Best Jam Filled Almond Macarons Recipes

facebook share image   twitter share image   pinterest share image   E-Mail share image

MACARONS



Macarons image

Macaron is the French word for macaroon, but are never the coconut-based cookie. Macarons are one of the most amazing pastries, with hundreds of flavors and fillings. Macarons are made from almond flour and meringue, with even the pros claiming to failure on a regular basis. After going through dozens of recipes and trials, this is the most reliable macaron recipe I could come up with. You could get lighter using the Italian meringue method, but it's less dependable.

Provided by Deegan

Categories     World Cuisine Recipes     European     French

Time 9h

Yield 15

Number Of Ingredients 5

4 extra large egg whites
1 β…” cups confectioners' sugar
1 β…“ cups almond flour
β…› teaspoon salt
ΒΌ cup superfine (castor) sugar

Steps:

  • Place egg whites into a metal mixing bowl and refrigerate overnight. The next day, bring egg whites to room temperature.
  • Preheat oven to 280 degrees F (138 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Whisk confectioners' sugar and almond flour in a bowl. Beat the egg whites with salt in metal bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until foamy, about 1 minute; increase speed to high and gradually beat in superfine sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time, until the egg whites are glossy and hold stiff peaks, 3 to 5 more minutes.
  • Gently fold almond flour mixture into whipped egg whites until thoroughly incorporated; spoon meringue into a pastry big fitted with a 3/8-inch tip.
  • Pipe 1-inch disks of meringue onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches of space between cookies. The batter will spread. Lift the baking sheets a few inches above the work surface and hit them lightly on the work surface several times to remove any air bubbles from the cookies. Let the cookies stand at room temperature until the shiny surfaces become dull and a thin skin forms, about 15 minutes.
  • Place the baking sheets in the preheated oven and bake with the oven door open slightly until the macarons' surfaces are completely dry, about 15 minutes. Let cookies cool completely on a baking sheet before peeling parchment paper from the cookies.
  • Spread half the cookies with any desired filling, top with remaining cookies to make sandwiches, and refrigerate at least 2 hours to overnight to let the cookies soften.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 71.4 calories, Carbohydrate 17.3 g, Protein 1 g, Sodium 34.3 mg, Sugar 17 g

CHOCOLATE FILLED ALMOND MACARONS



Chocolate Filled Almond Macarons image

These crispy chewy cookies are as tasty as they are pretty. They can also be very temperamental! Even professional pastry chefs don't always understand why some macarons may crack across the top, while others bake up picture perfect with the characteristic crack along the bottom of the cookie, called the foot. Luckily, even the less than perfect macaron is still delicious and adorable. Use a few drops of neon liquid food coloring for a pretty pastel macaron (too much liquid food coloring can cause cracking), or use a gel color paste for a more vibrant result.

Provided by Food Network Kitchen

Categories     dessert

Time 1h45m

Yield 30 macarons (15 filled sandwich cookies)

Number Of Ingredients 12

2 ounces finely chopped milk chocolate
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch kosher salt
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup whole blanched almonds, very finely ground
2 to 4 drops liquid neon food coloring, such as McCormick, optional
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch kosher salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract

Steps:

  • For the ganache: Combine the chopped chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pot with 1-inch of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth. Stir in the cream, vanilla and salt, and then remove from the heat. Set aside until cooled and thickened, stirring occasionally, 30 to 45 minutes.
  • For the cookies: Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a small glass or cookie cutter (1 1/4 to 1 1/2-inch wide), trace 15 circles on each piece of parchment paper, leaving about 2 inches between each round. Flip the parchment over; the lines will be visible through the paper but you will not have to pipe directly onto the ink. Fit a pastry bag with a round tip about 1/4-inch wide.
  • Sift the confectioners' sugar and ground almonds into a bowl and discard any larger nut chunks. (If you have more than a tablespoon of bigger chunks, grind those until powdery and then resift.) Combine the egg whites and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or in a large bowl with the whisk attachment of a hand-held electric mixer). Whip on medium-low speed until frothy, and then add the granulated sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high and whip until very soft peaks form. Add the almond extract and a few drops of food coloring if using. Whip until stiff peaks form. Fold about one-third of the sugar-nut mixture into the egg whites until blended, and then fold in the remaining two-thirds. The batter should be a bit fluid but not runny. It should slowly drip off the spatula and sit on top of the batter in the bowl for a bit before eventually oozing back into it. If it seems a bit stiff at this point, fold once or twice more until it relaxes, although be careful not to over fold. This correct texture is the key to the macaron and it is better to have a stiffer batter than a looser one.
  • Transfer the batter to the prepared pastry bag. Holding the bag perpendicular over the baking sheet, squeeze until the batter fills a circle drawn on the paper. Release the pressure on the bag and pull towards you to prevent a pointy tip on the center of the cookie. Repeat with the remaining circles. Gently flatten any points on the cookies with a damp fingertip.
  • Firmly rap the baking sheets against the counter to release any air bubbles and let stand at room temperature until the tops of the cookies no longer feel wet, 10 to 15 minutes. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until the macarons are slightly crisp and the bottoms release from the parchment paper, about 15 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through the baking time. Cool on the sheet 5 minutes, and then peel off the cookies and cool completely on a wire rack.
  • To assemble the cookies, spread a thin layer of the chocolate ganache on the bottoms of half of the cookies, about 1/4 teaspoon per cookie. Top with a second cookie, gently pressing to squeeze the ganache to the rims.
  • TIP: The weight of the batter in the pastry bag will force some of the batter out. To stop this, you can stick a mini marshmallow at the end of your pastry tip to block to the batter from running out the end.
  • TIP: You can use store-bought almond meal in place of the whole almonds. Sift 2/3 cup with the confectioners' sugar and, if necessary, grind the larger chunks and sift until a tablespoon or less of larger chunks remain in the sifter.
  • TIP: You can also spoon the batter onto the parchment lined baking sheets. The cookies may not be as perfectly round but will still taste great.

Related Topics