Guys! I made macarons! My neighbor gave me her go-to recipe and it's worked out great several times! I have always been intimidated by these, but they are really easy to make and taste amazing! My kids love helping and like picking out the color combos. They look so fancy, too, so they'd be perfect packed up for a birthday or teacher gift!
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup almond flour
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
food coloring
1/4 cup granulated sugar
unbleached parchment paper
decorating bags
extra large round tip decorator tip
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Prepare 2 cookie pans with parchment paper. Fit a 16-inch decorating bag with decorator tip.
Sift powdered sugar and almond flour together, discarding any bits of almond flour that are too large to pass through the strainer.
In a large bowl, beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt on high speed until foamy, then with the mixer running, slowly add the sugar. When the mixture reaches soft peaks, add vanilla and color. Continue whipping just until mixture forms stiff peaks.
Gently pour the almond mixture over the whipped egg whites so they don't deflate. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the almond flour mixture into the egg whites until the mixture holds a 10 count, meaning when batter falls from the spatula to the bowl it takes about 10 seconds until it fully blends into the rest of the bowl in the batter. (This way the almond mixture is fully hydrated but egg whites retain some air. The mixture is thick enough to pipe without running everywhere, but the peak at the top of each piped cookie will fall on its own, making a perfectly smooth cookie.) This takes about 45 turns, depending on how aggressively you fold.
Transfer the batter to the prepared decorating bag. Pipe 1-2" rounds of batter onto the parchment lined pans, spacing at least 1" apart.
Tap the pans hard on the countertop 4-5 times to release trapped air, then let sit at room temp for 20-30 minutes or until the unbaked macarons form a skin and do not stick to your finger when touched. This allows the macaron to crust over and get their signature "feet"; the holey rings that arise during baking at the base of the cookie.
Bake for 18-22 minutes on a shelf in the center of the oven. If baking 2 pans at a time on different oven racks, rotate the pans from bottom to top midway through baking. There isn't a great visual on how long to bake a macaron....when underbaked, the centers can be wet. When overbaked, they start to brown slightly and become very crunchy instead of crisp on the top with a softer interior.
Cool the macarons completely before sandwiching with your filling of choice. Buttercreams, jams, nutella, ganache, marshmallow cream are all great options. Makes approximately 36-48 cookies.
