Valentines day is right around the corner and it’s time to start thinking about pretty pink desserts filled with chocolate… oh wait, is that just me that goes straight to desserts filled with chocolate? Nah… I’m sure you guys all go that route…
ANYWAY This year I’m teaming up with 11 other AMAZING #creativefoodies and we’re sharing themed goodies once a month – this month? Pink and Red Valentines treats (scroll to the bottom to see everyone else’s fun Valentines treats)
Macarons – the ultimate PRETTY cookie – they scare some people but honestly they aren’t that hard! It all comes down to a few tips for the VERY best results:
- weigh all the ingredients
- 3 day old, room temperature egg whites
- not over mixing the batter (see katch video below for how the batter should look)
- letting the piped cookies sit before baking
- finally let the cookies “mature” in the fridge for 3 days before enjoying them, yes I’m serious!
- 1 Tbsp dried egg white powder (not meringue powder)
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp freeze dried raspberry - grind it up
- 1 3/4 C powdered sugar
- 1 1/8 C fine almond flour
- 4 lrg egg whites set out at room temp (at least 24 hours)
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- raspberry syrup
- 4 oz heavy whipping cream
- 8 oz chocolate
Print your template and place in pans (2-3) under parchment paper - OR draw 1 1/2 inch circles on the underside of your parchment paper.
- Stir the granulated sugar and egg white powder into a small bowl, set aside.
- Using a pestle and mortar grind the freeze dried raspberries into a fine powder
- In another bowl sift together the almond flour, powdered sugar and powdered raspberries at least twice.
- In a copper or grease free bowl add the cream of tarter to your egg whites, beat them on low speed until foamy (with a hand mixer or by hand - not a big machine mixer).
- Slowly add the granulated sugar/egg white powder mixture as you beat the eggs.
- Increase the speed to medium and beat until almost stiff egg whites, still glossy, but more firm that soft peaks.
- Gently fold in 1/3rd of the almond mixture.
- Once its combined, add another third of the almond mixture, fold, and so on.
- Add your batter to a piping bag with a large round tip (around 1 cm or less) and pipe circles of macarons (or pipe hearts for a valentines treat).
- Pipe into the smaller circle they will spread to the larger circle.
- Pick up the pan with both hands, and holding it level, tap it firmly onto the counter several times. This will bring up any air bubbles in the cookies for you to pop (with a toothpick)
- Let the cookies rest between 45-60 minutes
- This is a great time to make the ganache - in a small pot bring the cream to a simmer
- pour the cream over the chocolate, let it sit for 5 mins
- stir it until it's smooth (if it's still chunky you can melt it over a double broiler
- Let it cool, it will thicken so it can be piped
- Pre-heat your oven to as close to 290°F as possible, a little over is better than a little under.
- Bake the cookies for 16-18 minutes. One sheet at a time.
- Let the shells cool, then pop off the parchment paper
- LIGHTLY brush some of the raspberry syrup to the bottom of the shells
- Pipe the ganache onto half of the shells and twist the other half of the cookies onto the ganache
- Refrigerate the cookies and let them maturate, 1-3 days
- Bring to room temperature then enjoy
for more scientific posts on macaroons check out these posts by "not so humble pie"
http://notsohumblepie.blogspot.com/2010/08/macaron-troubleshooting-new-recipe.html
That all sounds doable right? I like to start by getting the ingredients weighed out and in the three bowls (egg whites, sugar/dried egg whites, flour/powdered sugar sifted). Then it’s really a piece of cake to whip out! The only reason these cookies are time consuming (and take some prep) is because of all the waiting – waiting for the egg whites for a few days, waiting for the piped cookies to crust before baking, waiting for them to cool, waiting for the ganache to set, then waiting three days for the cookies and filling to mature correctly, etc…
So here we go! kicking of a fun new series for the year – follow the hashtag #creativefoodies on instagram! Every month we’ll have a new theme and more fun recipes. Do you have a favorite valentine treat you like to make every year?
- Chocolate Raspberry Macarons from Ashlee Marie (here)
- NoBake Raspberry Cheesecakes from Mom Endeavors
- Cherry Cheesecake Dip from See VanessaCraft
- Hot Tamale Fudge from Strawberry Mommycakes
- Strawberry Angel Food Cake from Mommy Hates Cooking
- Chocolate Covered Strawberry Yogurt Pops from Play Party Pin
- Valentine’s Day Oreo Pops from Happiness is Homemade
- Valentine’s Day Snack Mix from Two Twenty One
- Red Velvet Cheesecake from Spaceships and Laserbeams
- Loves Me Loves Me Not Valentine’s Cupcakes from Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons
- Valentines Chocolate Pretzel Bark from A Night Owl
- Vanilla Raspberry Cake Roll from The Idea Room
Valerie Roberts
Gorgeous! Great recipe.
Ashlee
thank you so much!
Mia
Ashlee,
I had a bust with your Pink Raspberry Macarons & the batter was completely stiff.
I weighed everything except for the egg whites. I had set aside 4 egg whites 3 days before.
So I have a few questions:
Did you weigh your egg whites before you set them out to age?
Or, did you weigh the egg whites as you were making the batter?
I used freeze dried strawberries instead of raspberries.
Is the measurement correct in the recipe? 10 g was a lot more than 2 T.