Pistachio Macaron Recipe Version 2

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As you may or may not know, I have a recipe on this site for pistachio macarons.  I went back a year later to try to make those macarons, and I realized that I don’t have a candy thermometer.  So when I tried to make the filling, it was a fail. And then another fail.  So I searched high and low and came up with another pistachio filling recipe that I love.  AND no candy thermometer is needed!  I wrote this post a little bit ago, but decided to share it now while I’m buying myself time while I am busy with the move!
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This new recipe tastes exactly like the other one.  It uses the same recipe for the shells.  The only thing that changed is my filling.

Pistachio Macaron Recipe Version 2 – printable version here

Materials needed: (affiliate links are used for your convenience)

• • parchment paper or silpat (I like this silpat made in France)
  • silicone spatula
  • electric mixer (your hand will get tired whipping the meringue, I use this super professional one in cherry red, but this  model is wonderful too! )
  • a food scale (yes, you need this. I use this one)
  • a piping tip and piping bag (I like the ateco #806, I use these tips and piping bag)
  • Food coloring (the gels or dry powder works best, not the liquid store stuff)
  • A macaron template
  • food processor (I use this one)

Pistachio Macaron Shell Recipe

• 200g almond flour

• 75g pistachio flour (step 1)

• 250g powdered sugar

• 210g granulated sugar

• 6 egg whites (room-temperature)

• 1/8 cup chopped pistachios

• food coloring (green is traditional color for this cookie)

 

1 Grind your unshelled pistachios (salted or unsalted, I prefer the salted) using a food processor. Be careful not to turn it into a paste.

2 Sift almond flour, pistachio flour, and powdered sugar through a fine mesh screen into a bowl.

3 Whisk or using a beater, turn 6 egg whites to a foam.  Slowly add the granulated sugar to the egg whites as you beat.  Whip until the meringue has firm glossy peaks but not super stiff peaks. They should defy gravity and remain in the bowl if you turn it upside down.  If you tilt your bowl to the side and the meringue started to slide, keep beating.

4 Add your food coloring.

5 Then fold in 1/3rd of the almond/pistachio/sugar mixture into the meringue with a silicone spatula.  Once combined, add another third of the almond mixture. Then the last third.

6 Add the batter to the piping bag.  Pipe in rows using your template onto parchment paper.

7 Pick up the pan and beat onto the counter.  Now sprinkle pistachio nuts on half of the cookies as a garnishment.

8 Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  The cookies need to rest on the counter between 30-60 minutes. They are ready to go into the oven when they are dry to the touch.  The shell shouldn’t stick to your fingers.

9 Bake the cookies for 13-15 minutes, one sheet at a time.  They are done when they look kind of matte and seem firm if you tap on them.  You can always rescue an overcooked cookie with the maturation process that comes later, but you cannot rescue an undercooked one!

10 Remove from the paper once completely cool.  If they stick to the paper, they either aren’t cool yet or you undercooked them.

 

For the pistachio buttercream:

•75g butter, at room temperature

•75g powdered sugar

•50g finely ground pistachios (just grind some up in the food processor)

•1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

•1 tablespoon whipping cream

 

Preparing the pistachio buttercream:

1Cream together the butter and icing sugar on low speed using the paddle attachment, if you’re using a stand mixer. Or mix by hand.

2Add the ground pistachios and beat on medium speed for approx. three minutes.

3Pour in the whipping cream and beat for one minute on medium speed.

4       Optional, add the vanilla and then mix together.  (I added only a few drops, as this enhanced the taste a little).

5      Add the buttercream to a piping bag, and pipe the buttercream onto the shells that do not have the extra pistachio sprinkled on top.

6      Store overnight in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  They taste better the next day, promise!

 

Don’t these macarons look pretty?  When I look at my old ones I get so embarrassed by them.  Granted, they tasted exactly the same. But still! They didn’t have perfectly little flat tops and didn’t all have nice little feet!

 

If you look below, this is how the macarons should look when you lift them up from the silpat or parchment paper… perfectly flat feet.  If they are sticking to the paper or silpat, let them cool a little bit longer and they will lift right up!

Don’t worry about yours if they don’t turn out perfect the first time you make them.  Mine obviously didn’t look perfect if you look at my old recipe, but they still tasted really good!

Some tips:
If they are puffy like little ice cream cones when you pipe them (like my old recipe, you can see the pictures of them) you need to do some more folding.  They need to be a little bit runnier.  That way when you pipe them they’ll spread out.  However, if you fold them too much, they will be too runny and will be ruined.  It’s an art.  I’ve been practicing for a while.  With time, you’ll learn. Just don’t give up. Giving up is for quitters and we don’t quit!

I will say, even when I make the macarons.  My first tray I pipe is always a little bit poofier than the last tray I pipe.  By the time I get to the last tray, I’ve stirred the batter a few more times and gravity has started to work on deflating the meringue some.  Just things I’ve noticed as I’ve been making these for a while.

I was having fun taking food pictures with my camera… an old grimey baking sheet makes a nice food backdrop.

 

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