kind of arbitrary since I have never seen molten lava. So I like to stir it until it slowly runs off my spatula in one stream of batter. If it is clumpy and and just breaks off in “pieces”, it needs a few more stirs.

The mat you see in the picture above is the best macaron related purchase I have made. I love it! It helps me pipe out the macarons consistently and evenly.

To pipe the macarons, I spoon the batter in either a piping bag or a plastic bag and snip off about 1/2″ from the end. I like the opening to be rather wide so that I can just pipe out the batter in the center of the circle and keep the piping bag in the center almost like I am piping out a Hershey Kiss (rather than piping around the perimeter of the circle). The batter is so runny, that it will settle out to form a flat circle like you see above. To encourage that, I tap the bottom of the baking sheet on the counter which gets rid of any bumps or air bubbles.

One thing about macarons that is very different from other cookies is that you must keep them out to dry out for at least 15 minutes until you can press your finger on the top of the macaron and it just barely tacky. I like to start preheating the oven at this point, so the macarons and oven are ready at around the same time.

I bake the macarons (one sheet at a time) at 300 degrees for 16 minutes. I set the timer for 8 minutes, rotate the baking sheet, then bake another 8 minutes. I find that the lower temperature and longer baking time helps them dry out and puff up, especially if you live in a humid area.

Once they cool, they should easily peel off of the mat. If they don’t, they are undercooked. But hopefully, you have a flat bottom on the cookie like the ones above. Then you can fill the cookies with Nutella or chocolate ganache. Guess which one I chose? (hint: Nutella).

I only spoon Nutella onto half the cookies. I take a plain matching cookie and press the Nutella down so it spreads across the surface and starts to peak out the sides.

Then I dig in! I am actually pretty good about not gorging myself on macarons. Partly because they are fairly rich for being so small and because I normally make them for other people. There is no sense in spending all that time and money (almond meal is expensive!) to just eat them yourself. Plus, I find that if you bring these to a party, people will be really impressed with your baking skills!

What is your favorite macaron flavor? What flavor should I make next?

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