Macarons... an adventure.

Heya everyone!  

Welcome to the humble beginnings of what I hope to be a blog that gains some traction and keeps me motivated to post my creations.  I have posted my recipes and things I have made on various social media platforms in the past, but after multiple people requesting that I'd keep them in one place... here it is!  Anyway, on with the recipe!

Vanilla Bean Macarons!

 After debating on what I should post as my first recipe, I decided why not start strong with some macarons?  

 The key to making a good macaron is knowing your environment and adapting your recipe accordingly.  Regardless of how many times you've made macarons, you absolutely will mess up from time to time.  You can't avoid it; you can only learn from it.  

I have tried many recipes and I have found that there are four basic ingredients and the weights and ratios are what varies.   The four basic ingredients are egg whites, granulated sugar, almond meal, and powdered sugar.  Many people across the internet and blogging world will argue until they are blue in the face about macarons.  Do you age the eggs?      

How long do you let the piped macarons sit out?  Do you even attempt to make them on a humid day?

Ahh! 

In this post I am going to try and share what I've found from trying different recipes in good old rainy Seattle. 

Here we go!

Ingredients:

• 3 egg whites (approx 90g; at room temperature)
• 50g granulated sugar
• 120g almond meal
• 200g powdered sugar
• 1/4tsp cream of tartar (optional, but encouraged)
• 1 vanilla bean 
• gel food coloring (optional) 

(Note, in the picture you will see a tiny pile of salt.  Ignore that.  I'm not entirely sure why I put it there (I've never seen it in a macaron recipe... well, except salted caramel)

Some tools you will need are: 

• kitchen scale 
• food processor
• sifter
• mixer with whisk attachment 
• silpat or parchment paper
• a few baking sheets
• piping bag (with or without a tip) 
• spatula

Note: some of the items above are completely optional.  You can definitely do this with a bowl, spatula, sifter, and a piping bag. (and the baking sheets and parchment paper of course!) You can definitely measure out the ingredients (I have had success doing this!) but it is much less nerve wracking using a kitchen scale.  You can find them on amazon for under $15 :)



Start by weighing out all of your ingredients.  Place the almond meal in the food processor to grind down the almonds a bit more.

Let it whirl! 

 Allow it to run for about 45 seconds, making sure to scrape down the sides a few times.

Add in the powdered sugar!

Turn the food processor on again, allowing the almond meal and powdered sugar to mix.  Mix for about a minute, scraping down the sides if necessary.

Meanwhile, in a kitchenaid (or bowl with a handmixer or whisk), add the egg whites and pinch of cream of tartar.

Note: I do not age my eggs.  I have experimented with various age times of aging the eggs and I have noticed that it doesn't make much of a difference.  Whipping up egg whites is theoretically easier because as the whites age they become a bit thinner, but it hasn't really made much of a difference for me.  I do, however, make sure that my egg whites are at room temperature so perhaps that counts as aging them for two hours? (haha)

 Beat on medium until white and frothy (about 2 minutes, see next picture)

Slowly add in the granulated sugar while the mixer is on. 
Mix on medium high (4 or 6) until stiff peaks form.

 Use this time to gut your vanilla bean!  Take a sharp knife and cut lengthwise. Turn the knife perpendicular to the bean and scrape the vanilla beans out of the pod.

You should get about 1/4tsp of vanilla bean "caviar" which is more than enough for this recipe!

Add the food coloring and vanilla beans. Color the meringue slightly darker than you want your cookie to be because the baking process lightens it slightly.

 

Mix until color is fully incorporated.

Scrape down the sides. (isn't that a pretty purple?!)

Sift in the almond meal and powdered sugar mixture, 1/3rd at a time.

 This is the most crucial part of if making macarons.  It's called "macaronage" and it's the process of folding the dry ingredients into the meringue.  Over or under mixing can cause a variety of problems with your macarons.  A book I read prior to even attempting macarons started out by listing about 45 ways you can really mess them up.  Don't let that scare you though! It really is just a matter of being patient and being gentle.

At first, it will seem like the two will never combine, but keep on gently folding.  It will take about 20 strokes per 1/3rd of the dry ingredients being added... or 60 strokes total.

This is combined... but not mixed all the way.  Keep folding 3 strokes at a time, making sure to check the flow after each series of strokes.

 Ahh, there we go. 

 It should be glossy and flow like lava when you drop a dollop back into the batter.  Additionally, it should mix back into the rest of the batter within 10 seconds.

Prepare a piping back in a pint glass like so (trust me, it makes it so much easier!) and place the batter in the bag.  If you don't have a piping bag, a ziploc bag will work just fine!

(Also, let me take this moment to apologize for the inconsistency in the colors of the photos.  I was playing around with light settings on my camera... whoops!)

 Prepare your baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats.  Make sure to snip the corners so the entire baking surface is flat.

 Pipe out the batter in 1.5 in circles about an inch apart (or whatever size you'd like!).  Some like to draw guides on the parchment paper to make sure that each cookie is the same size, but I kind of like the matching process after they are all baked =P
After you finish piping a tray, give it a few good whacks on the counter to release any air bubbles in the cookie.   I like to bang it twice, rotate it 90º, and repeat. 

Allow the cookies to sit on the counter for 30 minutes to 2 hours (yes, that long in some humid climates).  The day I made these, it was pouring rain and they had to sit out for a little over an hour and a half.  Make sure that when you touch them they don't stick to your finger at all.  If they do, the shell hasn't formed yet.  (I'll show you an example of what happens if you put them in before they are ready below!)

Bake at 300ºF for about 13-20 minutes (this will really depend on your oven).  What I like to do is set my oven time for 8 minutes, rotate them, then set it for 5 minutes and check them each minute until they are done.  Once I figure out how they are baking that particular day, I apply that time to the  following trays.  Generally speaking, mine take about 15-16 minutes and I always rotate them half way through the baking process because it helps keep the baking even and it prevents the oven from getting too warm.

Look at those feet!

 

Now, on the left is a macaron with a proper shell.  It sat on the counter for about an hour prior to being baked.  The one on the right sat for about 15 minutes and cracked like crazy in the oven.  It still tastes amazing, but with all the hard work you put into making these macarons... I think being patient and taking an hour break so they can turn out is well worth it! Right?

Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets.  After they cool, they should pop right off, but be careful as they are fragile.

 Match up cookies that are closest in size and fill with a buttercream, ganache, jam, curd, or whatever your heart desires! 

Enjoy!!

 Feel free to leave any comments with questions or things I should clarify!