Beautiful French Macarons

I have always loved macarons - even just to look at.  They are so sweet and cute that it almost grieves you to eat them.  I tried to make them a few years back and ended up getting into a vicious fight with my silpat and haven't tried again in years.

Hubby knows I just love these little delights and decided he would make me some for Valentine's Day.  Valentine's came and went without the romantic dinner I'd planned to make and without any macarons, but that's quite all right considering I got a new car instead!  We ended up making these together yesterday and thanks to his patience and my kitchen savy they turned out perfectly.  I made a quick vanilla bean buttercream to fill them and we added raspberry jam to some as well.  They were truly sublime.  This is a fairly easy recipe from Martha Stewart that for me worked much better than any I've tried in the past using sugar syrups.  I highly recommend giving it a go for any special events.  I will definitely be making baby blue ones when this little bundle arrives!

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 3/4 cup ground almonds
• 2 large egg whites, old and room temperature
• Pinch of cream of tartar
• 1/4 cup caster sugar

Pulse icing sugar and almonds in a food processor until combined. Sift mixture twice.

Preheat oven to 190C/375F degrees.

Whisk whites with a mixer on medium speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar, and whisk until soft peaks form.

Reduce speed to low, then add superfine sugar. Increase speed to high, and whisk until stiff peaks form, about 8 minutes.

Sift flour mixture over whites, and fold until mixture is smooth and shiny.  It took us about 40 folds.

Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain round tip, and pipe 3/4-inch rounds 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets, dragging pastry tip to the side of rounds rather than forming peaks.

Tap bottom of each sheet on work surface to release trapped air. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 160C/325F degrees. Bake 1 sheet at a time, rotating halfway through, until macarons are crisp and firm, about 10 minutes. After each batch, increase oven temperature again, heat for 5 minutes, then reduce as before.


Let macarons cool on sheets for 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. (If macarons stick, spray water underneath parchment on hot sheet. The steam will help release macarons.)

Sandwich 2 same-size macarons with 1 teaspoon filling. Serve immediately, or stack between layers of parchment, wrap in plastic, and freeze for up to 3 months.

Linking up with: Transformation Thursday, Hooking Up with HoH, Strut Your Stuff, Making it with Allie, Catch A Glimpse Thursday, It's a Keeper Thursday, Full Plate Thursday, Sweet Treats Thursday