Easter Egg French Macarons Recipes

MACARON EASTER EGGS

Steps:

• Trace twelve 2-by-2.5-inch egg shapes onto a half sheet of parchment in 3 rows of 4. Repeat with another sheet of parchment. Line 2 baking sheets with the parchment, pencil-side down, and set aside.
• Place the confectioners' sugar and almond meal in a food processor. Pulse until very finely ground, about 30 seconds. Sift the mixture into a medium bowl, discarding or saving for another use any large chunks of almond that to remain behind (don't push them through). Set aside.
• Place the egg whites, vinegar and salt in the clean bowl of an electric mixer and whip on medium speed until they look foamy, about 1 minute. Very slowly sprinkle in the granulated sugar. Raise the speed to medium-high and whip until the whites are shiny and form soft peaks. Add the vanilla and a large drop of food coloring. Continue whipping the whites until they form stiff peaks with tips that stand straight up. The meringue will gather in a mass around the whisk attachment when it is ready.
• Transfer the meringue to a large mixing bowl. Fold in the almond-and-sugar mixture in 3 additions with a rubber spatula. Spread the mixture up the sides of the bowl then scrape down to the middle. You want the batter to be the consistency of soft-serve ice cream and run off the spatula in a thick stream like lava and hold a figure 8 in the bowl. Don't over mix.
• Spoon the batter into a piping bag fitted with an open coupler or medium open round tip. Pipe
• the batter onto the prepared sheet pans using the stencils as a guide. After all the eggs are piped, rap the tray on the counter 4 or 5 times to help remove any air bubbles. Tap the underside of the pan with your hand to pop remaining bubbles that you see on the surface of the macarons. Use a toothpick to pop any large bubbles. Let the macarons rest, uncovered, until they have lost their shine and aren't sticky when you gently touch the edge of one, 30 to 45 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Bake the macarons in the center of the oven, one sheet pan at a time, until the tops no longer move when nudged gently, 16 to 18 minutes, but making sure that the macarons don't brown. If the tops slide around, bake them for another 2 to 3 minutes.
• Cool the macarons completely on the parchment. Fill one piping bag with 2 cups of the buttercream and another piping bag with the prepared jam. Pipe a ring of buttercream 1/4 inch from the edge on the flat bottom of a macaron, then fill the hole with the jam. Press another macaron on top to sandwich together. Repeat with the remaining macarons.
• Divide the remaining 1/2 cup buttercream between two small bowls. Tint the buttercream to your desired color with gel food coloring, then transfer to piping bags fitted with small round piping tips, such as a number 2 or 3. Decorate with the extra buttercream as desired. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

FRENCH MACARONS

Steps:

• Place the almond flour and 1-1/2 cups plus 3 Tbsp. confectioners' sugar in a food processor; pulse until thoroughly mixed to ensure almond flour is very fine. Pass almond flour mixture through a fine-mesh sieve; discard any large pieces that remain. , Place egg whites in a very clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment; whisk on medium-low speed until frothy. Slowly add superfine sugar; whisk until dissolved, 1-2 minutes. Slowly add remaining confectioners' sugar; increase speed to high and whip until meringue is glossy and stiff peaks form, 2-3 minutes. , Gently fold one-third of the almond flour mixture into meringue; gently fold in remaining almond flour in 2 additions. Using side of spatula, smooth batter up sides of bowl several times to remove air bubbles and ensure there are no lumps; do not overmix. Run spatula down the center of the bowl; the line in the batter should remain visible for a moment before mixture runs back into itself., Position rack in upper third of oven; preheat oven to 300°. Transfer batter into a pastry bag fitted with a #7 or #10 round tip. Pipe 1-3/8-in. rounds onto parchment about 1 in. apart. Tap tray against counter 2-3 times to remove excess air bubbles. Let macarons rest until no longer wet or sticky to the touch, 30-60 minutes. Bake, 1 tray at a time, until cookies rise about 1/8-in. to form "feet," 14-16 minutes, rotating tray halfway through baking. Remove tray and let macarons cool completely; repeat with remaining trays. Once macarons have cooled completely, remove from parchment. , To make filling, cream butter in a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment; slowly add powdered sugar until incorporated. Add heavy cream, vanilla and salt; mix until smooth. Pour frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a small round tip; pipe buttercream onto half the macarons. Top with remaining macaron shells. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve. , Peppermint Variation: For macaron shells: Add green gel food coloring (do not use liquid food coloring) to whipped meringue until desired color is reached. To decorate: If desired, top macaron shells with crushed candy canes just after they have been piped and before skin has formed. For filling: Add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract to mixed frosting. Assemble as directed. , Cranberry Variation: For macaron shells: Add red gel food coloring (do not use liquid food coloring) to whipped meringue until desired color is reached. To decorate macaron shells: Place white candy melts or white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave at 30-second intervals, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Place chocolate in a piping bag fitted with a fine round decorating tip; drizzle over macaron shells. Immediately sprinkle with red, green and white assorted sprinkles. For filling: If desired, add 2-3 drops cranberry flavoring to frosting. Pipe a circle of frosting onto bottoms of half the macaron shells. Place 1/4 teaspoon canned cranberry sauce in center of frosting circle. Top with remaining macaron shells. , Hot Chocolate Variation: For macaron shells: Add 2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder to almond flour and confectioners' sugar before sifting. To decorate: Using stiff royal frosting, pipe snowflake designs onto half of the cooled macaron shells. For filling: If desired, using marshmallow fluff instead of frosting, pipe a circle onto bottoms of half the macaron shells. Place 1/2 cup chocolate chips and and 2 tablespoons heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave at 30-second intervals, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Place 1/4 teaspoon chocolate mixture in the center of marshmallow circle; top with remaining macaron shells.