Macarons (French Macaroon)
Although the macaron is predominantly a French confection, there has been much debate about its origins. Larousse Gastronomique cites the macaron as being created in 791 in a convent near Cormery. Some have traced its French debut back to the arrival of Catherine de' Medici's Italian pastry chefs whom she brought with her in 1533 upon marrying Henry II of France. These are melt-in-your-mouth good.
Yield: 16
Ingredients
- 3 egg whites
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 2/3 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 cup finely ground almonds
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.
- Beat egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until whites are foamy; beat in white sugar and continue beating until egg whites are glossy, fluffy, and hold soft peaks.
- Sift confectioners' sugar and ground almonds in a separate bowl and quickly fold the almond mixture into the egg whites, about 30 strokes.
- Spoon a small amount of batter into a plastic bag with a small corner cut off and pipe a test disk of batter, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, onto prepared baking sheet. If the disk of batter holds a peak instead of flattening immediately, gently fold the batter a few more times and re-test.
- When batter is mixed enough to flatten immediately into an even disk, spoon into a pastry bag fitted with a plain round tip. Pipe the batter onto the baking sheet in rounds, leaving space between the disks. Let the piped cookies stand out at room temperature until they form a hard skin on top, about 1 hour.
- Heat oven to 285 degrees F (140 degrees C).
- Bake cookies until set but not browned, about 10 minutes; let cookies cool completely before filling.
- You can fill these with anything you like - ganache, buttercream or, If you want to do it the super-easy way, just fill with your favorite flavor of frosting. Filling simply consists of spreading your filling on one of the cookies, then topping with a second cookie.
Notes
If you want colored macarons, simply add food coloring GEL to the batter. You can divide the dough and add various colors, if desired.
