Macarons? oui s'il vous plaît!!

So I'm almost 28 weeks pregnant now. Yipee! And this saturday its time to celebrate my little guy. I'm so excited for my shower and I'm so lucky to have friends like Amber to throw me one. She's the best!

I've decided that I wanted to serve Parisian Macarons at my shower but I knew it would be hard to find them here in Italy. I remember seeing them once at a McCafe down town (ha ha yes McDonalds) for €1 each but thats ridiculous! So.. I hit the Pinterest/YouTube trail to see if I could find someone that would teach me how to make them in my own kitchen. Sure enough.. I got lucky. I stumbled across this girl's blog lovely lady cakes tv as I was on YouTube. Combined with other recipe knowledge from Martha Stewart and other bloggers on Pinterest, I was able to blaze my own macaron trail. I've had ups and I've had downs. But I am here to share it with you so you don't have to pay astronomical prices for a little piece of Parisian heaven. (Mindy-- this one is for you). ** TIP ** read through the entire recipe before attempting.

PARISIAN MACARONS

Ingredients

- 3/4 cup Almond Flour/Meal (I used Red Mill brand)

- 1 cup confectioners sugar

- 2 egg whites

- 4 tablespoons granulated sugar

- your choice of food coloring (optional)

YES.. that is ALL you need. Simple eh? It's the filling that will have you at wits end trying to decide what you want. 

Tools

- Electric Mixer with whisk attatchment

- 1 or 2 medium sized spatulas

- 1 gallon sized zip top storage bag

- piping bag tip, large round (optional)

- 1 large drinking glass

- large mixing bowl

- sifter/mesh strainer

- 2 silicone baking mats (or parchment paper)

- 2 half sheet pans

1. Sift the almond flour with the confectioners sugar into a mixing bowl and set aside. For me, I had a problem sifting the almond flour in my mesh strainer. It seemed that the granules were too big. I ended up not sifting the almond flour, only the confectioners sugar. I didn't notice a problem in the final cookie.

2. Separate your eggs if you havent already. Whites go in the bowl of your mixer, yolks.. do what you want with em. If you are that ambitious, make a lemon curd for the filling. (uhmm yum?) Whisk the eggs on medium til frothy.. this should be about a min or 2 depending on your mixer. Once the eggs are frothy, add in the 4tbsp of sugar. Do this one tbsp at a time, sloooooowly. (picture to the right) Once all sugar has been incorporated into the egg whites, turn up the mixer to high. If you're using a Kitchen-aid Stand Mixer, this is speed 8 or 9. Continue to whip the egg whites til they are opaque, glossy and stand up in stiff peaks. It is at this point that you want to add your food coloring. I have used gel based as well as liquid and both have turned out just fine. (This color chart has helped me immensely with liquid dye). Remember that the batter will lighten as it bakes in the oven so don't be afraid to go a little darker.

-look at that gorgeous peak!-

*hint* WRONG                        RIGHT

3. Now you are ready to make the macaronage.. mix in your almond flour + confectioners sugar mix. I found it easier to put half the mix into the egg whites. Don't worry about deflating the egg whites. It's ok. Once most of the flour mix has been mixed in, add the rest. I counted 50 strokes total. The batter will be deflated compared to how fluffed up the egg whites were when you started. DO NOT FREAK OUT.

4. This tip helps me out EVERYTIME.. even with frosting cakes. Don't go spending money on an expensive piping bag.. you've already got one in your kitchen. I use a gallon size zip top bag, a piping bag tip and collar (those are cheap.. I like the wilton brand and I think I paid about $3 total). Just snip a small corner off the bottom of the bag, assemble the tip and collar, then slide the tip end into a drinking glass. Fold the top open and this will hold the bag open and upright as you fill it with your batter (or cake frosting). If you dont have a piping bag tip.. its ok you dont need it. I've made this recipe with and without it.. no difference.

5. Fill up that cheap-skate piping bag with your macaronage! Try to remove any air from the bag, I found a little plastic scraper to help me move all batter to the corner. Line your baking sheets with your silicone baking mat (or parchment paper). This is where it could potentially get tricky. But you will be fine. Pipe your batter STRAIGHT down to form a circle. I made mine just a smidge bigger than an American 50 cent piece. You can choose your size but be aware that it will affect your cooking time. The smaller the better but don't go too small. I was able to get 20 on a sheet with about a half inch spacing between them. Now tap the sheet pan on the counter top to remove any air bubbles.

6. Now we wait.. yes.. WAIT. Leave these on the counter to set for at LEAST 30 min. They need to form a "crust". This will allow it to have a smooth and crunchy top with a chewy inside. While these are resting, start your oven to 325. Once you have hit 325, turn it back to 300. You have an oven thermometer, don't you? You can check the "crust" by very lightly running your (clean) finger tip over the top. If no batter sticks to your finger and the cookie is smooth its ready to go in the oven. After 30 min, an hour is preferable, go ahead and place your first tray into the oven. If you're lucky, not like me, you have 2 oven racks. Move these away from the center of the oven. My best batches have come from the bottom rack. If you can do both trays at once, well I'm jealous. Bake 8 min, rotate and back in the oven for another 8 min. Everyone's oven is different so feel free to play with this time. I've had some batches come out at 14 min and some at 16. Your macaron is done when it has formed a hard shell top, a spongey "foot", and leaves NO trace of batter when removed from the pan.

WRONG                 RIGHT

7. Let them cool completely before removing, filling and sandwiching together. This may be the hardest part of the recipe. The list for fillings is endless. Ganache, buttercream, jam, lemon curd, white chocolate.. etc.

See.. that wasn't so hard! I hope you were able to find this recipe helpful!! Once I've sandwiched them together I will post a final picture as well as pictures from the shower on saturday. :D

au revoir et bon appétit