French Macarons to Die for!

French Macarons, perfectly round almond morsels with a silky cream filling...Yummy!

It's said that the Macaron may have been brought to France from Italy around 1533 by Catherine di Medici and her pastry chefs.  Macarons gained their fame in 1792 when two Carmelite nuns seeking asylum  during the French Revolution baked and sold macarons to support themselves, thus known as the macaron sisters.  The original Macarons were made with no filling, just a combination of ground almonds, egg whites and sugar. It wasn't until the 1900's that Pierre Desfontaines of Laduree (a Parisian Pastry shop and cafe) decided to take two of the macaron cookies and fill them with ganache.  Laudree still continues today to be a first stop for Parisians with a special love of this delightfully yummy treasure.

I've found some lovely macaroon inspiration via "style me pretty" images and an easy recipe for you to follow below.

French Macarons

Ingredients:
1 cup slivered blanched almonds (skinless)
2 cups confectioner's sugar (icing sugar) -  Divide into two parts of 1 cup each
3 large egg whites
Pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Food colouring of your choice (use drops one by one for either pastel or brighter colour) - Gel colouring is best for macaroons.

Method:

• Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper
• Using a food processor, combine almonds and 1 cup of  sugar, pulse to grind almonds until you achieve a fine mixture.  Set aside
• Using a clean mixer combine egg whites, salt, vanilla and almond extracts and beat on a medium speed until soft peaks form (approx 3-4 mins). Then increase the speed and little by little add the remaining cup of sugar 1tbsp at a time beating until stiff peaks form.  Add your gel food colouring 1 drop at a time to desired shade of colour.
• fold in 1/4 of the ground almond/sugar mixture into the beaten egg mixture.(Gently fold the two together with a large spoon. Repeat the process with another 1/4 of the mixture until all the almonds are folded into the meringue mixture.
• Take a size 11 round piping nozzle, place your mixture into a piping bag and pipe 3.5cm circles with at least 2cm space between them
• Let macaroons stand for 30 minutes before placing them in a pre-heated oven set at 325 degrees Fahrenheit or 162 degrees Celsius.
• Place your trays in the centre of the oven and bake for 10 minutes (fan bake), it will take a little longer without the fan.
• Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before you add a filling of your choice

Filling Suggestions:

• Chocolate ganache: Melt 250g dark chocolate with 250g cream
• White chocolate ganache 350g white chocolate melted slowly with 150 grams of cream

If you want an easy way to melt chocolate for your ganache, please click "here" for photo's. I do not recommend melting chocolate in the microwave.

Handy Tips:

• You can freeze the macaroons for up to 3 months between sheets of wax paper in an airtight container.
• When piping before placing the mixture into your piping bag, fold down the top 3" of the bag to the outside so that it is easier to place the mixture into the bag.

 Disclaimer - I do not own copyright to the images used in this post I created the board using Style Me Pretty.