French Macarons

The first time I tasted a French Macaron I wondered why they were so popular. It wasn't until a friend of mine brought me a box of Laduree’s Macarons from Paris that I finally knew why this pretty petit four was taking the world by storm.

Light, airy, meringue-like, beautiful French macarons have been on my baking bucket list for 2 years. It is amazing how only four ingredients can make such a perfect cookie. A cookie with a thin crust that breaks so easily when you bite into it, while inside it's wonderfully soft and moist, with a mildly sweet almond flavor. 

The technique for making Macarons is a little tricky as there are so many factors at play here - the quality and amounts of ingredients, the mixing of the batter, the pans, the length of resting time, the oven temperature, and the baking time. Any or all of these things can cause problems. Some common problems are that the Macaron doesn't have a 'ruffle' or 'collar' (called a 'foot') on the bottom, or that the 'foot' is more horizontal than vertical. Or maybe the tops of the cookies have cracks or are too domed shaped, or uneven, or even lumpy. Sometimes the cookies can be lopsided or the insides of the cookies are too chewy or dry.

I’ve been studying, testing and driving myself crazy in the kitchen for months trying to get these things right. I’ve never been more determined. And with perseverance comes success! Here are my conclusions.

• Use top worth ingredients, and to get precise amounts of each ingredient, measure by weight (grams), not volume. (I use a digital scale for measuring only.)
•   The egg whites need to be 'aged', which means separate the eggs at least a day (and up to 5 days) before making the Macarons. Cover the egg whites with a piece of paper towel (to let the whites breath) and place in the refrigerator. Then, several hours before making the Macarons, remove the whites from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. (This ensures that the whites will reach their full volume when whipped.)
• The ground almonds. You can either buy almond meal/flour or you can take whole blanched almonds and process them in your food processor until finely ground. Sift the mixture to get rid of any large pieces of almonds.
•  There are two parts to the batter, making the meringue and then folding the almond/sugar mixture into the meringue (called macaronage). Each part must be done accurately.
•  As always when making a meringue have your mixing bowl and wire whisk clean and free of grease. To ensure this take a tissue and put some vinegar on it and wipe the bowl and the whisk with it. 
•  Once you have made the batter and piped the cookies onto your baking sheets, it is important to let the cookies rest before they are baked. Normally they need to sit between 30 – 60 minutes (depending on the humidity and temperature of your kitchen) or until they are no longer tacky when lightly touched. It is preferable to leave your air conditioner on while making macarons.
• Oven temperature is also so important and there is quite a debate on what is the optimum oven temperature for baking Macarons. I prefer 325ºF/160 ºC. But it also varies from oven to oven. But it will never be more than 325ºF/160 ºC.

    

French Macarons

Duration    1 Hour 45 Mins

Preparation 1 Hour 30 Mins

Cooking 15 Mins

Yields 30 sandwiches

Ingredients:

100 grams ground blanched almonds or almond meal/flour

180 grams confectioner (powdered or icing) sugar

100 grams "aged" egg whites, at room temperature

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (optional)

35 grams superfine or castor white sugar

Notes:

·         Weight measurements (grams) (use a digital scale) are only given for this recipe. Volume measurements (cups) are not recommended.

·         Use powdered sugar that contains cornstarch (corn flour).

·         Separate eggs at least 24 hours before using (or up to five days). Cover with paper towel and place in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before using.

·         Make superfine sugar by processing regular granulated white sugar in your food processor for about 30 seconds or until sugar is ground very fine. 

Method:

1.      Have ready three baking sheets lined with parchment paper. To make all the Macarons the same size, I like to make a template. Take a piece of parchment paper and draw 20 - 1 1/2 inch (3-4 cm) circles, spacing the circles about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Place the template under your parchment paper so you can use it as a guide.

2.      Place the ground almonds and confectioners’ sugar in a food processor and process until finely ground (about 1 - 2 minutes). Sift the mixture to remove any lumps.

3.      In the bowl of your electric mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment (can use a hand mixer), beat the egg whites and cream of tartar, if using, on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add the sugar, and continue to beat, on medium-high speed, until the meringue just holds stiff peaks(when you slowly raise the whisk the meringue is straight up, no  drooping, called a 'beak') (but do not over mix the meringue or it will 'break'). Then, in three additions, sift the ground almond/sugar mixture over the meringue. When folding, cut through the meringue and then fold up and over, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Once the almond mixture is completely folded (called macaronage) into the meringue (the batter will fall back into the bowl in a thick ribbon) it is time to pipe the Macarons.

4.      Fill a pastry bag, fitted with 1/2 inch (1 cm) tip, with about half the batter. Pipe about 1-1 1/2 inch (3 - 4 cm) rounds onto the parchment paper, using the template as a guide. Then gently tap the baking sheet on the counter to break any air bubbles (can also break air bubbles with the end of a toothpick). Let the Macarons sit at room temperature for about 30 - 60 minutes (depending on the temperature and humidity of your kitchen) or until the tops of the Macarons are no longer tacky.

5.      Meanwhile preheat your oven to 325ºF / 160ºC with the oven racks in the top and bottom third of the oven. Bake the cookies (two sheets at a time) for about 14 -16 minutes, rotating the pans top to bottom, front to back, about halfway through baking.The Macarons are done when you can just barely separate the cookies from the parchment paper (there will be some browning of the cookies). (If you find that the bottoms of the cookies brown too much, double sheet your baking pans.) Remove from oven and let the Macarons cool completely on the baking sheet placed on a wire rack. To assemble the Macarons, take two cookies and sandwich them together with your filling (place filling on flat side of cookie). Makes about 30 Macarons. While you can serve the Macarons the day they are made, these cookies really need to mature for a day or two in the refrigerator. Best served at room temperature.

Hazelnut Toffee Cookie Bark

A 35 minute, sweet and simple dessert filled with Hazelnuts goodness. And Yes!! its a fast and easy dessert recipe that’s perfect for your holiday baking.

The base is a toffee cookie - it tastes more like toffee candy than cookie.  It's marvellous. Melted dark chocolate is slathered on top, followed by a sprinkling of toasted hazelnuts and flaky sea salt. There's really nothing more to be said except that it is insanely addictive. 

Hazelnuts are a favourite in my home. I like to have them with almost anything. Especially, when it comes to hazelnuts in baked goods, I can out eat them like how most birds can eat twice their weight.

I’m also sure we can all find comfort in a sweet and simple dessert that is as easy to make as mix, melt and chill.

Happy Holiday Baking!! J

Hazelnut Toffee Cookie Bark

Duration 35 Mins

Preparation 20 Mins

Cooking 15 Mins

Yields 15 – 20

Ingredients

½ cup salted butter, softened

6 tbsp brown sugar, packed

6 tbsp granulated sugar

1 large egg yolk      

½ tsp hazelnut extract

175 g all purpose flour

150 g (10 oz) Ghirardelli chocolate, coarsely chopped

½ cup hazelnuts

¼ tsp sea salt, for sprinkling

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350ºF/ 180 ºC.  While oven is still preheating, spread hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast until golden brown - keep an eye to make sure they don't burn. Once they cool down, chop them.

Beat butter with sugars, egg yolk and vanilla. Stir in flour. Dump onto a large, parchment-lined baking sheet and use your palms to spread it out to a rough rectangle of 1/4" thickness (it doesn't have to be a perfect shape).  Lightly dampen your hands as needed if dough gets too sticky. Bake about 15 minutes, until deep golden brown (it'll smell like toffee!).  Let cool about 10 minutes on baking sheet. 

Meanwhile, place chocolate in a large microwave-safe measuring cup or bowl.  Microwave at 50% power for 2 minutes, then let stand for 2 minutes and stir to finish melting. (Alternatively, melt in a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.)  Spread chocolate evenly over cookie base, then top with almonds and sprinkle with salt. Let cool in pan until chocolate is completely set (up to 12 hours), then cut or break into pieces. 

Notes

1.      Use good chocolate - it doesn't have to be the most costly, but at least something you would enjoy in a bar.  I usually Ghirardelli buy bars in bulk. 

2.      When baking the base, keep in mind that it should be deeply golden (you know, like toffee).  Because the ingredients are similar to a chocolate chip cookie, you might be tempted to under-bake, but this is not the place for that.  

3.      Keep in mind that the chocolate can take a long time to set - mine took around 45 minutes to harden enough to cut.  Also if you temper the chocolate just right it will set quickly. So plan timing accordingly. (If need be, you could pop it in the fridge - not ideal to submit chocolate to large temperature changes, it can lose its sheen, but it will be hidden under a blanket of hazelnuts.)