I walked into my cooking class this week knowing full well what I was up against. I was teaching the art, science… and frustration of making macarons. I knew the class would be divided. Half of my students would want to learn how to make these tricky little treats. The other half are here because they have attempted to make macarons and failed miserable. The pressure was on. The first thing I tell the group is that, no matter how much You Tube tutorials, Instagram posts or Tik Tok videos tout a “no-fail” macaron recipe, do not believe it. No such thing. The only way to make a “no fail” macaron is practice. With practice you will learn all the things that can sabotage macarons; your oven, the temperature and humidity outside, the way you fold the egg whites into the almond flour ingredients and how you pipe the batter onto a baking sheet. Having said that, if you’re willing to take a little time and don’t get flustered if the first batch or two don’t turn out perfectly, you may get as addicted to making macarons as I am! I’ve also included a delicious strawberry filling for your French delights.
| Servings |
- 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 3 1/2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons strawberry jam
Ingredients For the Filling:
| Rate this recipe! |
- Sift the almond flour several times through a mesh sieve, and then sift the almond flour and powdered sugar together through the sieve. In a stand mixer, whisk the egg whites and sugar until foamy, about 45 seconds. Turn to high, and whip to stiff peaks. (The egg white peaks should stand straight up) Blend in the gel food coloring. With a rubber spatula, fold in half of the almond flour mixture into the whites and stir for 2-3 minutes, digging down to the bottom of the bowl. Add the remaining flour and keep mixing just until batter flows like lava.(Don’t over mix, or mixture will be too runny.) Spoon the mixture into a piping bag with a ½ inch round tip. Pipe 1¼-inch rounds onto silpat or parchment-lined baking sheets, about 1-inch apart. (To make it easier, look for a macaron template on line, and place it under the parchment paper or silpat.) Rap the baking sheet firmly on the countertop, a few times, to release any large air bubbles. Let the cookies stand, uncovered, at room temperature, for 15-30 minutes, or until a crust begin to forms on top. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 300 degrees. (Use conventional bake or convection bake, not pure convection.) When done, they should easily detach from the liner. Makes 24. For the filling, combine the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and jam. Pipe a small amount in between 2 macarons and press together.
