Flavored French Macaroons Recipes

FRENCH MACAROONS

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.

FRENCH MACARONS

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.

MIX-AND-MATCH FRENCH MACARONS

Steps:

• Pulse confectioners' sugar and almond flour in a food processor until combined. Sift mixture 2 times.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk whites with a mixer on medium speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar, and whisk until soft peaks form. Reduce speed to low, then add superfine sugar. Increase speed to high, and whisk until stiff peaks form, about 8 minutes. Sift flour mixture over whites, and fold until mixture is smooth and shiny.
• Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain round tip, and pipe 3/4-inch rounds 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets, dragging pastry tip to the side of rounds rather than forming peaks. Tap bottom of each sheet on work surface to release trapped air. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Bake 1 sheet at a time, rotating halfway through, until macarons are crisp and firm, about 10 minutes. After each batch, increase oven temperature to 375 degrees, heat for 5 minutes, then reduce to 325 degrees.
• Let macarons cool on sheets for 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. (If macarons stick, spray water underneath parchment on hot sheet. The steam will help release macarons.)
• Sandwich 2 same-size macarons with 1 teaspoon filling. Serve immediately.

MACARON (FRENCH MACAROON)

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.

FLAVORED FRENCH MACAROONS

Steps:

• An hour before making the macaroons, separate the eggs and let the whites sit in the bowl of an electric mixer to reach room temperature. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Put the confectioners' sugar and the almonds in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse them together until they become a fine powder. Add the cocoa powder, and pulse until well mixed.
• Whip the egg whites at low speed until they start to foam. Add the cream of tartar, and increase the speed to medium. After 2 minutes, gradually add the granulated sugar. Continue to beat until stiff and shiny peaks form.
• Put the almond-sugar mixture in a large bowl, and, using a rubber spatula, fold in the egg whites. This will take about forty strokes (after twenty strokes, the egg whites will deflate; after another twenty, the batter will be mixed and runny).
• Fill a pastry bag with the batter (it is easiest to use a 1/2-inch-diameter tip). Pipe out 1 tablespoon, or enough batter to make silver dollar-sized circles, an inch apart on the lined cookie sheets. The best way to do this is by holding the pastry bag straight up and squeezing until about 1 1/2 inches of batter runs out for each macaroon. Let the macaroons sit at room temperature, uncovered, on the baking sheets for 1 hour, or until they dry and are less glossy.
• While the macaroons are drying, make the mocha filling. Stir together the butter or margarine, honey, and coffee in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, and remove from the heat. Stir in the chocolate, and, using a hand mixer or a whisk, beat until slightly stiff. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 275 degrees, and arrange the racks in the two lower thirds of the oven. Put the sheet pans in the oven, and bake for 15 minutes. Switch the positions of the baking sheets, and continue to bake for 5 to 10 minutes more, or until the macaroons are no longer wobbly and sticky.
• Allow to cool. To serve, spoon about a heaping teaspoon of filling on one cookie, and top with another.
• For white macaroons, omit the cocoa powder and proceed as above.
• For raspberry-flavored macaroons, replace the cocoa powder with 2 tablespoons raspberry powder, and add a few drops of red food coloring when you whip the egg whites. Alternatively, you can make your own raspberry, strawberry, blackberry, or cherry powder by pulverizing a few dehydrated (not dried) berries in the food processor. Dehydrated fruits and raspberry powder are available from www.justtomatoes.com and are also sold at many supermarkets. Although the Just Tomatoes products are not certified kosher, they are processed in a facility that is purely vegetarian.
• Chocolate-ganache: Heat 3/4 cup heavy cream with 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, and stir until the chocolate melts and the mixture thickens slightly.
• Chocolate-orange: Substitute 1/4 cup orange juice for the coffee.