The Meringue Saga Part 6: Strawberry Macarons
Bonjour!
J'ai fait des macarons!
Aren't I so cosmopolitan, speaking in French and such?
Well I'd like to give a huge shoutout to Google Translate for helping me on this special occasion!
Now that the festivities are over, let's get to the cookies!
Aren't these just the cutest little things you've ever seen? Omigoodness and they're pink! What could be better?
Them actually being pink. That's what could be better. Since I'm pretty sure I'm incapable of making cutely colored macarons. Also these were thicker than I would have liked so they retained the nib at the top from the piping bag. But I'll get to that later.
I used two recipes for these and kind of combined them to make my own. The first was this post from My Favorite Recipes and the second was my previously used macaron recipe from I ♥ Macarons. I really scoured the Google results pages for a recipe that sounded like it would work for me. I was actually somewhat limited in finding a recipe for these since a lot of them called for ingredients by weight and I do not have a kitchen scale.
I started by just using the My Favorite Recipes post. So I ground up the cup of freeze dried strawberries, ground up the almonds (which took forever I might add), and sifted the almond powder with the powdered sugar. Then the recipe told me to add two tablespoons of the strawberry powder. But I was like "Why would I grind up a cup of strawberries if I'm only using two tablespoons?" so I added all of the powdered strawberries. And since I had more powder than the recipe called for, I think that's where the extra thickness of the batter came from. But I'm glad I used all the strawberries since I think I would have just thrown out the extra powder. Maybe next time I'll do less powdered sugar to account for about a cup of powdered strawberries.
Then when it came time to make the macaron batter I used the I ♥ Macarons recipe. I like the directions for mixing the batter better there than in the blog post, but I think that's just because I'm used to it.
I probably should have baked them according to the times and temps on the blog post, since I've made the book recipe multiple times and I think I always over bake them. Hopefully I'll learn.
Then came time for the buttercream. I knew I wanted a vanilla filling so they could be like strawberries and cream. I ended up using this recipe from Hint of Vanilla. It's super rich and buttery, so if that's not your style and you like cake frosting buttercream better, now you're warned. I think the richness of the filling goes really nicely with the light crispness of the shells. And the whole strawberries and cream thing worked out because these taste like strawberry milkshakes!
Macaron Recipe:
Grind up the strawberries and almonds (separately). Sift the strawberries, almonds and powdered sugar together. In a different bowl whip egg whites to stiff peaks. Add in granulated sugar and whip again to incorporate.
Add half of the powder mixture to the egg whites and fold in. Add the other half and fold gently. Then scrape all of the batter against the side of the bowl and from the bottom fold it over itself. Do this 15 times (no more than 20, no less than 10).
Pour into a piping bag and make circles. Rap the pan against the table a few times and let sit for 30 minutes.
Bake at 280 degrees* for about 15 minutes.**
Buttercream Recipe (from Hint of Vanilla):
*You'll want to experiment with the temperature. The book says to bake at 375 and I think that's too hot, but I also did not bake any of these at 280 so I'm hesitant to endorse it.
**Also check periodically after the 10 minute mark to make sure the macarons are baked but not overbaked.
J'ai fait des macarons!
Aren't I so cosmopolitan, speaking in French and such?
Well I'd like to give a huge shoutout to Google Translate for helping me on this special occasion!
Now that the festivities are over, let's get to the cookies!
Aren't these just the cutest little things you've ever seen? Omigoodness and they're pink! What could be better?
Them actually being pink. That's what could be better. Since I'm pretty sure I'm incapable of making cutely colored macarons. Also these were thicker than I would have liked so they retained the nib at the top from the piping bag. But I'll get to that later.
I used two recipes for these and kind of combined them to make my own. The first was this post from My Favorite Recipes and the second was my previously used macaron recipe from I ♥ Macarons. I really scoured the Google results pages for a recipe that sounded like it would work for me. I was actually somewhat limited in finding a recipe for these since a lot of them called for ingredients by weight and I do not have a kitchen scale.
I started by just using the My Favorite Recipes post. So I ground up the cup of freeze dried strawberries, ground up the almonds (which took forever I might add), and sifted the almond powder with the powdered sugar. Then the recipe told me to add two tablespoons of the strawberry powder. But I was like "Why would I grind up a cup of strawberries if I'm only using two tablespoons?" so I added all of the powdered strawberries. And since I had more powder than the recipe called for, I think that's where the extra thickness of the batter came from. But I'm glad I used all the strawberries since I think I would have just thrown out the extra powder. Maybe next time I'll do less powdered sugar to account for about a cup of powdered strawberries.
Then when it came time to make the macaron batter I used the I ♥ Macarons recipe. I like the directions for mixing the batter better there than in the blog post, but I think that's just because I'm used to it.
I probably should have baked them according to the times and temps on the blog post, since I've made the book recipe multiple times and I think I always over bake them. Hopefully I'll learn.
Then came time for the buttercream. I knew I wanted a vanilla filling so they could be like strawberries and cream. I ended up using this recipe from Hint of Vanilla. It's super rich and buttery, so if that's not your style and you like cake frosting buttercream better, now you're warned. I think the richness of the filling goes really nicely with the light crispness of the shells. And the whole strawberries and cream thing worked out because these taste like strawberry milkshakes!
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| Pre Bake |
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| Post Bake |
1 cup freeze dried strawberries
2/3 cup almonds
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
3 egg whites
5 tablespoons granulated sugarGrind up the strawberries and almonds (separately). Sift the strawberries, almonds and powdered sugar together. In a different bowl whip egg whites to stiff peaks. Add in granulated sugar and whip again to incorporate.
Add half of the powder mixture to the egg whites and fold in. Add the other half and fold gently. Then scrape all of the batter against the side of the bowl and from the bottom fold it over itself. Do this 15 times (no more than 20, no less than 10).
Pour into a piping bag and make circles. Rap the pan against the table a few times and let sit for 30 minutes.
Bake at 280 degrees* for about 15 minutes.**
Buttercream Recipe (from Hint of Vanilla):
3 tablespoons + 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup + 1/2 teaspoon (I used two) egg yolks
3 tablespoons + 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup + 2 1/4 teaspoons milk
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Beat together the first sugar and the yolks. In a small pot heat the second sugar and milk on medium until scalding (just under boiling). Pour the milk into the yolks a little at a time as not to scramble them. Beat them while pouring the milk.
Pour all of it back into the pot and whisk and cook on medium (or medium high if you're careful) until simmering. Cook while simmering for 1 minute. It should be very thick now.
Strain into a bowl and beat for about 8 minutes or until completely cool.
Dice the butter and beat it into the mixture a few pieces at a time. Beat in vanilla.
*You'll want to experiment with the temperature. The book says to bake at 375 and I think that's too hot, but I also did not bake any of these at 280 so I'm hesitant to endorse it.
**Also check periodically after the 10 minute mark to make sure the macarons are baked but not overbaked.
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