Chocolate Cherry Macarons

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Cherries are my favorite fruit and I love chocolate and macarons, so I thought, why not make a chocolate cherry macaron??? So the Chocolate cherry macaron was made and quickly gobbled up!
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Chocolate Cherry Macaron Recipe

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)

Laduree Macaron shell Recipe (from Ladurée Macarons)

275g ground almonds

  250g powdered sugar

210g egg whites

210g granulated sugar

1.  Mix almond meal and the powdered sugar in a food processor. Be careful not to grind too long, otherwise it will form a paste.

2. Sift the almonds and powdered sugar. Set aside.

3. Weigh out granulated sugar.

4. Weigh the egg whites.  Beat them slowly on a low speed until foamy. SLOWLY add the granulated sugar to the egg whites as you beat.  Once all mixed, increase speed to medium and beat until a firm meringue forms.  You want a firm meringue with glossy peaks but not 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 they are sliding out, keep beating.

5. Add the food coloring gel and mix.
6. Then fold in 1/3^rd of the almond/sugar mixture into the meringue with a silicone spatula.  Once combined, add another third of the almond mixture. Add last bit.  This batter requires more deflation during this step since it creates such a poofy meringue.

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

8. Pick up the pan and beat until the counter.  The cookies need to rest on the counter between 30-60 minutes.  They are ready to go in the oven when they are dry to touch (the shell shouldn’t stick to your finger)

9.  Set the oven to 300F.

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

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

Chocolate Cherry Filling

8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, either finely chopped or chips.

8 oz. heavy cream

3 tbsp kirsch

1. In a medium bowl place the chopped chocolate. Bring heavy cream to a boil; pour over the chocolate and let sit for about 1 minute.  Then slowly whisk to combine, trying not to incorporate a lot of air when whisking.

2. Stir in the kirsch syrup.

3. Let ganache chill in refrigerator until set.

To fill the macarons, spread a little bit of ganache on one side of the shell, then gently press the second shell together.  Allow to sit overnight in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  This is a key part!!  I promise if you wait to eat them until the next day they will taste fabulous!

Want to know a secret, I confess, I did *not* make the filling in this recipe.  I was actually shopping in a trip to Napa and went to one of my favorite gourmet food stores, Olivier, and bought this wonderful Chocolate Cherry sauce.  Yes, I cheated, I know.  It made this process so much easier though!

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