Macaroons for St. Patty’s Day

Happy March (and Friday!) 🍀How do you celebrate St. Patty’s Day? 🍀 Obviously, I’m vibing with the green today. (See images below) My husband helped me come up with the easiest macaron recipe this week to celebrate the green holiday.  

First things first, leave the eggs out to be room temperature

 

Ingredients & Such:

• 7 ounces confectioners’ sugar, divided
• 4 ounces almond flour or meal
• 4 large egg whites, room temperature
• 3½ ounces granulated sugar
• Pinch of cream of tartar

Cream Filling (optional)

• Tub of Pillsbury Cream Cheese Icing
• Natural Food Coloring (we used Amoretti)

Tools:

Alright, let’s get started!

Our recipe is a take off the “French-Cold Meringue” technique for making the macaroons. 

1. Preheat oven to 325°F and place rack in center of the oven.
2. We used a Silpat sheets for a macaroon template. Just trace circles in permanent marker. Arrange the Silpat on a baking sheet with parchment paper on top
3. In the bowl of a food processor, fitted with a metal blade, pulse confectioners’ sugar, and almond flour until a fine powder is formed. Sift mixture four times. Set aside.

Make meringue:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a wire whisk attachment, whisk egg whites on medium speed to soft peak stage.
2. Gradually add ¼ of granulated sugar and whisk for 10 seconds. Repeat until all the sugar is added.
3. Add the cream of tartar, scrape down sides of bowl and increase speed to high, whisking until stiff, glossy peaks form.
4. Add any additional flavoring you would like. We were provided with a free sample of Amoretti Creme de Menthe, which had a nice green coloring and was incredibly flavorful!

Finish the macaroon cookies:

1. Sift the almond flour mixture ⅓ at a time over the egg white mixture and fold using a large spatula until mixture is smooth and shiny.
2. Once all the almond flour mixture is incorporated, check for the correct consistency, meaning that the batter should be nicely firm, have a glossy shine and drip slowly from the spatula.
3. Transfer batter to a pastry (LOL We used a gallon Ziploc bag cut in the corner!) fitted with a plain round tip (#12)
4. Pipe 1⅓-inch rounds on parchment lined baking sheets. When piping the macaroon batter, keep the tip of the pastry bag about ½-inch above and in the middle of the circle guide since the batter will spread.
5. Firmly tap the bottom of each sheet on work surface to release trapped air.

   

6. Bake one sheet at a time, rotating halfway through, until macaroons are crisp and firm, about 12 to 15 minutes.
   • If the macaroons are still soft inside, lower oven to 300°F, cover with aluminum foil and bake for a few more minutes.
   • If the top of the macaroons look crinkled, your oven temperature may be too hot.
7. Let macaroons cool on baking sheets for 2 to 3 minutes, and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before filling. If macaroons stick to the parchment paper after baking, pour a small amount of water underneath the parchment and allow the steam to loosen the macaroons.
8. The macaroons should be dry before baking. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes; check for a slight crust to form—they should not stick to your finger when lightly touched.

Important Side Note:

Firmly tap the bottom of each sheet on work surface to release trapped air.

I cannot emphasize the importance of this step. I am literally recommending that you bang the baking sheet on your counter top. Make sure that the surface is flat underneath and your baby isn’t asleep (like ours was!) Daniel actually slammed the baking sheet on my sturdy forearms. <No picture included>

Make the green filling:

Drop desired amount (1-2 drops) of coloring bowl of icing and mix. Yep, it’s that simple.

 

 

Assemble macaroons:

We used a spoon full of colored icing to hover over the macaroon. Let the icing fall onto the cookie in a gentle, circular movement.

 

 

 

Don’t Forget to Sample Them!

 

Store Them:

If you have any left, refrigerate them in an airtight container, for approximately a week.