In case you missed it, here are the cookies I shared last week as part of Sugar Tart Crafts‘ Sugar Rush 2013. Enjoy!
Earlier this year I decided to attempt French Macarons for my daughter’s tea party birthday, and I got hooked. I’ve been tried out lots of flavors, colors, and fillings since then, and these peppermint macs are my latest.
The shells look pepperminty, but the flavor really comes from the yummy peppermint buttercream filling. To create the peppermint swirl look of the shells, I used a lollipop stick to paint stripes of gel food coloring onto the inside of a pastry bag. Then I filled the pastry bag with batter.
When I piped the shells onto the parchment lined baking sheets, I did it in a swirl pattern. If you are a perfectionist, you can use guidelines printed on a piece of paper under the parchment, but they don’t have to be perfect, so I just wing it. Here’s what they looked like before going into the oven:
And, here they are all baked and filled! Yum!
Peppermint French Macarons
Recipe Adapted from Entertaining with Beth
INGREDIENTS
Shells
3 Egg Whites (room temperature)
¼ cup white sugar (50 g)
2 cups powdered sugar (200 g)
1 cup almond flour (120 g)
pinch of salt
¼ tsp cream of tartar (2 ml) * You can omit if needed, just may take longer to reach stiff peaks but the recipe will still work
¼ cup white sugar (50 g)
2 cups powdered sugar (200 g)
1 cup almond flour (120 g)
pinch of salt
¼ tsp cream of tartar (2 ml) * You can omit if needed, just may take longer to reach stiff peaks but the recipe will still work
Peppermint Buttercream Filling (recipe adapted from Savory Sweet Life)
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
3-4 cups confectioner’s (powdered) sugar, sifted
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
up to 4 tablespoons milk
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 300 F degrees
- Sift almond flour, and powdered sugar. Discard pieces that don’t go through the sieve.
- Beat egg whites until foamy, then add salt, cream of tartar and white sugar until they form a glossy peak that stands upright.
- Fold flour/sugar mixture into the egg white mixture. Press the air out of the mixture to get a shiny batter with a consistency like molten lava (see this video for visual).
- To create the candy cane stripes, paint the inside of your pastry bag with stripes of red gel food coloring. Transfer batter to a pastry bag.
- Pipe out 1 inch rounds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Tap the pan hard at least 2-3 times to release the air bubbles.
- Let them sit out for 20-30 mins, up to an hour. They are ready to go into the oven, when the batter does not stick to your finger when lightly touched.
- Bake for 15-20 mins. Turning sheets once halfway through baking time. Shells are ready when the feet do not bulge when lightly pressed on from the top. They should lift off of the parchment paper easily when they are done.
- For Peppermint Buttercream Filling, beat butter for a few minutes with a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and mix. When sugar has been incorporated, increase mixer speed to medium and add peppermint extract, salt, and 2 tablespoons of milk and beat for 3 minutes. Add milk or powdered sugar to adjust consistency as needed.
- Pipe peppermint buttercream onto one cooled shell and cover with another shell.
Macarons are best when they have aged in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours and should be eaten within 3-4 days. Filled macarons store well in the freezer, so you can make a big batch and enjoy a few at a time.
Comments + Project Love
Lorna McMahon says
Oh, these look so yummy! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Toni Barsi says
I still can't get over how gorgeous these are! I'm definitely going to have to give macaroons a try this year. Thanks so much for sharing them!
~Diana says
Alexis, where do you get your almond flour? My 15 year old is dying to make these…we've found Bob's Red Mill Almond MEAL, but haven't been able to find almond flour! These look amaze-balls…and we'd love to try them…HELP! 🙂