After my first attempt in making some French macarons last week, I made another batch...and this time without Dylan's "help." and what do you know??....it was a TOTAL success!!
I decided to experiment with making coffee macarons with Irish cream filling. And I have to say....It was AWE-SOME!!! (other people agreed with me.. just so you know, I'm not making this up) Will...I'm sure some real Macaron conisseur would disagree and nippick them, but I was happy with how it turned out as it was only my second attempt in making them!
So Check it. This time, I made sure that ALL the ingridents got mixed. I beated the egg whites to a shiny stiff peak, I replaced a quarter of the almond flour with finely ground coffee beans and carefully folded in with the egg whites.
I piped it and it actually looked like how it's supposed to..stiff and shiny! Coco&Me has step by step photos of how they're supposed to look like, which is super helpful for a visual learner like me.
Then I put it in the oven..and I discovered something new that's different from what Martha's recipie said to do. I actually set the oven to 325degree instead of 350. And left the door slightly open...you can use either a metal or wet wooden spoon.
I baked it for 5 minutest first and then turned the pan, and then baked it for 5 minuets more and it was perfect. Martha said to bake it for 15 minutes, which I feel like it would of burned it...I also placed another pan on the existing pan, so no direct heat was burning the bottom of the macarons (this was not mentioned in Martha's recipie) Sorry Martha, I have to disagree with you on this one! I think every oven heats up differently, but it's better to bake it for less time to check on it before it's too late. And Voila! I got the so-called "foot" where it's slightly crusty on the bottom edge and the top is smooth and round...they're so cute!
So ta-da!! My successful batch of delicous macaroons! I was so happy with them that I was jumping all over the place yelling "I did it, I did it!" I felt like I was a scientist or something....except I didn't invent anything great...okay maybe that's not the right comparison. I feel very accomplished nonetheless. :)
Every batch only yields 16-18 or so, which is not enough to go around when they're so small and easy to just pop in your mouth. Now I just need to be able to make multiple batches with various colors and flavors...
Here are some flavors I'm thinking of expereimenting with...
Black sesame
Matcha with redbean cream
Lemon with ginger cream
Cinnamon with chocolate ganache (like mexican chocolate)
Lavender with lemon cream
Cardamon with carmel cream
Hmm....the possibilities are endless. Any other ideas??