Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Je t'aime

         The Perfect French Macaron 


Nothing is more romantic than Paris. And as Audrey Hepburn stated so perfectly, "Paris is always a good idea." 

So what better cookie to make for valentines day than the Parisian French macaron? 

Has anyone ever tried one of these delicate, decadent cookies? I must admit... before my attempt at making these with my sister I had never tried one and I was completely scared off by the title this cookie has earned as, "the hardest cookie to make." But I was drawn to the pretty colors, delicate look and sweet presentations. So if you haven't tried one, please, make them, then try them, it will all be worth it. 

The French Macaron is nationally acclaimed in France and is still the best selling cookie in pastry retail stores, yet another reason to try out this romantic cookie. 

Ok so, for the cookie you will need: 




1 cup confectioners' sugar 
3/4 cup almond flour/meal (a bit expensive but go directly to trader joes or whole foods) 
2 large egg whites, room temperature
Pinch of cream of tartar
1/4 cup superfine sugar
Wax paper 
Plastic bag or piping bag with tips 
Food coloring 

For the filling (I chose raspberry-but you can be creative) 

2/3 a cup of fresh raspberries 
1 stick of butter 
1 cup of confectioners sugar (you might need more) 

Step 1:
Mix confectioners sugar and almond meal in large bowl until combined. Sift 3 times. 

Step 2:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk egg whites with a stand mixer on medium speed until the whites are foamy. Add a pinch of cream of tartar and turn mixer back on until soft peaks form. Reduce to low and add superfine sugar. Add food coloring :) (note: the color will fade with baking so go a shade darker than you want your cookie to be) increase speed to high and mix until whites form stiff peaks. 



Turn off mixer. Sift your flour mixture over the whites. (This next step is where it can all go wrong) 
Begin folding the mixture together. (If you over mix the dough the cookies will crack but if you undermix it the cookies won't have the famous "legs" that macarons are famous for). You want the mixture to be smooth and shiny with a viscous consistency, with most of the bumps out. 

Sifting over egg whites.


Mix it until you think you have succeeded and then fill a bag or pipe with a little batter to test it. Make a 1 inch circle on the wax paper covered cookie sheet as a guide for piping. 

After piping, if your cookie falls without any bumps - you did it. If it is not smooth, mix it a little more. 

Below is a picture of what it should look like after piping:




Step 3:
Transfer all of the batter to a pastry bag or regular bag (cut a small whole in the corner of the bag if using ziplock) pipe 3/4 inch or 1-inch rounds on the wax-sheet lined baking sheets- dragging pastry tip to the side of the rounds instead of forming peaks at the top. Once you have finished, tap the whole sheet on the counter a few times to get all the air bubbles out. Let stand for 30 minutes! (This is important) 
 Another picture below! 


Step 4:
Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Bake one sheet at a time, until macarons are crisp and firm, about 10 minutes. After each batch, increase oven temp to 375 for 5 minutes then reduce to 325 degrees. 


(See those cute little "legs"!) 

STEP 5:
Immediately take the whole sheet of cookies on the wax paper and carefully put then onto a cold counter (still on the wax paper- this will aid you later when trying to get them off) if they still stick spray the under side of the wax paper with hot water....(be careful) this will also help you! 

Step 6:
For the filling

Push raspberries through a strainer to get juice out free of seeds and mix the raspberry juice, softened butter and powdered sugar together until they reach a frosting consistency. (If it seems a little liquidy, add more sugar!) mine was a little bit raspberry heavy but the tartness is nice with the sweet cookie!




Fill one side of the cookie and place the other side on top (each cookies usually has a size match) :) 










If you got this far you have successfully made the "hardest cookie to make"! 

Grab a bottle of champagne (Banfi is our favorite) and snuggle up with your valentine or your best friend! Enjoy! 


                            Xoxo 

                            Kasia 
             With a lot of help from Keren! 

1 comment :

  1. Wow!! Ambitious! But look how awesome they came out. Trés adorable! ;)

    ReplyDelete