CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRY MACARONS
Macarons can be a bit intimidating, but I promise you will adore making {and eating} them once you get the hang of it.
I choose Chocolate Macarons with Strawberry filling for one reason and one reason only. They’re my favorite.
What you’ll need :
Mixing bowls (two)
A stand or hand mixer
Spatula
Sifter
Piping bag (or, in a pinch, a ziplock bag)
Parchment Paper
Baking Sheet
Ingredients :
1 1/4 C. Almond meal (finely ground, I like Bob’s Red Mill)
1 3/4 C. Confectioner’s (10x) Sugar
3-5 Tbs. Quality unsweetened Cocoa powder / depending how chocolatey you want your Macarons to be
4 Large egg whites, preferably farm eggs
1/2 C. Granulated sugar
For the filling, Strawberry Jam : {I used a strawberry jam that I had made in the Spring, and canned… but you can always grab some sugar free, organic strawberry jam at the store}
I find it much easier to assemble my mise en place before baking. If I’m scrambling to find the cocoa, in the middle of my recipe I enjoy my time in the kitchen far less. I usually measure out my dry and wet ingredients in smaller bowls so that they’re ready to roll as I work.
I digress…
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Line your baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a mixing bowl, sift {VERY well} almond meal, confectioners sugar, and cocoa together. Any hard pieces of cocoa or almond meal should be tossed and not included. You want these dry ingredients to be as soft and finely sifted as possible. Then, whisk well to combine. Set aside.
In the second mixing bowl {if using a hand mixer, if not complete this step in your stand mixer with a whisk attachment} beat all four egg whites until very frothy. Slowly - over the course of about a minute - add granulated sugar, while you are beating your egg whites. Continue beating at medium-high speed until your egg whites make stiff glossy peaks.
{Boom. You just made meringue!}
Add the dry ingredients to the egg whites with a spatula, a third at a time. Incorporate each third by folding with a spatula until all there are no dry pockets of ingredients left. Continue until all dry ingredients are incorporated. Do not mix vigorously. You want to remove some of the air from the egg whites, but not all of it.
Now, put half of your batter into a pastry bag, cut off about 1/2 inch or, use a simple round tip. Pipe 1 inch circles approximately 1 inch apart. There are Macaron stencils you can slide under your parchment, however, I usually wing it.
Bang your baking sheet, lightly on the table 3-4 times. This will help remove any air pockets that would create hollow spots inside your macarons. Allow macarons to sit, uncovered for 20-45 minutes. Tops will look dry and firm. This helps create the glorious little “feet” your macarons will have. AKA : Le Pied du Macaron. 💕
Place baking sheet in the preheated oven, after macarons have rested. Bake at 300 for 14-15 minutes. Rotating pan once.
Continue to pipe out macarons, allowing them to rest and baking until all batter is used up. (Approx 24-26 macarons). Do not remove macarons from parchment until completely cooled. It’s helpful to have multiple baking sheets.
Fill another piping bag with jam, and pipe onto the flat side of your Macaron. Leaving room around the edge for spreading when topping with another Macaron. Never push down in the center to connect them. Your cookies will shatter. They’re delicate.
Voila! Chocolate Strawberry Macarons!
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