Fun fact, it's been exactly 5 years since I last posted a recipe for French Macarons. I tried three times and it was such a struggle! My final try was almost perfect, almost. But it was such a struggle to get there, and I wasted too many ingredients I never tried again! Well after seeing a Tasty video for some strawberry swirl macarons, I was inspired to try it again. I didn't have high hopes going into it. I figured it would be a fail in some way, so that's what I was prepared for. I was so surprised that they were far easier than I remember them being and they turned out perfectly!!! I do wonder if the climate has anything to do with it... I was living in Utah 5 years ago, and now live in Texas where it is much more humid. Hard to say. If any of my Utah friends try this recipe, let me know how it goes and if you run into any troubles!
Here is all that you will need;
3 eggs whites, room temperature
¼ cup sugar
1¾ cup powdered sugar
1 cup almond meal/flour
2 drops red food coloring
Filling
1 8-ounce package of cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
Dash of salt
Raspberry jam
In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy. Keep beating and slowly add sugar. Once you have added the sugar, increase the speed to high, and continue beating until stiff peaks form, this will take about 5 minutes.
Sift powdered sugar and almond meal over the egg whites. I toss my powdered sugar and almond meal into a food processor to help ensure it's really fine and then I don't worry about putting it through a sifter. You could also use a blender if you don't have a food processor. But just using a sifter will be fine! If you notice in the pictures my macarons have little specs on them, that's because I bought my almond meal at Trader Joes, and their meal is not super fine and you can still see the shell of the almonds. Using a sifter may keep these out, but you will likely still have some in there. This won't really affect the baking, but if you don't like how the specs look, just be sure to buy super fine almond meal.
Fold the dry mixture into the egg whites, keeping track of how many times you stir, try to do only 30-50 stirs. Make sure to not overmix or the macarons will not rise. Once the batter reaches a lava-like consistency, transfer half the batter to another bowl and add the food coloring. Mix until just combined. Do not overmix! This part is tricky to get the right consistency, watching videos really helped me to get an idea of what I needed to be looking for.
Carefully put the white and pink batters into a sandwich bag, putting one on one side, one on the other, trying to keep them from combining too much. Seal the zip lock top and cut the corner off the bag.
Pipe 1½-inch dollops onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I print out this template for my macarons and try to keep the piping within the lines. You could also trace your own circles on the back side of the parchment paper, just be sure the ink if not in contact with the macarons! You want to use parchment paper, not wax paper or tin foil! You could also you a baking mat, but I haven't tried that so I can't speak for how well that will go! I do love my baking mats, I will have to try that next time!
Let the cookies rest for 30 minutes, or until they are no longer wet to the touch. While resting, preheat oven to 285ºF. Some recipes recommend an hour but I have found 30 minutes to be fine, even in my humid climate. Make sure they are not near the oven as the heat from the oven could make them spread out! I had one pan on the counter just next to my oven and that ruined them!
Begin to make the filling by mixing the cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk and salt in a bowl until smooth. Transfer to a ziplock bag or piping bag and set aside until ready to fill. You can just use a spoon to add the jam, but I like to also add the jam to a bag to make it a little easier to place in the center of each macaron.
When the cookies are dry to the touch, bake for 15 minutes until they have risen to form a “foot.” Be sure not to undercook them. They should not stick to the parchment paper and should lift off easily. If they are sticking, cook for 2-3 more minutes.
Make sure to cool completely before filling, about 10 minutes. To fill, pipe a circle of the cream cheese mixture around the edge of one cookie and place a small dollop of jam in the center. Sandwich with another macaron.
If you don't eat them all in one sitting (hahaha who does that?!?!) make sure to keep them in the refrigerator!
This recipe is adapted from Tasty. They made a great video that inspired this post;
Enjoy!
Here is all that you will need;
3 eggs whites, room temperature
¼ cup sugar
1¾ cup powdered sugar
1 cup almond meal/flour
2 drops red food coloring
Filling
1 8-ounce package of cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
Dash of salt
Raspberry jam
In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy. Keep beating and slowly add sugar. Once you have added the sugar, increase the speed to high, and continue beating until stiff peaks form, this will take about 5 minutes.
Sift powdered sugar and almond meal over the egg whites. I toss my powdered sugar and almond meal into a food processor to help ensure it's really fine and then I don't worry about putting it through a sifter. You could also use a blender if you don't have a food processor. But just using a sifter will be fine! If you notice in the pictures my macarons have little specs on them, that's because I bought my almond meal at Trader Joes, and their meal is not super fine and you can still see the shell of the almonds. Using a sifter may keep these out, but you will likely still have some in there. This won't really affect the baking, but if you don't like how the specs look, just be sure to buy super fine almond meal.
Fold the dry mixture into the egg whites, keeping track of how many times you stir, try to do only 30-50 stirs. Make sure to not overmix or the macarons will not rise. Once the batter reaches a lava-like consistency, transfer half the batter to another bowl and add the food coloring. Mix until just combined. Do not overmix! This part is tricky to get the right consistency, watching videos really helped me to get an idea of what I needed to be looking for.
Carefully put the white and pink batters into a sandwich bag, putting one on one side, one on the other, trying to keep them from combining too much. Seal the zip lock top and cut the corner off the bag.
Pipe 1½-inch dollops onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I print out this template for my macarons and try to keep the piping within the lines. You could also trace your own circles on the back side of the parchment paper, just be sure the ink if not in contact with the macarons! You want to use parchment paper, not wax paper or tin foil! You could also you a baking mat, but I haven't tried that so I can't speak for how well that will go! I do love my baking mats, I will have to try that next time!
Let the cookies rest for 30 minutes, or until they are no longer wet to the touch. While resting, preheat oven to 285ºF. Some recipes recommend an hour but I have found 30 minutes to be fine, even in my humid climate. Make sure they are not near the oven as the heat from the oven could make them spread out! I had one pan on the counter just next to my oven and that ruined them!
Begin to make the filling by mixing the cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk and salt in a bowl until smooth. Transfer to a ziplock bag or piping bag and set aside until ready to fill. You can just use a spoon to add the jam, but I like to also add the jam to a bag to make it a little easier to place in the center of each macaron.
When the cookies are dry to the touch, bake for 15 minutes until they have risen to form a “foot.” Be sure not to undercook them. They should not stick to the parchment paper and should lift off easily. If they are sticking, cook for 2-3 more minutes.
Make sure to cool completely before filling, about 10 minutes. To fill, pipe a circle of the cream cheese mixture around the edge of one cookie and place a small dollop of jam in the center. Sandwich with another macaron.
If you don't eat them all in one sitting (hahaha who does that?!?!) make sure to keep them in the refrigerator!
This recipe is adapted from Tasty. They made a great video that inspired this post;
Enjoy!
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