A French Treat For The Daring Bakers

Little effort went into making these macarons. The cookies were simple...egg whites, ground almonds, confectioners and granulated sugars and flavorings. Oven time had taken most of the time needed, although piping the batter required patience.

The fillings had taken more effort, but were still easy. The results were classic...crisp thin shells on the outside hid moist, chewy insides and the flavors of the fillings tied it all together...the macarons even had the requisite "feet".


Filling included chocolate ganache for the vanilla macarons and cream cheese maple and apple filling for the cinnamon macarons.



The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

(Elle's Note:I followed the recipe, but divided the batter in half. Half received vanilla extract. The other half received 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon. I tried to pipe regular amounts of the batter, but some were a little smaller or larger than others, so I matched similar sizes once the cookies had cooled and lined them up that way before filling so that I could put the top cookie on as soon as I piped the filling on the bottom cookies.)

The vanilla and chocolate combination was classic and delicious, but both Sweetie and I enjoyed the cinnamon -maple-apple-spice ones even more. They were so good that I'm going to make more just so I can try different flavors. Thank you Ami for choosing such a great challenge recipe!
As usual, there are many, many dozens of Daring Bakers around the globe who have created stunning macarons for you to view. The blogroll can be accessed through this link.


Macarons

Preparation time: Not taking into account the amount of time it takes for you to bring your egg whites to room temperature, the whole baking process, including making the batter, piping and baking will probably take you about an hour to an hour and a half. How long it takes to make your filling is dependent on what you choose to make.

Actual baking time: 12 minutes total, plus a few minutes to get your oven from 200°F to 375°F.
(Elle's Note - I baked one sheet at a time, so the baking time was extended to allow for the oven to heat up and cool off for each sheet.)
Equipment required:
• Electric mixer, preferably a stand mixer with a whisk attachment
• Rubber spatula
• Baking sheets
• Parchment paper or nonstick liners
• Pastry bag (can be disposable)
• Plain half-inch pastry bag tip
• Sifter or sieve
• If you don’t have a pastry bag and/or tips, you can use a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off
• Oven
• Cooling rack
• Thin-bladed spatula for removing the macaroons from the baking sheets
• Food processor or nut grinder, if grinding your own nuts (ouch!)

Ingredients
Confectioners’ (Icing) sugar: 2 ¼ cups (225 g, 8 oz.)
Almond flour: 2 cups (190 g, 6.7 oz.)
Granulated sugar: 2 tablespoons (25 g , .88 oz.)
Egg whites: 5 (Have at room temperature)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.

2. Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.

3. Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.

4. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. It’s easiest to fill your bag if you stand it up in a tall glass and fold the top down before spooning in the batter.


(As you can see, I sprinkled a little cinnamon over the piped cinnamon batter rounds.)
5. Pipe one-inch-sized (2.5 cm) mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper).


6. Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F (190°C). Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.

7. Cool on a rack before filling.

Yield: 10 dozen. Ami's note: My yield was much smaller than this. I produced about two dozen filled macaroons.


Semisweet Chocolate Ganache Filling
Heat ¼ cup heavy cream in the microwave 1 minute on high power. Remove bowl from microwave and add 2 oz. of semisweet excellent quality chocolate that has been chopped finely. Stir with a small spatula, very gently, until chocolate melts and thoroughly combined. Avoid adding extra air.

Let cool 2-3 minutes, then put into a pastry bag and pipe about ½ tablespoon on half of the macarons on the flat side. Top with the other half of the macarons, rounded side up. Let the ganache firm up before serving.

Makes enough to fill half of the batch of macarons in the Daring Baker’s recipe.


Cream Cheese Maple Apple Filling
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
3 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tablespoon sour cream or plain yogurt
1-2 teaspoon(s) juices from Maple Apples (below)
OR 2 teaspoons maple syrup and a dash of cinnamon
½ cup confectioner’s sugar

Cream the butter, cream cheese, and sour cream until fluffy (I used a whisk attachment and my stand mixer). Add the maple apple juices or the maple syrup and cinnamon, Beat until well combined.

Beat in the confectioner’s sugar until completely combined.

Place the filling in a pastry bag and pipe about ½ tablespoon on half of the macarons on the flat side. Top with the other half of the macarons, rounded side up. This filling won’t harden, so serve it as soon as you wish.

Makes enough to fill half of the batch of macarons in the Daring Baker’s recipe plus about a cup left over for another use.

Maple Apples3 medium apples, cores and stems removed, chopped
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
dash allspice
dash nutmeg
dash cloves
1 tablespoon water

Place all the ingredients in a saucepan. Stir to combine well. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Let cool. Use the juices to flavor the filling and use the fruit as a fruit compote with ice cream or over cooked cereal, pancakes, or waffles.