Macaron Recipe – French Meringue Method

Method

Macarons

• 1)

  Place the 65g of Almond Flour and 75g of Powdered Sugar into a food processor and process for about 30-60 seconds to remove any lumps. Pour the mixture through sieve and discard any lumps left behind.

• 2)

  Place the 50g of room temp Egg Whites and ⅛ Teaspoon Cream of Tartar into your mixing bowl. Using the whisk attachment, beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes (Speed 6 on a KitchenAid Mixer). Add 50g of Granulated Sugar 1 teaspoon at a time and turn to med-high speed for 2-4 Minutes (Speed 8 on a KitchenAid Mixer), just until stiff peaks start forming. Add your food coloring (about 2-3 drops of gel coloring) and mix on low for a few seconds so the color is distributed into the merengue.

• 3)

  Pour half the almond flour/powdered sugar mixture into the mixing bowl and fold around 20 times. Add the rest of the almond flour mixture and fold 20-30 more times. Start testing the batter at 20 folds, it should move like molten lava and if you scoop up some of the batter and drop it back down, it should fall like ribbons start to blend back into rest of the batter within 10 seconds. Continue folding more if it’s still too thick.

• 4)

  Place the batter into a pastry bag that’s fitted with a round piping tip (Wilton #12 Tip 5/16 in). Place a silpat,parchment paper or teflon sheet onto your your baking sheet, if using parchment paper, place a small amount of batter at the four corners of the pan so it can hold the parchment paper flat. Pipe the macrons around 1½ inch in size, spacing them about 1 inch apart. You should get about 24 shells, if you pipe them slightly smaller, you’ll get up to 36 shells.

• 5)

  Gently lift up your baking sheet and tap it onto the table a few times to pop any air bubbles. Let the macarons sit out a room temperature for about 30-60 minutes, until the tops are dry to the touch.

• 6)

  Preheat your oven to 300°F. Bake on the middle rack for 17-20 minutes. Let them cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes then move to a wire rack to cool completely. Pipe a dab of filling into the middle of a macaron shell and top it with a another shell. Place them into an airtight container and refrigerate them overnight or up to 4 days. Let them sit out at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Vanilla Buttercream Filling

• 1)

  Place ¼ Cup (half stick) of Unsalted Room temperature butter into your mixing bowl, mix on med-high with the whisk attachment for 1-2 minutes. The butter should look light and fluffy.

• 2)

  Add ½ Cup of Powdered Sugar, a Pinch of Salt and 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla. Whip on med-high speed for a few minutes until the frosting is light & fluffy.

  *This frosting recipe makes more than you will need to fill one batch of macarons, but it’s hard to mix a smaller amount of butter in a stand mixer. You could split it in half after mixing & make two flavors or you can refrigerate any leftover for up to a week and bring it back to room temp before using it.

  *More flavor options, add these when you add the powdered sugar:

  Expresso Filling: Add ¼-½ Teaspoon of King Arthur Espresso Powder, taste and add more expresso powder for a stronger coffee flavor

  Nutella Filling: Add ¼ Cup Nutella Hazelnut Spread

  Matcha Filling: Add 1½ Teaspoons of Matcha Powder