Macarons (French Macaroons)
Description
Macarons are sweet and delicate French meringue cookies made with ground almonds. Sandwich them with chocolate ganache or frosting for a dainty treat.
Ingredients
•
3 egg whites
•
1/4 cup white sugar
•
1 2/3 cups confectioners' sugar
•
1 cup finely ground almonds
Directions
1
Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.
2
Beat egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until foamy. Add white sugar and beat until egg whites are glossy, fluffy, and hold soft peaks.
3
Sift confectioners' sugar and ground almonds in a separate bowl; quickly fold almond mixture into egg whites, about 30 strokes.
4
Spoon a small amount of batter into a plastic bag with a small corner cut off and pipe a test disk of batter, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, onto the prepared baking sheet. If the disk of batter holds a peak instead of flattening immediately, gently fold batter a few more times and retest.
5
When batter is mixed enough to flatten immediately into an even disk, spoon into a pastry bag fitted with a plain round tip. Pipe batter onto the baking sheet in rounds, leaving space between the disks. Let piped cookies stand out at room temperature until they form a hard skin on top, about 1 hour.
6
Preheat the oven to 285 degrees F (140 degrees C).
7
Bake cookies in preheated oven until set but not browned, about 10 minutes.
8
Let cookies cool completely before filling, about 30 minutes.