Big Girl/Small City

My latest macaron: coconut shell with mango jam

This recipe yurned out a bit thick and not as shiny as i like, but the BOY who despises my macaron making (and who i force to test them anyways) actually had TWO! He liked how chewy these ones were. Those are his dirty fingers.

Here goes:

Line three baking pans with parchment.

In a large bowl whisk together 5 tbsp of coconut, 3 2/3 icing sug and 3 1/4 almond flour.

In your mixer beat 5 egg whites until frothy and white. Add 2 tbsp white sug and a teaspoon of cream of tartar, and 1 tbsp vanilla. Beat until stiff and glossy (about 2 mins).

Add the dry ingredients in quarters, folding each time until just incorporated before adding the next quarter.

Pipe onto parchment lined sheets. Pipe about a 2 inch circles. Because this dough is tougher, you may need to smooth the tops with your finger dipped in cold water. Sprinkle tops with coconut. Let rest 40 mins. Place in 325 oven, which you will immediately reduce to 300. These will probably need 12 min, but check at 10.

I filled half of them with yummy gourmet mango jam and half with sweet chocolate ganache.

Lemon macarons:

So i have a great recipe to share that i’ve molded from a few. It makes twelve lemon cookies. I used trader joe’s lemon curd for filling. It is yummy, but i think i prefer buttercream or ganache as i am a sweet tooth.

1 1/2 c icing sug
2/3 c almond flour
3 aged eggs room temp
3 tbsp white sug
3 pinches cream of tartar
Rind of 1 lemon (make sure it is unwaxed by using a fruit and veggie wash)

Line two pans with parchment. Whisk together icing sug and almonds in bowl. In you standing mixer (or handheld, i’m just lazy) beat the egg whites until they are almost opaque and fluffed. Gradually add the white suger. Gradually add tartar. Beat until white and glossy and stiff. Add lemon zest and yellow food coloring here. Mix on lowest speed til even in color or stir with spatula. Add the icing/almond mixture in fourths while on the very lowest speed, just until incorporated.

Pipe onto parchment (about a 2 inch diam.). Let sit at least 45 and up to an hour. Preheat oven to 325.

When they are done resting pop them in the oven and turn temp to 300. After 4 min rotate and bake another 5 min. Once out of the oven, carefully slide the parchment onto counter, so the bottoms don’t continue to bake as they cool. Once cool (about 20 min-ish) fill with the curd - or like i said a yummy buttercream.

Feel free to ask me q’s or send me hints. I am still on the search for the best macaron recipe ever!