Parisian Macarons Food

PARISIAN MACARONS

Steps:

• To make the macarons: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar and ground almonds. 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. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the confectioners' sugar mixture until completely incorporated.
• 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. 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.
• Bake, with the door of the oven slightly ajar, until the surface of the macarons is completely dry, about 15 minutes. 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.
• To fill the macarons: Fill a pastry bag with the filling. Turn macarons so their flat bottoms face up. On half of them, pipe about 1 teaspoon filling. Sandwich these with the remaining macarons, flat-side down, pressing slightly to spread the filling to the edges. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
• Variations: To make coffee-flavored macarons: In step 1, add 2 drops brown food coloring to the egg whites after they are whipped. In step 4, blend 1/2 cup macaron filling with 1 1/2 teaspoons espresso powder dissolved in 1/2 teaspoon warm water for the filling. To make cassis-flavored macarons: In step 1, add 2 drops purple food coloring to the egg whites after they are whipped. In step 4, use 1/3 cup good-quality cassis jam for the filling. To make pistachio-flavored macarons: In step 1, add 2 drops green food coloring to the egg whites after they are whipped. In step 4, combine 1/2 cup macaron filling with 1 tablespoon pistachio paste for the filling.

FRENCH MACARONS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F using the convection setting. Line 3 baking sheets with silicone mats. Measure the confectioners' sugar and almond flour by spooning them into measuring cups and leveling with a knife. Transfer to a bowl; whisk to combine.
• Sift the sugar-almond flour mixture, a little at a time, through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing with a rubber spatula to pass through as much as possible. It will take a while, and up to 2 tablespoons of coarse almond flour may be left; just toss it.
• Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt with a mixer on medium speed until frothy. Increase the speed to medium high; gradually add the superfine sugar and beat until stiff and shiny, about 5 more minutes.
• Transfer the beaten egg whites to the bowl with the almond flour mixture. Draw a rubber spatula halfway through the mixture and fold until incorporated, giving the bowl a quarter turn with each fold.
• Add the food coloring and extract (see below). Continue folding and turning, scraping down the bowl, until the batter is smooth and falls off the spatula in a thin flat ribbon, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip. Holding the bag vertically and close to the baking sheet, pipe 1 1/4-inch circles (24 per sheet). Firmly tap the baking sheets twice against the counter to release any air bubbles.
• Let the cookies sit at room temperature until the tops are no longer sticky to the touch, 15 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the humidity. Slip another baking sheet under the first batch (a double baking sheet protects the cookies from the heat).
• Bake the first batch until the cookies are shiny and rise 1/8 inch to form a "foot," about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely. Repeat, using a double sheet for each batch. Peel the cookies off the mats and sandwich with a thin layer of filling (see below).
• Almond-Raspberry:
• Tint the batter with 2 drops neon pink gel food coloring; flavor with almond extract. Fill with seedless raspberry jam (you'll need about 3/4 cup).
• Mint-White Chocolate:
• Tint the batter with 2 drops mint green gel food coloring; flavor with mint extract. For the filling, microwave 3 ounces chopped white chocolate, 2 tablespoons heavy cream and 1 tablespoon butter in 30-second intervals, stirring, until smooth. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon mint extract and 1 drop mint green gel food coloring.
• Blueberry Cheesecake:
• Tint the batter with 3 drops royal blue gel food coloring; flavor with vanilla extract. For the filling, mix 4 ounces softened cream cheese and 3 tablespoons blueberry jam.
• Lavender-Honey:
• Tint the batter with 2 drops violet gel food coloring; flavor with almond or vanilla extract. For the filling, mix 3/4 cup mascarpone cheese, 2 tablespoons honey and 1 teaspoon ground dried lavender.
• Pineapple:
• Tint the batter with 2 drops lemon yellow gel food coloring; flavor with vanilla extract. For the filling, press 3/4 cup pineapple jam through a sieve, discarding any large pieces.

FRENCH MACARONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Beat egg whites in a glass, metal, or ceramic bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until foamy, about 30 seconds. Add white sugar and continue to beat until peaks are stiff enough they stay in place when the bowl is turned upside down, about 5 minutes.
• Sift 1 2/3 cup confectioners' sugar, almond flour, and salt together twice. Fold into the egg whites until batter is creamy and falls slowly off the lifted spatula, about 50 turns with a spatula. Transfer batter to a piping bag fitted with a round tip.
• Pipe batter onto the parchment paper, using a circular motion to make macarons 1 inch in diameter. Tap the baking sheet against the counter about 10 times to release any air bubbles.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 9 minutes. Rotate baking sheet and continue baking until macarons are shiny and rise slightly to form "feet", about 9 minutes more. Peel off the parchment paper and allow to cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Beat butter, 2/3 cup confectioners' sugar, and vanilla extract with an electric mixer until creamy and thick, about 10 minutes. Transfer filling to a piping bag fitted with a round tip.
• Pipe a small amount of filling onto the center of 1 macaron; top with another macaron and press gently to sandwich the filling between the two.

FRENCH MACARONS

Steps:

• Combine almond flour and icing sugar in a food processor. Pulse for 30 seconds until light, airy and fine.
• Sift the icing sugar and almond powder mixture into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
• In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water. Stir until all the sugar is moistened. Try not to get any sugar up the sides of the saucepan as this will burn.
• Fit the saucepan with a candy thermometer and set over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and cook until the thermometer reaches 238°F DO NOT STIR.
• Immediately after turning on the heat under the sugar, add egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a whisk attachment and start to whip on medium speed.
• Once the egg whites are foamy, add the lemon juice and continue to beat until soft, rounded peaks form.
• When the sugar syrup is ready, pour into the whipping egg whites by gently tipping the saucepan into the space between the whisk and the side of the bowl, using the side of the bowl as a guide. You want a slow, steady stream of syrup to pour into the egg whites. You can pour the sugar directly down the inner side of the bowl, using the lip of the bowl as a rest, if it is easier on your wrists.
• Once all the sugar is incorporated into the egg whites, turn the mixer up and whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form and the bowl of the mixer is no longer warm.
• If you wish to add food colouring, add it now to the egg whites. The food colouring must be in powder or gel form, do not use liquids.
• Using a rubber spatula, scrape half of the egg whites out and fold into the almond flour mixture until fully combined.
• Fold in the remaining egg whites into the almond mixture and mix well.
• Now it is time to stir. This step is called "Macaronnée", which is basically slapping the mixture against the side of the bowl using the spatula to thin the mixture. It is ready when a scoop of the mixture falls from the spatula in a continuous ribbon and disappears back into the batter in the bowl in about 15 seconds. *This is part that will usually make or break the cookies.
• Fit a large piping bag with a round tip and spoon the mixture into the bag.
• Use a baking sheet fit with a silicone baking mat (best results) or a piece of parchment paper cut to size.
• Pipe equal rounds of batter about 1.5" apart. Use steady pressure when pushing the batter out of the bag to ensure equal rounds. I also count to three, then I move on the the next and repeat. That's my little trick. Pipe straight up and down so the rounds are perfect. the piped macarons should look like flattened Hershey's kisses.
• Gently tap the bottom of the pastry sheets to smooth the macarons tops. *This will smooth out the "nipples" as I call them. The little points from where the piping bag was pulled up.
• Let the macarons sit for 1 to 2 hours until the tops are dry to the touch and matte. The time will differ based on multiple variables so don't worry if it takes less or more time.
• Preheat oven to 275°F.
• When macarons are dry, bake them in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes. *They should have a smooth, rounded shell-like top and a "foot" which looks like a thin cloud.
• Let the macarons cool completely before removing them from the trays. They should have a smooth, rounded shell-like top and a "foot" which looks like a thin cloud.
• Once the macarons are cool, you can package them and freeze them, or fill them with your desired flavoured buttercream, chocolate or fruit filling.