I’ve officially done it. Succesfully. French macarons, people.
I have to admit, I was a little frightened that I would screw up something when making macarons for the first time. And I’m not talking about the coconut confection that you may be thinking of. After I read a few tutorials online it seemed like there was SO much that could go wrong.
But really…just follow Mindy’s instructions in her book and she won’t steer you wrong. Truly.
Mindy’s book, Gourmet French Macarons, even comes with a CD that has all of the printable templates. Because who can pipe 40 perfect little circles, let alone all the other cute shapes included?!! No one, that’s who.
After I put these in the oven and turned on my oven light to peak on them, I did a little happy dance when I saw they were actually turning out like MACARONS!
It’s the simple things in life, I tell ya.
For the antler’s I used Chocolate CandiQuik and piped the different antler designs onto wax paper. Easy peasy.
(You can buy the book HERE)
- Chocolate French Macarons:
- 100g of egg whites aged at room temperature
- Pinch of Cream of tartar
- 35g of superfine sugar
- 110g of Almond flour
- 200g of Powdered Sugar
- 10g cocoa powder
- Chocolate Ganache Filling:
- 100 g (3.5 oz) chocolate*
- 1½ Tbsp. heavy cream
- Place chocolate in a heat proof bowl.
- Boil cream and pour over chocolate.
- Stir until all the chocolate has melted and texture is smooth**
- When warm, pipe onto macaron shells.
- *Extras:
- Chocolate CANDIQUIK Coating
- Measure out all ingredients using a gram scale
- Prepare the baking sheets by lining them with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Slide a printed 1 ½ inch template sheet underneath and set aside. Prepare piping bag to be filled and set aside.
- Sift powdered sugar, almond mixture, and cocoa powder together two or three times through a sieve and set aside.
- Place the egg whites in a large bowl or in stand mixer with wire whisk attachment. Whisk on low until egg whites become foamy. Add the pinch of cream of tartar. Continue to whisk until soft peaks form. Slowly add in the superfine sugar. Once all of the sugar is incorporated, scrape down the sides with a spatula.
- Turn your mixer on medium-high and continue to whisk until you reach a stiff meringue. If adding liquid or gel food dye, do so toward the end of whisking.
- Sift ⅓ of the almond flour, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder mixture through the sieve and into the meringue. Fold the dry mixture into the meringue. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Once all of the dry ingredients are incorporated, the batter will be thick and have a dull shine. Continue to fold. As you do so, the batter will loosen. Stop folding when the batter has a glossy sheen, a “lava-like” consistency, and falls in a ribbon like manner off the spatula.
- Transfer the batter into a large pastry bag fitted with a round tip and pipe 1½ inch rounds on the parchment paper following the template.
- When all of the rounds are piped on the parchment, rap the sheet pans evenly on work surface a few times. Remove templates from below your parchment paper carefully. Let the batter rest at room temperature for 20-40 minutes.
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Reduce temperature to 300 degrees and bake one sheet at a time for 12 minutes rotating the pan half way through.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool.
- Match up similar size shells into pairs and sandwich with filling.
- *For the antlers, melt Chocolate CANDIQUIK and transfer into a piping bag or plastic ziploc. Pipe antler designs onto wax paper and let set. Once set, peel up from wax paper and press in the center of the macaron.
I just love these little macarons – so cute!
Stop by Mindy’s blog, Creative Juice, for even more cuteness!
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I have been wanting to attempt these as well but have always thought it would be too difficult! Yours looks absolutely amazing and has ME in awe!!
Hi Nancy, try them!!! I highly suggest Mindy’s book! Everything you need to know, along with what could go wrong, is right at your fingertips! Good luck!
These are awesome! I love Mindy’s book. She just makes them so easy!
Thanks, Dorothy! I love that book, if you follow the instructions it is near fool proof!
Congrats, these look awesome!! I am convinced that expensive macaron shops are behind all the rumors that macarons are tough to make. They have such a bad rep, but if you have solid instructions they’re no big thing! These are super adorable, love the chocolate antlers!
Hi Elizabeth, you are so right! Mine weren’t completely perfect, but for the first time making these they were not as hard as I had thought! And for $3 a macaron, I’ll make my own ;).
You did an amazing job! These are adorable! I need to work up the nerve to try macarons!
Hi Tanya, thank you very much! They’re not as scary as I thought!
SO stinkin adorable!!
Thanks so much, Heather!
Your macaroons are so stinkin’ cute! I love the different designs of the antlers
The macarons look amazing but it’s those awesome antlers that grabbed my attention! So realistic! Pinned!
Hi Trish! Thank you – they were fun to make, especially with the different shapes for the antlers!
I love it! How cute my granddaughter would love these.
Them snowmen are adorable.
Fantastic giveaway. thank you for this opportunity.
ColleenB.
Texas