French Pink Macaroons Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 320 degrees F (160 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
• Whisk egg whites in a clean metal mixing bowl until thick, about 5 minutes; whisk the superfine sugar into the egg whites until thick, glossy, and the mixture holds stiff peaks, 5 to 8 more minutes. Place a sieve over the bowl containing egg whites and sieve both amounts of almond meal and confectioners' sugar into the egg white mixture. Gently fold the almond meal and confectioners' sugar into the egg whites, retaining as much air as possible.
• Separate the meringue into separate bowls to flavor and color, if desired. Spoon the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a 3/8-inch tip. Pipe 1-inch disks of meringue onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between cookies.
• Let the cookies stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes to form a thin skin. Pick up the baking sheets and let drop from several inches above the work surface to adhere cookies to the baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until tops are dry, about 15 minutes; let cool completely on the baking sheets before peeling off the parchment paper.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F using the convection setting. Line 3 baking sheets with silicone mats. Measure the confectioners' sugar and almond flour by spooning them into measuring cups and leveling with a knife. Transfer to a bowl; whisk to combine.
• Sift the sugar-almond flour mixture, a little at a time, through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing with a rubber spatula to pass through as much as possible. It will take a while, and up to 2 tablespoons of coarse almond flour may be left; just toss it.
• Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt with a mixer on medium speed until frothy. Increase the speed to medium high; gradually add the superfine sugar and beat until stiff and shiny, about 5 more minutes.
• Transfer the beaten egg whites to the bowl with the almond flour mixture. Draw a rubber spatula halfway through the mixture and fold until incorporated, giving the bowl a quarter turn with each fold.
• Add the food coloring and extract (see below). Continue folding and turning, scraping down the bowl, until the batter is smooth and falls off the spatula in a thin flat ribbon, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip. Holding the bag vertically and close to the baking sheet, pipe 1 1/4-inch circles (24 per sheet). Firmly tap the baking sheets twice against the counter to release any air bubbles.
• Let the cookies sit at room temperature until the tops are no longer sticky to the touch, 15 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the humidity. Slip another baking sheet under the first batch (a double baking sheet protects the cookies from the heat).
• Bake the first batch until the cookies are shiny and rise 1/8 inch to form a "foot," about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely. Repeat, using a double sheet for each batch. Peel the cookies off the mats and sandwich with a thin layer of filling (see below).
• Almond-Raspberry:
• Tint the batter with 2 drops neon pink gel food coloring; flavor with almond extract. Fill with seedless raspberry jam (you'll need about 3/4 cup).
• Mint-White Chocolate:
• Tint the batter with 2 drops mint green gel food coloring; flavor with mint extract. For the filling, microwave 3 ounces chopped white chocolate, 2 tablespoons heavy cream and 1 tablespoon butter in 30-second intervals, stirring, until smooth. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon mint extract and 1 drop mint green gel food coloring.
• Blueberry Cheesecake:
• Tint the batter with 3 drops royal blue gel food coloring; flavor with vanilla extract. For the filling, mix 4 ounces softened cream cheese and 3 tablespoons blueberry jam.
• Lavender-Honey:
• Tint the batter with 2 drops violet gel food coloring; flavor with almond or vanilla extract. For the filling, mix 3/4 cup mascarpone cheese, 2 tablespoons honey and 1 teaspoon ground dried lavender.
• Pineapple:
• Tint the batter with 2 drops lemon yellow gel food coloring; flavor with vanilla extract. For the filling, press 3/4 cup pineapple jam through a sieve, discarding any large pieces.

Steps:

• To make the white chocolate ganache- stir the chocolate and the thickened cream in a saucepan over a low heat until smooth.
• Transfer the mixture to a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until the mixture is spreadable.
• For the macaroon cookies- Preheat oven to 150°C or 130°C if using a fan-forced oven. Grease oven trays and line them with baking paper.
• Ensure mixing bowl is thoroughly clean. Beat egg whites in a small bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
• Add the sugar and food colouring, beat until the sugar dissolves.
• Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.
• Fold in the sifted icing sugar and almond meal, in two batches.
• Spoon the mixture into large piping bag fitted with a 1.5cm plain tube.
• Pipe 36 x 4cm rounds, 2cm apart, onto the trays. (keep the circles as uniform as possible as this will make your macaroons look uniform and make pairing easier).
• Tap the trays on the bench top to allow macaroons to spread slightly. Dust with sifted icing sugar and allow to stand for 15 minutes.
• Bake macaroons about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to stand 10 minutes on the trays before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
• Sandwich macaroons with the ganache.
• Dust with a little sifted icing sugar to serve.
• Makes 18.

Steps:

• Place the almond flour and 1-1/2 cups plus 3 Tbsp. confectioners' sugar in a food processor; pulse until thoroughly mixed to ensure almond flour is very fine. Pass almond flour mixture through a fine-mesh sieve; discard any large pieces that remain. , Place egg whites in a very clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment; whisk on medium-low speed until frothy. Slowly add superfine sugar; whisk until dissolved, 1-2 minutes. Slowly add remaining confectioners' sugar; increase speed to high and whip until meringue is glossy and stiff peaks form, 2-3 minutes. , Gently fold one-third of the almond flour mixture into meringue; gently fold in remaining almond flour in 2 additions. Using side of spatula, smooth batter up sides of bowl several times to remove air bubbles and ensure there are no lumps; do not overmix. Run spatula down the center of the bowl; the line in the batter should remain visible for a moment before mixture runs back into itself., Position rack in upper third of oven; preheat oven to 300°. Transfer batter into a pastry bag fitted with a #7 or #10 round tip. Pipe 1-3/8-in. rounds onto parchment about 1 in. apart. Tap tray against counter 2-3 times to remove excess air bubbles. Let macarons rest until no longer wet or sticky to the touch, 30-60 minutes. Bake, 1 tray at a time, until cookies rise about 1/8-in. to form "feet," 14-16 minutes, rotating tray halfway through baking. Remove tray and let macarons cool completely; repeat with remaining trays. Once macarons have cooled completely, remove from parchment. , To make filling, cream butter in a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment; slowly add powdered sugar until incorporated. Add heavy cream, vanilla and salt; mix until smooth. Pour frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a small round tip; pipe buttercream onto half the macarons. Top with remaining macaron shells. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve. , Peppermint Variation: For macaron shells: Add green gel food coloring (do not use liquid food coloring) to whipped meringue until desired color is reached. To decorate: If desired, top macaron shells with crushed candy canes just after they have been piped and before skin has formed. For filling: Add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract to mixed frosting. Assemble as directed. , Cranberry Variation: For macaron shells: Add red gel food coloring (do not use liquid food coloring) to whipped meringue until desired color is reached. To decorate macaron shells: Place white candy melts or white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave at 30-second intervals, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Place chocolate in a piping bag fitted with a fine round decorating tip; drizzle over macaron shells. Immediately sprinkle with red, green and white assorted sprinkles. For filling: If desired, add 2-3 drops cranberry flavoring to frosting. Pipe a circle of frosting onto bottoms of half the macaron shells. Place 1/4 teaspoon canned cranberry sauce in center of frosting circle. Top with remaining macaron shells. , Hot Chocolate Variation: For macaron shells: Add 2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder to almond flour and confectioners' sugar before sifting. To decorate: Using stiff royal frosting, pipe snowflake designs onto half of the cooled macaron shells. For filling: If desired, using marshmallow fluff instead of frosting, pipe a circle onto bottoms of half the macaron shells. Place 1/2 cup chocolate chips and and 2 tablespoons heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave at 30-second intervals, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Place 1/4 teaspoon chocolate mixture in the center of marshmallow circle; top with remaining macaron shells.

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.
• Beat egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until whites are foamy; beat in white sugar and continue beating until egg whites are glossy, fluffy, and hold soft peaks. Sift confectioners' sugar and ground almonds in a separate bowl and quickly fold the almond mixture into the egg whites, about 30 strokes.
• Spoon a small amount of batter into a plastic bag with a small corner cut off and pipe a test disk of batter, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, onto prepared baking sheet. If the disk of batter holds a peak instead of flattening immediately, gently fold the batter a few more times and retest.
• When batter is mixed enough to flatten immediately into an even disk, spoon into a pastry bag fitted with a plain round tip. Pipe the batter onto the baking sheet in rounds, leaving space between the disks. Let the piped cookies stand out at room temperature until they form a hard skin on top, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 285 degrees F (140 degrees C).
• Bake cookies until set but not browned, about 10 minutes; let cookies cool completely before filling.

Steps:

• Make the macarons: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the powdered sugar, almond flour, and ½ teaspoon of salt, and process on low speed, until extra fine. Sift the almond flour mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl.
• In a separate large bowl, beat the egg whites and the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt with an electric hand mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add the granulated sugar until fully incorporated. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form (you should be able to turn the bowl upside down without anything falling out).
• Add the vanilla and beat until incorporated. Add the food coloring and beat until just combined.
• Add about ⅓ of the sifted almond flour mixture at a time to the beaten egg whites and use a spatula to gently fold until combined. After the last addition of almond flour, continue to fold slowly until the batter falls into ribbons and you can make a figure 8 while holding the spatula up.
• Transfer the macaron batter into a piping bag fitted with a round tip.
• Place 4 dots of the batter in each corner of a rimmed baking sheet, and place a piece of parchment paper over it, using the batter to help adhere the parchment to the baking sheet.
• Pipe the macarons onto the parchment paper in 1½-inch (3-cm) circles, spacing at least 1-inch (2-cm) apart.
• Tap the baking sheet on a flat surface 5 times to release any air bubbles.
• Let the macarons sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour, until dry to the touch.
• Preheat the oven to 300˚F (150˚C).
• Bake the macarons for 17 minutes, until the feet are well-risen and the macarons don't stick to the parchment paper.
• Transfer the macarons to a wire rack to cool completely before filling.
• Make the buttercream: In a large bowl, add the butter and beat with a mixer for 1 minute until light and fluffy. Sift in the powdered sugar and beat until fully incorporated. Add the vanilla and beat to combine. Add the cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat to combine, until desired consistency is reached.
• Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a round tip.
• Add a dollop of buttercream to one macaron shell. Top it with another macaron shell to create a sandwich. Repeat with remaining macaron shells and buttercream.
• Place in an airtight container for 24 hours to "bloom".
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Beat egg whites in a glass, metal, or ceramic bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until foamy, about 30 seconds. Add white sugar and continue to beat until peaks are stiff enough they stay in place when the bowl is turned upside down, about 5 minutes.
• Sift 1 2/3 cup confectioners' sugar, almond flour, and salt together twice. Fold into the egg whites until batter is creamy and falls slowly off the lifted spatula, about 50 turns with a spatula. Transfer batter to a piping bag fitted with a round tip.
• Pipe batter onto the parchment paper, using a circular motion to make macarons 1 inch in diameter. Tap the baking sheet against the counter about 10 times to release any air bubbles.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 9 minutes. Rotate baking sheet and continue baking until macarons are shiny and rise slightly to form "feet", about 9 minutes more. Peel off the parchment paper and allow to cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Beat butter, 2/3 cup confectioners' sugar, and vanilla extract with an electric mixer until creamy and thick, about 10 minutes. Transfer filling to a piping bag fitted with a round tip.
• Pipe a small amount of filling onto the center of 1 macaron; top with another macaron and press gently to sandwich the filling between the two.