No cookie says “special occasion” more than the macaron. And especially if you’ve ever made them and know the work (and patience) entailed you appreciate them more! I’ve been teaching my daughter how to make macarons and every time we make them she gets a little better.
Since she is allergic to tree nuts we make them using pumpkin seeds ground into flour instead of the traditional almond flour. Sunflower seeds work well too but pumpkin seeds are my preference. They are a little more neutral in flavor.
If you’re just starting on your macaron journey check out this post here for more step by step photos and tips.
If you aren’t confident in your piping trace the egg shape on the underside of your parchment paper.
We used French lemon cream for the “yolk” but lemon curd would work as well.
Ingredients
- 275 grams raw unsalted shelled pumpkin seeds or raw unsalted sunflower seeds (or almond flour)
- 250 grams powdered sugar
- 210 grams granulated sugar
- 210 grams egg whites, at room temperature (approximately 7 large eggs)
For Vanilla Bean Frosting:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla bean paste (or extract)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2-4 Tablespoons heavy cream
For assembling:
- Lemon Curd
- Clear extract (vanilla or lemon)
- gold luster dust
Instructions
- And now for the technique! Some recipes call for “aging” your egg whites but I have found no benefit of this. It is however helpful if they are at room temperature because they’ll whip better. And no, no packaged egg whites. Once your eggs are separated and weighed, set them aside while you get everything else ready.
- Grind pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds in a blender or with a food processor. (Or use almond flour)
- Sift with a fine mesh sifter. If you have more than a Tablespoon or two of clumps left regrind.
- Sift pumpkin seed flour with the powdered sugar.
- Use a stand mixer or a hand mixer and another large bowl, beat egg whites until frothy then add the granulated sugar.
- Be sure your bowl is super clean to get a stiff peak! If you find this step tricky use a hand mixer so you can keep a closer eye on it. Continue beating to stiff peaks.
- Add stiff egg whites to bowl with dry mix. Mix together until combined. No need to fold.
- Now comes the “macaronage” step. Using a bowl scraper or spatula, push the mixture against the side of the bowl for several minutes.
- This step can be tricky but once you get it you won’t have issues. It’s finding that just right balance. My first few batches I kept under mixing.
- At this point add gel or powdered food coloring if you want a colored shell. No liquid coloring.
- You can also use a bowl scraper to push the batter against the sides of the bowl. I found personally I like using a spoon better but try it and see what you like. The point of this step is to partially deflate that meringue. I know, weird. This goes against bakers instinct! You worked to make that meringue stiff and know you’re pushing the air out of it!
- You know it’s done when you can do the “figure 8 test”. When the batter flows off of the spatula allowing you to make a figure 8. If it falls off in big clumps and doesn’t “flow like lava” you need to continue the macaronage step.
- Fit a pastry bag with a round tip (or do as I do. Just use a disposable pastry bag and snip the end off, no tip.) Fill the bag and pipe onto parchment lined trays (remember, no silicone here!).
- I usually make small or medium macs, so hold your pastry bag straight and pipe an egg shape about 1 1/2 inches across (or make larger ones if you desire).
- Continue to fill tray, leaving a couple inches between each cookie.
- Once you have a full tray tap on the counter 3-5 times. If at this point your macs still have a raised point in the middle you haven’t done the “macaronage” step enough. By the time you’ve gotten to end of the tray they should have settled. You can scrape them all back in your bowl and continue the macaronage a bit more.
- Continue with additional trays until done. Let rest on the counter for 15 minutes. Many recipes call for a longer rest but I haven’t found much benefit of this.
- Bake at 250 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or longer for larger macs (If you have convection you can bake at 275) on the middle rack. Don’t open the oven while baking. This is what works in my ovens. I suggest piping a small number of macs on a couple of trays to experiment. It won’t harm the other trays of macs to sit on the counter waiting longer while you experiment. Each oven is so different!
- I actually only bake them in my convection oven because they turn out better. If you don’t have convection lower the temperature to 250. At least for my oven, that’s what works!
- Add a couple minutes for larger macs. Until you get the hang of it break one open before removing tray and make sure it isn’t liquidy inside. Overbaking slightly is better than underbaking. They shouldn’t be browned but you want to see little “feet” where the macs have risen up.
- Let cool.
- Match up macs in pairs that are the same size.
- Pipe frosting on half of the shells, leaving a whole in the middle to add a dollop of lemon curd.
- Top with another macaron to make a sandwich.
- To make gold in a small dish place 1 teaspoon clear extract and add a tiny bit of gold luster dust. I like to dip my food safe paintbrush in the luster dust and add it that way. A little goes a long way. Mix with brush then paint tops of macarons.
- Place in covered airtight container and chill for at least 24 hours. This allows the filling to soften the macs just a little and they will have a much chewier texture. It’s amazing how much better they taste a day or 2 later!
- Store for longer periods in the freezer in an airtight container.
To make frosting:
- Beat all ingredients together until well combined. Add cream as needed to reach desired consistency.
