New Gadgets & French Macaron recipe

First off, let me introduce you to the newest member of my baking gadget family:


Roger

He's amazing. I weigh almost everything out now. Even just for fun. He certainly makes a difference when I make French Macarons. Speaking of those fragile, delicious pastries here is the recipe I used for Pistachio Almond Macarons:

For the shells:
90g egg whites (roughly 3 egg whites)
25g to 50gr (2 Tb to 1/4 cup) granulated sugar
200g ( 1.5 cups + 2Tb) powdered sugar
55g almonds ( 3/4 cup) (slivered, blanched, sliced, whatever you like)
55g pistachios

Prep the eggs: 48 hrs in advance, separate the whites from the yolks and place the whites in a super clean bowl. Leave at room temp, uncovered or loosely covered with a towel at least 24 hrs. Refrigerate after that if desired. You can use eggs that have been “aging” for up to 5 days. I forgot why I had to do this step by today I tried it with fresh egg whites and they turned out the same. I don't know, why or how but they did. Someone try this experiment and let me know how it goes...

Prepare the macarons:
1) Pulse powdered sugar, almonds and pistachios in a food processor. (this is to obtain the finest results. I tried using a chopper and it didn't give me as smooth shells as the food processor did.)

2) In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, (think bubble bath foam) gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue (think shaving cream). Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be too dry. Let me tell you, you can also HAND BEAT your egg whites. I also did that today because I didn't have an electronic whisk available. Trust me when I say I appreciate my stand mixer much more and so do my forearms :)

3) Add the nuts and powdered sugar to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that falls back on itself after counting to 10. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes this number is VERY important and VERY accurate. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.

4) Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip (Ateco #807 or #809) with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper or silicone mats lined baking sheets. Let the macarons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit. You may also use a ziploc bag if you don't have a tip, or even a smaller round tip if that's all you have. You just won't obtain the perfectly round, big macarons.

5) Let them rest for 30-60minutes in order for their shells to become shiny and so they can get their "feet".

6) If using convection: preheat the oven to 280F. If using regular electric or gas, preheat the oven to 300F. When ready, bake for 18 to 20 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool.

Prepare the ganache:
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate morsels.

Heat the cream in a small pot until just before boiling.
Place morsels in a medium bowl and pour cream over. Let sit for a few seconds and then stir until smooth.
Let cool slightly and spoon a small amount on the bottom of a macaron and then sandwich with another cookie.
If you want to make macaron pops, place a lollipop stick on top of the ganache about halfway to the center of the cookie before you sandwich together.


Officially I wanna say I'm addicted to French Macarons... watch out for more variations of the recipe soon. Thanks Tartelette, you rock.

x O X o,
Noey