White Chocolate Lemon Macaroons Food

LEMON MACAROONS

Steps:

• These cookies are light and fun to make. They can be a great fall or winter addition to some chocolate treats.
• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. In a medium bowl, sift together the powdered sugar and almond flour.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the 5 egg whites for 1 minute to combine. Add the cream of tartar and continue beating the whites on high speed until soft peaks form, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the scraped vanilla bean seeds and continue beating until it is fully incorporated and the whites are glossy, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a rubber spatula to gently fold in the lemon zest and the powdered sugar mixture.
• Coat 1 or 2 large baking sheets with a layer of parchment paper. Spray the paper with a thin layer of nonstick spray. Put heaping teaspoonfuls of the batter about 2-inches apart on the tray(s). Take care to leave the space between each mound because this batter spreads as it bakes.
• Put the tray in the center of the oven and bake for 8 minutes, then raise the temperature to 375 degrees F and bake until the cookies are golden brown around the edges and form a nice shell-like exterior, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool for a few minutes before gingerly removing them from the tray with an offset spatula. Take care! They can stick to the paper.

WHITE CHOCOLATE-LEMON MACAROONS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F.
• Combine coconut, white chocolate, sugar, flour and salt in large bowl. Add egg whites, lemon zest and almond extract; mix well.
• Drop by tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto lightly greased and floured baking sheets.
• Bake 20 min. or until edges of macaroons are golden brown. Immediately remove from baking sheets to wire racks. Cool completely. Drizzle with melted chocolate.

MACARONS

Steps:

• Place the icing sugar and ground almonds in the bowl of a food processor and pulse about 15 times until fully combined. Sieve this mixture into a large bowl, discarding any particles that stay in the sieve. Add the first batch of egg whites to the almond mixture, mix to form a thick paste and set aside.
• Tip the second batch of egg whites into a spotlessly clean, heatproof bowl and have an electric whisk at the ready. Place 50ml water and the granulated sugar into a small saucepan on medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook until the syrup registers 110C, using a sugar thermometer, at which time start to beat the egg whites on high speed. Once the syrup is at 118C pour it slowly down the side of the mixer bowl, avoiding the moving whisk. Continue to whisk on high until the mixture has cooled slightly and you have a shiny peaked meringue mixture - the bowl should no longer be hot to the touch, but still warm. Add the colouring and whisk to combine.
• Tip the meringue onto the almond mixture and gently fold together. It is important not to over-mix the batter - it should fall in a thick ribbon from the spatula. The ribbon should also fade back into the batter within about 30 secs - if it doesn't, fold a few more times.
• Heat oven to 170C/150C fan/gas 3-4. Line three baking sheets with baking parchment. Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle. Hold the bag vertically to the tray, with the nozzle about 1cm from it. Pipe rounds about 2.5cm in diameter onto the prepared baking sheets. Leave to rest for 30 mins, or until the macarons have developed a skin.
• Bake the macarons for 14 mins (this needs to be precise, so you could test a macaron first). Immediately slide the parchment onto the work surface and cool for a few minutes before gently peeling the macarons off the paper.
• To make the filling, place the cream in a small saucepan and the chocolate in a medium bowl. Bring the cream just to the boil and pour over the chocolate. Leave to stand for a few mins, then stir to combine. Add the butter and stir until smooth, then leave to set until thickened. Place the chocolate mix into a clean piping bag with a smaller nozzle and pipe around the edge of half the macarons. Fill the centre with jam and sandwich with another macaron shell.
• Once finished, the macarons will improve with an overnight rest in the fridge.

LEMONY COCONUT MACAROONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. In a bowl, beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt until stiff peaks form. In a large bowl, beat milk and lemon juice on high speed until thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in lemon zest, baking powder and coconut. Fold in egg whites., Drop mixture by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on pans 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool. Freeze option: Freeze cookies, layered between waxed paper, in freezer containers. To use, thaw before serving.