Macarons

Ah, the pastry that most cannot spell nor pronounce. Most neglect the fact that there is only one "o" in its name and pronouncing it with two usually implies the coconut macaroon which is also delicious but completely different in its entirety. It was quite a journey learning how to make these little rascals. They have extremely high standards in order to achieve the desired shape, consistency, and color but you just need to be patient with them.

My second attempt at making macarons

Ingredients

For the shell:

2 egg whites

4 tbsp of granulated sugar

1/2 c almond meal/flour

1 c confectioners sugar

1 tsp of vanilla extract

For the filling:

2 egg yolks

1/4 c granulated sugar

6 tbsp of butter

1 tsp of vanilla

4 tbsp of milk

Tools:

Electric hand mixer/ Kitchen aid

Two bowls

measuring cups

pastry bag with large round tip

parchment paper

baking trays

Instructions:

1. In a bowl, add your egg whites and whip them with your electric hand mixer until frothy. After it reaches its soft peak stage, add your sugar tbsp by tbsp until it reaches it's stiff peak stage. Also remember to add your vanilla after adding your second tbsp of sugar. It should look glossy and viscous at the end. 

2. In a separate bowl, sift your almond flour and confectioners sugar together. Set that aside. 

3. Add your dry ingredients to the egg white mixture in 3 increments and fold it together. This is called "macronnage" in which you take your spatula and try to get out a sufficient amount of air in order to create the correct consistency. This part is one of the most important parts. You want the mixture to flow down but it cannot be runny! Over mixing the batter results in pancakes and under-mixing your batter creates little domes of almond pastry.

4. Put your mixture into a piping bag and pipe the mixture onto a lined baking tray. Make them as uniform as possible, by keeping its diameter to 1 1/2" circles. 

5. Leave the pastries out to dry for 30 mins to an hour. This is very crucial!!!!! The macarons have to form a shell in order for them to have a dense texture and to create those cute little feet.
6. After the shell has formed, drop the pan two inches above a hard surface to get rid of any extra air pockets in the batter.
7. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 300 degrees F.
8. After they have come out of the oven, have them rest for a good 15 minutes to let them cool down. They should slide off of the parchment paper with the bottoms intact. 

For the cream:

In a saucepan, whisk your eggs and sugar together. Add your vanilla and milk. Heat over medium heat while continuously whisking. When thickened, take off the heat and add your butter. Keep it in the fridge until needed.

Once both the cream and shells have cooled, take your butter cream and fill another pastry bag with a large tip, and then pipe it onto one side of the shell and gently sandwich another shell onto the cream. Continue until all shells have been filled.
The macarons taste better and hour after they've been made. It also helps if they're slightly chilled in the fridge. :)

There you have it ! I hope you try this out :)

Happy cooking !