Almond Macaroons

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Almond Macaroons

For years I resisted making macaroons. There was something about them that just seemed a bit too fancy. But when I was pulling together my ‘super simple baking’ program, I decided to challenge myself to come up with an easy macaroon recipe. And it wasn’t that hard. So I’ve been kicking myself for not gettting into them sooner!

makes about 10 sandwiches
takes: 40 minutes
70g (2.5oz) almond meal
170g (6oz) icing (powdered) sugar
1 egg white
100g (3.5oz) unsalted butter

1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F).

2. Combine 40g (1.5oz) almond meal and 70g (2.5oz) icing sugar in a food processor, reserving the remaining for the filling.

3. Whisk egg white until you have firm peaks then fold the almond sugar mixture into the egg white.

4. Transfer mixture to a zip-lock bag. Cut the bottom corner and pipe into about 20 rounds on a baking paper lined tray. Allow room for spreading.

5. Stand for 10 minutes for a skin to form then bake for 8-10 minutes until set on the top but not dried out. Cool on the tray.

6. Meanwhile, beat the remaining 30g (1oz) almond meal, 100g (3.5oz) icing sugar and butter in a food processor until light and fluffy.

7. When macaroons are cool, spread a little filling on the flat surface of one shell and then sandwich with another shell.

Prepare Ahead?

The unfilled macaroons will keep in an air tight container for a few days. And the butter filling will keep for about the same amount of time in the fridge so you could prep these ahead and then do the final sandwiching at the end.

Variations

nut-free / coconut – I haven’t tried this but dessicated coconut should work in place almonds. The texture will be rougher.

pecan – replace almonds with pecans.

pistachio – so pretty pale green.

rose & almond – add a few drops of rose water to the mixture.

chocolate – replace a few tablespoons of icing sugar in the bases with cocoa powder. Then make a small batch of the chocolate ganache (filling) for these chocolate tartlets and use it to sandwich the chocolate shells together.

vanilla – add the scraped seeds of a vanilla bean to the filling. If you’re feeling decadent, you could also add some seeds to the

egg-free – I’m not sure if there’s an egg replacer out there that would be suitable. But anything that will work for meringues would be perfect.

more wintery – serve macaroons with hot chocolate.

short on time – serve your favourite chocolate instead.

paleo (gluten, grain + dairy-free) – serve dark chocolate.

Waste Avoidance Strategy

almond meal, sugar – pantry.

egg white – freeze in a ziplock bag.

butter – keeps in the fridge for months.

Problem Solving Guide

egg white not whipping – egg white’s don’t like fat so if they’re not foaming up it probably means there was a tiny bit of egg yolk in your mixture or the bowl wasn’t super clean. Just ditch this effort, give everything a good clean and start again.

scared of separating egg whites? – it can seem a bit tricky, but like most things, once you jump in and try it you’ll realise it’s not that hard. You can buy little gadgets to help with the egg separation process which can help. Or just use Nigellas method and break the egg into a small bowl and gently scoop out the yolk with your (clean) hands.

shells spreading too much – you’ve possibly used eggs that are too large. Next time make sure you get normal large eggs (which weigh about 59g (2oz).

gritty macaroons – it’s important to get the almonds as finely ground as possible to avoid a gritty texture. I find commercial almond meal tends to be finer than I can make in the food processor

macaroons too brown – if the macaroon get cooked for too long or your oven is too hot they’ll over brown. Next time bake for less time or use a slightly lower temperature.

Serving Suggestions

Perfection as is. Also lovely with a cup of tea.

Leftover Potential

Best eaten within 24 hours.

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