I was walking through the grocery store recently and I came across hazelnut flour made by Bob’s Red Mill (you can also get it here on Amazon). I thought to myself, HUH. I know *JUST* the thing I am going to make with this.

Traditional macarons call for almond flour, so I did not know how substituting for hazelnut flour would work.  Turns out… works great!

Also, I did another thing new this time.  While at Trader Joe’s, I found 100% liquid egg whites and gave them a try. Oh my! What a time saver!! The macarons turned out just the same! I am so pleased! If you are going to use a different brand other than Trader Joe’s, you need to make sure it is only 100% egg white and nothing else.

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 professional one in cherry red, but this model is wonderful too and perfect for those who don’t need THE BIG mixer! )
  • 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)
  • 

Macarons Recipe

275g hazelnut flour

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 to the paper, they aren’t cool yet. Or you undercooked them.

Toasted Hazelnuts

Preheat oven to 300F.  Place hazelnuts on a baking sheet.  Bake for about 15 minutes, or until browned.  Half way during baking, stir them.  Once they are cooling, use a towel and rub the skins off of them.

Filling

Use Nutella.

Assembly

1. Once the cookies are cool, add a dollop of your nutella to one cookie and spread with a small knife, spoon, or icing spatula.  Don’t push too hard when spreading, otherwise you will break them!

2.  Place the other cookie to your filling, press gently, and slightly twist the two together. Then, dip a hazelnut in the Nutella and place on top.

3. Once all assembled, put them in an airtight container and let them mature (yes, that’s the scientific word for this process) in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours.

Now, these cookies won’t be bad if you eat them immediately, they will just be amazing if you wait a day.  The theory is that the juices from the filling soak back into the cookie to make an AMAZING cookie.

This French strawberry pistachio macaron cake is the perfect Spring/Summer treat!

In fact, it is my favorite French dessert I’ve *ever* made. That’s a bold statement for me, lover of croissants and macarons!

The sweet/tartness of the strawberries goes so well with the pistachios!  I made two different sizes – a larger cake and small individual cakes!

Honestly, when I made these, I thought they were all fails – half of them cracked and seemed overcooked.  But I adjusted the oven temperature and cooking times and the next batch came out pretty well. Just my piping skills need some practice.

It is a pistachio macaron bottom, a pistachio cream filling, then a pistachio macaron ring which the strawberries sit in.

Adapted from Laduree’s Sucre: The Recipes book, get it here

Materials needed

• silicone spatula

• parchment paper or silat (I like this silpat made in France)

• 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.  One pan needs to be rings and the other pan needs to be circles.  You can choose your size – I made 4″ and 6″ cakes.

7 Pick up the pan and beat onto the counter.

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 9-15 minutes, one sheet at a time.  The rings baked for 9 minutes and the bottoms baked for 14-15 minutes. 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.

Pistachio cream filling

• 6 tbsp (90 g) butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup (180 ml) whole milk
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 40 g shelled pistachios, chopped into small pieces
• 1/4 cup (60 g) pistachio paste  ( I make my own – just place shelled pistachios in the food processor and process away! Then add a few drops of water until it gets to a paste consistency!)

1. In a saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer.
2. While milk is heating up, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar. Then whisk in the cornstarch.
3. Once milk is at a simmer, pour one third of the milk into the egg mixture. Whisk together. Then pour the whole mixture back into the remaining milk on the saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil.  You will be wanting to stir with a whisk the whole time so the egg doesn’t burn (other wise you’ll have scrambled eggs!)
4. Remove from heat once boiling and cool for 10 minutes. Then whisk in half of the butter.  Then let cool to room temp about 70 degrees. If it is taking a while, put in the fridge to cool.
5. Once room temp, use a hand mixer and mix until smooth and fluffy.  Then mix in the remaining half of butter and pistachio paste.  Once well mixed, fold in the chopped pistachios.

To assemble

1. Place the cake bottom upside down (if it is too uneven, just leave the flat side down).  Then using a piping tip, pipe the pistachio cream onto it. Then place the ring on top.
2. Use chopped strawberries to garnish the top.  Sprinkle a few pieces of chopped pistachios on the strawberries.

I had set the table this weekend and put these little cakes down on them… they looked so cute I shot some extra pictures! 

The red berries pop against the blue!

I do hope you’ll try the French strawberry pistachio macaron cake! They are so yummy!Have a happy week!

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If you regularly read my blog, you know that I *love* macarons.  I tried one many years ago and was in love.  Then one day several years ago, my Dad and I decided we were going try to bake them.

Of course we couldn’t just make one, we made a whole day of it…  We made 6 flavors and about 600 macarons.

This post may contain affiliate links. 

Since then, I have been practicing and baking them with all sorts of different flavors.  Today I present to you the chocolate orange ganache macaron!

You know those little chocolate oranges that you wack on the table to break the orange apart that are popular at Christmas? That is what inspired this flavor!

The oranges and satsumas came from my garden… that is what I love about California. The rest of the country is covered in snow and we can walk outside and pick fruit!

(I used oranges for the flavor and satsumas and oranges for the photoshoot)

If you’ve never made macarons before, let me tell you, these are very finicky cookies. In fact, the French don’t consider them cookies at all, they are actually considered little pastries (as I was told by a Parisian in one of the patisseries, or rather, scolded, for thinking they were cookies).

Here are a few tips…

Never make them on a rainy day.  They will not turn out.

When you are folding your almond flour into the meringue, you have to get it just right.  The right consistency is like that of molten lava.

You have to have a scale to weigh your ingredients. The tbsp and cups do not work.

You have to be in the right mood. Seriously. If you are stressed, they will not turn out because you will mess something up in the process.

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)

Chocolate Macaron Shells (get the printable recipe HERE)

260g almond flour

250g powdered sugar

15g cocoa powder

210g granulated sugar

210g egg whites
brown food coloring, *optional*

1.  Mix almond meal, cocoa powder, 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, cocoa powder, 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.  To make mine a richer brown color, I used “chocolate brown” food coloring.

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.

Chocolate Orange Ganache Filling (adopted from this French website)

150g dark chocolate, finely chopped

100g heavy cream

zest of one orange (or clementine/satsuma)

50g of fresh squeezed orange juice

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, heat the cream with the zest of one orange.  Do not let it boil, just when it starts to steam.  Leave it to infuse for 30 minutes.  I turned it off the heat and covered the saucepan while it infused.

2. Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl.

3. After 30 minutes, bring the cream just to a simmer (just to get the cream hot enough to melt the chocolate)
4. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute. Then, gently stir the chocolate and cream until the chocolate has melted. Do not whip it, you want to gently stir it as not to add air into the ganache. Next, add the orange juice and gently mix in until combined.
5. Next, pour into a dish and let it sit for at least 30 minutes before placing in your macaron shells. You can store the ganache in the fridge for longer (I do not know how long, probably until the cream expires?)

Assembly
Either pipe or spread the ganache over one macaron shell, then place another on top. Store in an airtight container for 24 hours in the fridge. Take them out of the fridge 2 hours before eating them. Resist the urge to eat them immediately – I promise they will be better on the second day!
*note* You can use either fresh orange, clementine, or satsuma for these cookies – they will all taste good!

I thought these were a great alternative to the peppermint chocolate ganache to make for the Christmas holidays as I know there are quite a few peppermint haters.

This is a great website with lots of info on Macaron Troubleshooting!

They are really really good.  You can’t eat just one.

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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!
This post may contain affiliate links. 

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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I’m back with another macaron recipe! These ones were super good!  I like to use the French macaron method, as I think it is easier.

This post may contain affiliate links. 

If you like raspberries and nutella you will like these!!  Yes, the filling has nutella. I didn’t make my own chocolate hazelnut ganache, I got lazy. Sorry.  These cookies are time consuming enough to make!  I love making them though… they are really quite pretty and you can show off to your friends and family!

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 Macarons Recipe

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 to the paper, they aren’t cool yet. Or you undercooked them.

Filling – for Raspberry Chocolate Macarons

Ingredients:

• Seedless raspberry jam (For these macarons, the easiest way for the filling is to buy seedless raspberry jam.  I know, it’s cheating! If you really wanted to be fancy, you could make your own.)
• Nutella

1. Once the cookies are cool, add a dollop of your nutella to one cookie and spread with a small knife, spoon, or icing spatula.  Then add a dollop of raspberry jam.  Don’t push too hard when spreading, otherwise you will break them!

2.  Place the other cookie to your filling, press gently, and slightly twist the two together.

3. Once all assembled, put them in an airtight container and let them mature (yes, that’s the scientific word for this process) in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours.

Now, these cookies won’t be bad if you eat them immediately, they will just be amazing if you wait a day.  The theory is that the juices from the filling soak back into the cookie to make an AMAZING cookie.

Have you made macarons?? Let me know about your experience!

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It is now NOVEMBER which means… baking time for everyone! I’ve updated the blog a bit to make it more festive for Thanksgiving. On the sidebar on the right are some recipes I’ve used in the past for Thanksgiving!
So, it’s time to go to the kitchen and start creating, we have Thanksgiving coming up!!  I have created a pumpkin cheesecake macaron recipe which I think it is pretty good! If you like macarons and you like pumpkin pie, then try this out! This could pass off as a pumpkin pie macaron recipe too. But since it has cream cheese in it, I’m going with Pumpkin Cheesecake!
This post may contain affiliate links.

After trying a bunch of different filling recipes from various sources, I came up with my own cheesecake pumpkin pie filling.

Pumpkin Pie Macaron Recipe – 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)

Macarons Recipe – adapted from Laduree

275g ground almonds

250g powdered sugar

210g egg whites

210g granulated sugar

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

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, pumpkin pie spice, 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 to the paper, they aren’t cool yet. Or you undercooked them.

Pumpkin Pie Filling

4 ounces cream cheese

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 tsp (heaping) pumpkin pie spice

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1. In a mixing bowl, add all of the above ingredients together.  Mix together until it is a nice creamy mixture.

2. Pipe or spread the filling onto one macaron shell, then make a sandwich with the other. Done!

Recommend putting them in an airtight container and enjoying the next day… macarons always taste better on day 2! They will keep in the fridge for several days.

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I have been busying baking macarons and I thought, why don’t I combine two of my favorites: Pistachio & Salted Caramel?  So I did.  And it was good.
This post may contain affiliate links. 

Don’t they look good??  The caramel is oozing out of the cookies and just begging to be eaten!

Pistachio Salted Caramel Macarons (Get the printable recipe 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.

11 Fill the cookies when cool with the filling below.

12 Refrigerate overnight for best results.

Salted Caramel Filling Recipe

(makes 1.5 cups of caramel)

1 cup of cream

1.5 cups of granulated sugar

2 tsp coarse salt (or 1tsp for a less salty flavor)

1 cup unsalted butter

Instructions:

1. Chop butter into small cubes and set aside.

2. Pour cream into the pan and add the salt. Bring to a low boil while stirring and remove immediately. Do not scald the cream.

3. Place the sugar into a new pan. Cook over medium hit while stirring constantly.

4. Stir until sugar is melted and has caramelized into a rich color. Remove from heat.  Do not burn the sugar.  If your caramel starts to burn, throw it away. You cannot rescue it.

5. Pour and stir the hot cream into the caramel mixture. BE CAREFUL!!! Add the cream VERY SLOWLY.  The caramel will spit and boil up, so stir while incorporating the cream into the caramel.

6. Let the caramel cool to 115 degrees (about 5 minutes later).

7. Whisk in the cubes of butter into the mixture until melted and mixed.

8. Pour caramel into a shatter proof bowl and refrigerate until cold.

To use the caramel:

1. Remove from the fridge.

2. Whisk the caramel mixture to stiffen to more of a butter/cream consistency. Do not over-whisk as the caramel will separate.  Add the caramel to a shell and twist shell shut to close them together.

3. Once all assembled, put them in an airtight container and let them mature (yes, that’s the scientific word for this process) in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours.

Om nom nom! These were good!

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I’ve been back in the kitchen baking again.  You will love what I came up with! I was inspired ball of the pretty french pastries I saw in Paris! White chocolate blackberry macarons!
This post may contain affiliate links.

White Chocolate Blackberry Macarons – printable recipe here

We will need 2 cups of fresh blackberries, but will not use them until the very end.

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)

Macaron Shell Recipe (from Laduree)

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.  These macarons are a bit bigger than your usual macarons – 7cm in diameter.  To make my template I found a round glass that measured 7cm and drew around it.

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 15-20 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!!   The cooking time really depends on your oven.

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

miam miam

White Chocolate Cream Filling

• 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
• 85g granulated sugar (about 1/4 cup + 2tbsp)
• 1 cup milk (doesn’t matter whole milk vs nonfat, I used 1%)
• 29g cornstarch (3tbsp)
• 119g white chocolate (4ounces)
• 28g butter (2tbsp)

1. Beat the egg, egg yolk, and the 1/4 cup of sugar together in a mixer until pale yellow and thick. This takes about 4 minutes.
2. Add the cornstarch, mix on medium-low until mixed in.
3. Mix the milk and the remaining 2 tbsp of sugar on a saucier pan over heat.  Bring it to a boil.
4. Once boiling, pour half of the milk slowly into the egg mixture and whisk constantly.
5. Then pour the entire mixture back into the remaining milk in the saucepan.  Bring up to a boil to thicken on low.
6. You must whisk continuously to make sure that it doesn’t burn on the bottom, This takes several minutes.  If it burns, you must throw away and start over.
7. The pastry cream will suddenly thicken.  Once it thickens, add the white chocolate and mix together thoroughly until chocolate is melted.  Remember we are only melting the chocolate, not cooking it!
8. Put a piece of saran wrap directly onto the surface of your cream and place it in the refrigerator.  Let cool for 1-2 hours before using.

Assembling the macarons!

On one shell, form a ring of blackberries on the edge.  Using a piping bag, pipe the white chocolate cream into the center of the blackberry ring.Then put another macaron shell on top to make a sandwich.  For looks, pipe a little dollop around each blackberry so it appears to be sandwiched between white chocolate cream.

For garnish, pipe a little dollop of cream on top, add a blackberry, and sprig of fresh mint. Voila! You, too, are a pastry chef!

Below is a picture of what I mean by putting the blackberries on the edge and adding the cream to the center.  As you can see, my recipe was inspired by a raspberry rose version I had in Paris.  Except… I never saw a blackberry one there! So I came up with my own!

this is what I mean by putting a ring of berries on the edge and piping cream into the center!

These were really very good.  I struggled with piping the larger 7cm macaron shells. The oven here is super crappy, in fact, we are getting a new one. I had the oven set at 300 and it ranged from 250-350F!  You just have to practice. I had some trays of flops… and some trays of nice ones!  I am very happy that these turned up with feet and I got the perfect flat top too!

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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!
This post may contain affiliate links.

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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