Almond Macaroons Meringue Buttercream Recipes

FRENCH ALMOND MACARONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Sift confectioners' sugar into a bowl. Whisk in almonds; set aside. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats (such as Silpats), and mark circles using a 1 1/2-inch cutter dipped in flour.
• Put egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed until foamy, then beat in salt. Beat in granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon at a time, until medium-soft peaks form. Transfer mixture to a large bowl.
• Using a rubber spatula, fold half the almond mixture into the egg white mixture until just incorporated. Fold in vanilla and remaining almond mixture until just incorporated. Firmly tap bottom of bowl on counter to eliminate air pockets.
• Transfer mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip (such as Ateco #806). Pipe mixture into marked circles on prepared baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until macarons are slightly firm and can be gently lifted off parchment (bottoms will be dry), 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool on sheets 5 minutes. Transfer macarons on parchment to a wire rack; let cool completely.
• Spread 2 teaspoons buttercream on flat sides of half the macarons, then sandwich with remaining halves, keeping flat sides together. Refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes, before serving.

SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM FOR FRENCH ALMOND MACARONS

Steps:

• Put egg whites and sugar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water. Whisking constantly, cook until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm (about 160 degrees).
• Attach bowl to a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg white mixture on high speed until it forms stiff (but not dry) peaks. Continue beating until fluffy and cooled, about 6 minutes.
• Switch to the paddle attachment. With mixer on medium-low, add butter several tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. (If frosting appears to separate after all butter has been added, beat on medium-high speed until smooth again, 3 to 5 minutes more.) Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low; beat 2 minutes to eliminate air bubbles. Stir with a rubber spatula until smooth.

ALMOND MACARONS WITH VANILLA SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• To a medium mixing bowl, add egg whites, and let sit at room temperature, uncovered, for exactly 3 hours.† Line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a pencil, draw 1 1/2-inch circles, 2 inches apart, on parchment paper. Turn parchment paper over; set aside. In the work bowl of a food processor, combine almonds and 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar, pulsing until finely ground. (Do not overprocess, or nut butter will be created. The nut particles should stay separate and dry, not clump together.) Add remaining confectioners' sugar, and process until just combined. Set aside. Using a mixer at medium-high speed, beat egg whites until frothy. Gradually add sugar, beating at high speed until stiff peaks form, about 3 to 5 minutes. (Egg whites will be thick, creamy, and shiny.) Add vanilla extract and desired amount of food coloring; mix well. Add almond mixture to egg whites, folding gently until well combined. Let batter sit for 15 minutes. Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a medium round tip. Pipe batter into drawn circles on prepared baking sheets. Tap baking sheets vigorously on counter 5 to 7 times to release air bubbles. Let sit at room temperature for 45 minutes to 1 hour before baking; this will help develop macarons' signature crisp exterior when baked. (Macarons should feel dry to the touch and should not stick to finger.) Preheat oven to 275°. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until firm to the touch. Let cool completely on baking sheets, then remove to airtight containers. Refrigerate until ready to fill and serve. Place Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream in pastry bag fitted with a small round tip. Pipe mixture onto flat side of macaron, and top with another macaron, flat sides together, pushing down gently and twisting slightly so that filling will spread to edges. Repeat with remaining macarons and filling.
• In a medium mixing bowl, combine egg whites and sugar. Using a mixer at medium speed, whisk together. Set bowl over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly until mixture registers 140° on an instant-read candy thermometer. Remove mixture from heat. Using a mixer fitted with a whip attachment, beat at high speed for 10 minutes, or until mixing bowl is cool to the touch and meringue is tripled in volume. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract, and beat to combine. Using mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat mixture at medium-high speed for 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Use immediately.

ALMOND MACAROONS WITH SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Make macaroons:
• Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 300°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Finely grind almonds with confectioners sugar in a food processor.
• Beat whites with salt in mixer at medium-high speed until they just hold soft peaks.
• Reduce speed to medium, then add granulated sugar, a little at a time, beating, and continue to beat until whites just hold stiff, glossy peaks. Fold almond mixture in 2 batches into whites until just combined, then fold in vanilla and almond extracts. Transfer meringue to pastry bag and pipe 16 (1 1/2-inch-wide) mounds 1 inch apart on each lined baking sheet (32 total). Smooth tops of mounds with a wet fingertip.
• Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until macaroons are puffed and tops appear dry, 15 to 17 minutes. (Macaroons should be crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside.) Slide parchment with macaroons onto racks and cool 10 minutes, then peel macaroons from parchment, transferring to a rack to cool completely, about 15 minutes.
• Make buttercream:
• Vigorously whisk together whites, sugar, and salt in cleaned mixer bowl set over a 4-quart pot of barely simmering water until sugar is dissolved and mixture is warm. Put bowl in mixer and beat with cleaned whisk attachment at medium-high speed until whites hold stiff, glossy peaks. Continue to beat, scraping down side of bowl with a rubber spatula, until meringue is completely cool to the touch, about 5 minutes.
• With mixer at medium speed, gradually add butter 1 piece at a time, beating well after each addition until incorporated. (If buttercream looks soupy after some butter is added, meringue is still too warm. If so, briefly chill bottom of bowl in a large bowl filled with ice water for a few seconds before beating in remaining butter.) Continue beating until buttercream is smooth. (Mixture may look curdled before all of butter is added but will come back together by the time beating is finished.) Add vanilla and almond extracts and beat 1 minute more.
• Assemble cookies:
• Transfer buttercream to cleaned pastry bag and pipe about 1 tablespoon onto flat sides of 16 macaroons, then top with remaining 16 macaroons.

MANDELMAKRONEN (ALMOND MERINGUES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Beat egg whites in a glass, metal, or ceramic bowl until stiff peaks form. Gradually add sugar, 1 teaspoon at a time, while continuing to beat at high speed. Combine ground almonds and cinnamon in a bowl and fold into the egg white mixture with a spatula. Add more ground almonds if mixture is too runny.
• Use 2 teaspoons to place little mounds of almond mixture 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned and baked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Carefully remove from baking sheets and cool on wire racks.

ALMOND MACAROONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Combine egg whites, unblanched almonds and sugar and grind, using fine blade of meat grinder or food processor. Mixture should be fairly thick and fine and should drop off spoon in a mass.
• Drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet, leaving 2 inches between them. Top each with slice of blanched almond.
• Bake for about 20 minutes, or until cookies turn pale brown. Remove from pan when cool.

MACARONS

Steps:

• Place egg whites into a metal mixing bowl and refrigerate overnight. The next day, bring egg whites to room temperature.
• Preheat oven to 280 degrees F (138 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Whisk confectioners' sugar and almond flour in a bowl. Beat the egg whites with salt in metal bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until foamy, about 1 minute; increase speed to high and gradually beat in superfine sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time, until the egg whites are glossy and hold stiff peaks, 3 to 5 more minutes.
• Gently fold almond flour mixture into whipped egg whites until thoroughly incorporated; spoon meringue into a pastry big fitted with a 3/8-inch tip.
• Pipe 1-inch disks of meringue onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches of space between cookies. The batter will spread. Lift the baking sheets a few inches above the work surface and hit them lightly on the work surface several times to remove any air bubbles from the cookies. Let the cookies stand at room temperature until the shiny surfaces become dull and a thin skin forms, about 15 minutes.
• Place the baking sheets in the preheated oven and bake with the oven door open slightly until the macarons' surfaces are completely dry, about 15 minutes. Let cookies cool completely on a baking sheet before peeling parchment paper from the cookies.
• Spread half the cookies with any desired filling, top with remaining cookies to make sandwiches, and refrigerate at least 2 hours to overnight to let the cookies soften.