Since Christmas time is upon us, why not push aside those traditional sugar cookies for a different kind of cookie this year — a macaron! For anybody that has never had a macaron before, you are crazy. Heads up though for those trying them for the first time — must be ok with the fact that you will be enjoying a good amount of sugar (so sit back and indulge for a minute!).
I really fell in love with macarons when I visited Paris for the first time (duh), and then when my sister-in-law made some here too I was like “I need to try this”. The recipe itself is very easy in terms of ingredients, but give yourself plenty of time because there is a decent amount of prep time that goes into this little cookie.
Here is a very easy recipe for a traditional macaron; makes about 20-25 based on their size and again give yourself time because the total process can take around 2 hours. I’d suggest making them a little bigger than you think at first, but that’s only from my experience of making them too small and they crumbled some because I got impatient waiting for them to cool and well I didn’t really have much of a cookie left (if they were a little bigger, I would have at least had bigger pieces that could resemble really small cookies!):
INGREDIENTS:
Cookie/macaron part:
3 egg whites, room termperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup ground almond four - as fine as you can find it
1 to 2 drops food coloring
If wanting to add a specific flavor, I’d start with some vanilla extract to go easy on yourself; if you have more macaron experience then me then some chocolate ganache is always loved!
Filling:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup softened, unsalted butter (see we could have easily went salted but here we are being ‘healthy’)
3 tablespoons whole milk (keep this one whole, and not reduced fat or what not)
DIRECTIONS:
First you’ll start making the actual cookie/macaron — preheat the over to 300 degrees F, and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a stand mixer preferably, beat the egg whites until you see some loose peaks forming, then gradually add in the granulated sugar and continue to beat until sugar is dissolved and the peaks become harder
Take the powdered sugar and almond flour and sift them through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl; then fold that flour mixture into the whipped egg whites. Here is where you’ll add your food coloring too!
Take this mixture an put in a large ziplock plastic bag or preferably a piping bag if you have one. Either one works, so you’ll pipe/squeeze 1-inch rounds onto the parchment paper baking sheets, and let these stand in a dry place until these are dry to the touch — this is where you will be waiting between 1 - 2 hours
After they are dry, and really wait, bake in the preheated over until you see the edges start to ruffle some, and the macaron is no longer jiggly but have set — can take about 10 - 15 minutes
Prepare the filling next while the macarons bake — you’ll beat together the powdered sugar, butter and milk most likely with an electric mixer of some kind until they are completely combined and smooth. Place this now in a ziplock or piping bag
When the macarons are ready take them out and let them completely cool on the baking sheet for about 15 minutes or so, then move just the macarons directly to a wire rack for one last official cooling off. Pipe out - or spread if you don’t have a piping bag - the filling onto each macaron, and place another one on top to finish off your masterpiece!
Note: either eat pretty quickly or store in an air-tight container to keep on hand for another day or 2 — no longer than 2 days really
To me the thought of making a macaron never crossed my mind, but this simple recipe really made me realize these are more than doable! With some simple and delicious ingredients, a little bit of time and elbow grease, you can be snaking like the French do this Christmas :)