Macaroon Sugar Cookies Recipes

FIRST-PLACE COCONUT MACAROONS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the coconut, sugar, flour and salt. Add egg whites and vanilla; mix well., Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 325° for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

MACARONS

Steps:

• Place egg whites into a metal mixing bowl and refrigerate overnight. The next day, bring egg whites to room temperature.
• Preheat oven to 280 degrees F (138 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Whisk confectioners' sugar and almond flour in a bowl. Beat the egg whites with salt in metal bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until foamy, about 1 minute; increase speed to high and gradually beat in superfine sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time, until the egg whites are glossy and hold stiff peaks, 3 to 5 more minutes.
• Gently fold almond flour mixture into whipped egg whites until thoroughly incorporated; spoon meringue into a pastry big fitted with a 3/8-inch tip.
• Pipe 1-inch disks of meringue onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches of space between cookies. The batter will spread. Lift the baking sheets a few inches above the work surface and hit them lightly on the work surface several times to remove any air bubbles from the cookies. Let the cookies stand at room temperature until the shiny surfaces become dull and a thin skin forms, about 15 minutes.
• Place the baking sheets in the preheated oven and bake with the oven door open slightly until the macarons' surfaces are completely dry, about 15 minutes. Let cookies cool completely on a baking sheet before peeling parchment paper from the cookies.
• Spread half the cookies with any desired filling, top with remaining cookies to make sandwiches, and refrigerate at least 2 hours to overnight to let the cookies soften.

FRENCH MACARONS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F using the convection setting. Line 3 baking sheets with silicone mats. Measure the confectioners' sugar and almond flour by spooning them into measuring cups and leveling with a knife. Transfer to a bowl; whisk to combine.
• Sift the sugar-almond flour mixture, a little at a time, through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing with a rubber spatula to pass through as much as possible. It will take a while, and up to 2 tablespoons of coarse almond flour may be left; just toss it.
• Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt with a mixer on medium speed until frothy. Increase the speed to medium high; gradually add the superfine sugar and beat until stiff and shiny, about 5 more minutes.
• Transfer the beaten egg whites to the bowl with the almond flour mixture. Draw a rubber spatula halfway through the mixture and fold until incorporated, giving the bowl a quarter turn with each fold.
• Add the food coloring and extract (see below). Continue folding and turning, scraping down the bowl, until the batter is smooth and falls off the spatula in a thin flat ribbon, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip. Holding the bag vertically and close to the baking sheet, pipe 1 1/4-inch circles (24 per sheet). Firmly tap the baking sheets twice against the counter to release any air bubbles.
• Let the cookies sit at room temperature until the tops are no longer sticky to the touch, 15 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the humidity. Slip another baking sheet under the first batch (a double baking sheet protects the cookies from the heat).
• Bake the first batch until the cookies are shiny and rise 1/8 inch to form a "foot," about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely. Repeat, using a double sheet for each batch. Peel the cookies off the mats and sandwich with a thin layer of filling (see below).
• Almond-Raspberry:
• Tint the batter with 2 drops neon pink gel food coloring; flavor with almond extract. Fill with seedless raspberry jam (you'll need about 3/4 cup).
• Mint-White Chocolate:
• Tint the batter with 2 drops mint green gel food coloring; flavor with mint extract. For the filling, microwave 3 ounces chopped white chocolate, 2 tablespoons heavy cream and 1 tablespoon butter in 30-second intervals, stirring, until smooth. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon mint extract and 1 drop mint green gel food coloring.
• Blueberry Cheesecake:
• Tint the batter with 3 drops royal blue gel food coloring; flavor with vanilla extract. For the filling, mix 4 ounces softened cream cheese and 3 tablespoons blueberry jam.
• Lavender-Honey:
• Tint the batter with 2 drops violet gel food coloring; flavor with almond or vanilla extract. For the filling, mix 3/4 cup mascarpone cheese, 2 tablespoons honey and 1 teaspoon ground dried lavender.
• Pineapple:
• Tint the batter with 2 drops lemon yellow gel food coloring; flavor with vanilla extract. For the filling, press 3/4 cup pineapple jam through a sieve, discarding any large pieces.

MACAROON SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cream butter and sugars together.
• Add egg. Beat until egg is mixed in well.
• Add vanilla.
• Mix in instant potato flakes.
• Mix in baking soda, salt, and flour.
• Add coconut and nuts.
• Drop by the spoonful onto a greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart.
• You can use a sugared glass bottom to make cookies flat.
• Bake 6-8 minutes.

COCONUT MACAROONS - SUGAR FREE

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 325°F.
• In a food processor, pulverize the coconut. If you don't have a food processor, you can skip this step but the cookies will have a bit different of a texture.
• In mixing bowl beat egg whites, vanilla, and sweetener on medium until it makes peaks (tips stand straight up). A wisk attachment on your mixture will work wonders. If you beat it too hard or long you may break down the egg whites and not get it to peak. If this happens don't despair, as long as its frothy, it should work.
• By hand, gently fold in ground coconut and almond meal. Do not mix any more than necessary to wet your dry ingredients.
• Drop by rounded teaspoons onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 325°F for 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

MACAROONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
• Beat together the egg whites with the salt in a small bowl until it forms soft peaks. Add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time while continuing to beat at high speed until stiff peaks form. Continue to beat until glossy. Fold the coconut into the egg mixture. Drop mixture by the teaspoonful onto the prepared sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart.
• Bake in preheated oven for about 12 minutes.