I'll be honest, I've never actually had macarons, I've just seen plenty of Facebook and Instagram posts about them, and I was a little curious about what they actually were. I had no desire to pay exorbitant prices for them, so I read a ton of recipes, did a bit of research, and put together these babies.
This was a great distraction from homework because it took quite a while to get the meringue just right, and then the almonds didn't blend smoothly...anyways. After some trial and error I have some good tips for ya too.
So start by putting your almonds in the blender. I started with my magic bullet blender, and the blender struggled quite a bit. I switched to my ninja blender and that made a huge difference. So stick the almonds in the blender, and blend it until they are a find flour-like powder.
Add the powdered sugar and blend it until it's all combined. It'll get a little lumpy, and that's okay. Pour it from the blender into a mixing bowl and break up the big clumps with a fork.
The next step is important and tricky. You're going to pass the mixture through a colander (or sieve, your choice, both work fine) into another bowl.
As you sift it through the colander, it'll roll up into little balls. You don't want the balls to fall in, so when it does that, dump the colander back into the first bowl, and repeat the process. Does that make sense? The goal is to get it as finely sifted as possible so it's not clumpy or heavy. Once you're done, set it aside.
Now you're going to make the meringue part. This is tricky, so let me break it down for you. Making a meringue is different from just whipping egg whites.
1. Separate your eggs. (You won't use the yolks in this recipe)
2. Whip the whites on low for a bit until they are bubbly.
3. Continue whipping, adding granulated sugar a tablespoon at a time.
4. When all the sugar is added, beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
5. Increase to high speed and beat until stiff peaks form (about 4 minutes).
If you're making flavored or colored macarons (I didn't this time) you'll add the flavor and the food coloring here.
Don't overbeat! Then your cookies will be flat, which would be lame. Once the meringue is done, add it to the almond/sugar mixture you have in your other bowl. Use a spatula to lift the almond stuff up from the bottom and press down slowly and firmly in the middle.
You'll keep doing this, about 40 ish times, (I didn't count) until the dough is the texture of molten lava. This sounds like a weird description, but you'll do it and it'll make perfect sense. Once the dough is finished, you'll put it into a bag. You can use something fancy, but honestly, it worked just fine with a ziploc and and some scissors. I put the ziploc inside a cup, then scooped the dough into the ziploc. Why, you ask? Lots of reasons. First, less mess. Second, gravity helps take out air bubbles. Third, way way easier than trying to smoosh that sticky stuff in while the bag was flat.
Next you'll cut off one corner of the bag. You want about a 1/4 hole.
Swirl the bag as you pipe the dough . The cookies will flatten a little as you cook. They will also get quite large, so make 1/2 inch to 1 inch circles if you want to keep them the traditional size.
Bake 'em! Experts say you need parchment paper and stuff, but I'm all about simple and easy, and these still turned out quite authentic and very fabulous. To top them, let the cookies cool completely. Gently hold the cookie so you don't crush it and spread a generous amount of whatever filling you want on top of it. (Options include jam, nutella, various kinds of frosting, whatever you want. I used colored frosting here.)
Top it off with another cookie. Again, be very gentle, they are easy to crush.
As you can see, I wanted my cookies to be kind of textured, so I swirled them a little more when I piped the dough. If you want yours to be smooth, swirl it a little less. Eat them!
EASY FRENCH MACARONS
2/3 cup sliced almonds
1 cup powdered sugar
2 large egg whites, room temperature
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
filling
flavoring or food coloring as desired.
Blend almonds in food processor until very finely ground. Add powdered sugar and blend into a fine almond flour. Break up large chunks, then use a colander to sift the flour even more finely into a bowl. Repeat this process at least twice until there is a fine powder.
Make a meringue out of the egg whites and the sugar:
1. Separate your eggs.
2. Whip the whites on low for a 2 minutes until foamy.
3. Continue whipping on low, adding granulated sugar a tablespoon at a time.
4. When all the sugar is added, beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
5. Increase to high speed and beat until stiff peaks form (about 4 minutes).
If desired, add food coloring and flavoring, then beat on high speed for 30 seconds.
Add dry ingredients to meringue all at once so as not to create any clumps. Fold up from the bottom of the bowl with a spatula, then press the flat side of the spatula firmly through the middle of the mixture. Repeat until it resembles molten lava (40 ish strokes).
Transfer dough to a bag. Cut off a 1/4 inch hole and pipe batter into 1 inch round cookies on a pregreased cookie sheet. Space rounds 1 inch apart. Tap sheets firmly on counter to remove air bubbles.
Bake at 350 for 13 minutes, rotating halfway through if they are baking unevenly. Cool completely, then fill.
If desired, add food coloring and flavoring, then beat on high speed for 30 seconds.
Add dry ingredients to meringue all at once so as not to create any clumps. Fold up from the bottom of the bowl with a spatula, then press the flat side of the spatula firmly through the middle of the mixture. Repeat until it resembles molten lava (40 ish strokes).
Transfer dough to a bag. Cut off a 1/4 inch hole and pipe batter into 1 inch round cookies on a pregreased cookie sheet. Space rounds 1 inch apart. Tap sheets firmly on counter to remove air bubbles.
Bake at 350 for 13 minutes, rotating halfway through if they are baking unevenly. Cool completely, then fill.
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