topic Re: Macarons - advice? recipes? in Recipes

Macarons - advice? recipes?

house_cat — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 16:38:03 GMT

I host an annual tea party each summer for my teacher friends. Some of you know that, because just about this time each year I begin freaking out about one thing or another and ask for advice. 🤯 Fortunately, I always get good advice from my forum friends 💕

Here's my question this year...so far.....rather than make petits-fours, which I've found are extremely labor intensive, I'm thinking of making macarons. I've always thought that macarons were something best left to professional bakers. Have any of you had success baking them? Is it worth the trouble? Does anyone have a tried and true recipe?

Thank you!

Re: Macaroons - advice? recipes?

jackthebear — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 16:12:48 GMT

why not just buy them ? have seen them around

Re: Macaroons - advice? recipes?

house_cat — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 16:18:03 GMT

@jackthebear wrote:
why not just buy them ? have seen them around

That's a good Plan B, but I like to learn new tricks.

Re: Macaroons - advice? recipes?

millieshops — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 16:22:25 GMT

@house_catI've never made them? Are you thinking coconut macroons which I'd think would be easy or another kind, some of which look like more time and skill than I have for cookie making.

Re: Macaroons - advice? recipes?

house_cat — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 16:24:10 GMT

@millieshops wrote:
@house_catI've never made them? Are you thinking coconut macroons which I'd think would be easy or another kind, some of which look like more time and skill than I have for cookie making.

I have an easy recipe for coconut macaroons, which I may make also, but I was thinking of those pretty light pink ones for my tea party.

Re: Macaroons - advice? recipes?

Mz iMac — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 16:25:48 GMT

@house_cat wrote:
That's a good Plan B, but I like to learn new tricks.

Then check out YouTube. You will be overloaded w/"new tricks." Besides, videos are worth 2 thousand words.

Re: Macaroons - advice? recipes?

nomless — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 16:28:18 GMT

@house_cat , do you mean coconunt macaroons (thread title says macaroons) or macarons (the meringue sandwich cookie)? Since you mentioned petit fours, I'm wondering if you meant macarons, not macaroons.

Macaroons should be easy to make, macarons somewhat more difficult.

Re: Macaroons - advice? recipes?

nomless — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 16:29:23 GMT

@house_cat wrote:
@millieshops wrote:
@house_catI've never made them? Are you thinking coconut macroons which I'd think would be easy or another kind, some of which look like more time and skill than I have for cookie making.
I have an easy recipe for coconut macaroons, which I may make also, but I was thinking of those pretty light pink ones for my tea party.

Then you mean macarons, not macaroons. Have fun leaning.

Re: Macaroons - advice? recipes?

house_cat — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 16:35:23 GMT

@nomless wrote:
@house_cat wrote:
@millieshops wrote:
@house_catI've never made them? Are you thinking coconut macroons which I'd think would be easy or another kind, some of which look like more time and skill than I have for cookie making.
I have an easy recipe for coconut macaroons, which I may make also, but I was thinking of those pretty light pink ones for my tea party.

Then you mean macarons, not macaroons. Have fun leaning.

Oh! Is there a difference, other than my misspelling? I'll need to change the title of the post so I don't confuse everyone.

Re: Macaroons - advice? recipes?

house_cat — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 16:36:59 GMT

@nomless wrote:
@house_cat , do you mean coconunt macaroons (thread title says macaroons) or macarons (the meringue sandwich cookie)? Since you mentioned petit fours, I'm wondering if you meant macarons, not macaroons.

Macaroons should be easy to make, macarons somewhat more difficult.

Sorry, just saw this post. Thank you for the clarification. As you can see, I have no experience with this.

Re: Macarons - advice? recipes?

CrazyKittyLvr2 — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 16:55:25 GMT

@house_cat. I understood your thread and which cookie you meant. I have never made them but DD and I watched a food show and if I remember correctly I think they can be tempermental. lol I remember telling DD that it is too much work for a cookie even as beautiful as they were.

I agree with checking You Tube for videos. Sometimes watching someone do it mkes more sense than the written word.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful. I'm sure your party will be great whatever you decide to make.

Re: Macarons - advice? recipes?

loriqvc — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 17:17:37 GMT

@house_cat - Macarons are what I'd call "fiddly" rather than particularly difficult; as long as you follow the directions carefully and exercise patience, you should be fine. As others have noted, there are some good recipes and videos available online for making macarons, but I'll check my recipe stash when I get home to see if I took any notes on my recipe the last time I made them (it has been a year or two). I believe my recipe comes from one of the Great British Baking Show cookbooks, but it could also be an America's Test Kitchen recipe, in case you want a place to start looking. Good luck!

Re: Macarons - advice? recipes?

house_cat — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 17:27:07 GMT

@loriqvc

Thank you! I have that cookbook and totally forgot to look at it. I just love the word "fiddly" and almost used it in my OP. If you could check your recipe and post any notes that you made, I'd really appreciate that.

Re: Macarons - advice? recipes?

deepwaterdotter — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 17:27:51 GMT

This is the recipe from a King Arthur's cookbook that I made years ago for a wedding shower:

1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill super-fine almond flour

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 egg whites

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/3 cup sugar

Mix almond flour and 1 cup powdered sugar in food processor for 20 seconds. Sift to aerate.

Whisk egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar with electric mixer until foamy.

Sift 1/2 cup powdered sugar and regular sugar together in bowl. Beat into egg whites a little at a time until forming soft peaks.

Fold in flour mixture until evenly mixed, then stir until batter drops from spoon in ribbons that disappear into batter after 10-20 seconds. (I tested for this consistency quite a few times before getting where it was right.)

Place teaspoon-full blobs of batter onto parchment-lined baking sheet. Blobs should flatten out when dropped. Let rest on countertop for 2 hours until tops are no longer sticky. Bake in 275 degree oven for 25-30 minutes until tops are firm. Completely cool on baking sheet.

Re: Macarons - advice? recipes?

santorini — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 19:10:27 GMT

They are so delicious. I've never tried to make them and doubt I ever would. I had to bring something to a party recently and decided to bring macarons. My favorite macarons can be bought at a local restaurant so I bought a box of 25. There were 12 different flavors and they were all decorated differently. They are pricey little things but they were a hit at the party.

Re: Macaroons - advice? recipes?

millieshops — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 18:57:01 GMT

@house_cat I had no idea there were 2 different treats, but I Googled and saw both - both came up when I put in macaroons. I suspected you wanted to make macarons when I looked at that Google page. I think they would be a truly special treat for your tea.

Re: Macarons - advice? recipes?

alliswell — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 19:34:14 GMT

@santorini Those Macarons you posted are beautiful! Perfect for a gathering. The title "Sweet Macarons" implies there might be a "Savory Macarons" version.

Re: Macarons - advice? recipes?

house_cat — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 22:33:55 GMT

Thanks, everyone. I'm more intrigued than ever and can't wait to try them. I'm sure I'll need at least one batch of practice ones before my party. I wish you could all come by to help me eat the ugly ones, lol. That's what I always tell DH when he wants a sample of something I've made for a party or to take somewhere... he says, "You have to start making more ugly ones."

Re: Macarons - advice? recipes?

1920712 — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 22:51:38 GMT

@house_cat Here's a recipe that my family enjoys. It's made with Angel Food cake mix and couldn't be easier:

1 Package (16 ounces) angel food cake mix

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract

3 cups (5 ounces) sweetened flaked coconut

Put rack in center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.

Put cake mix, water, and almond extract in a large mixing bowl.

Beat on low speed until smooth, 30 seconds. Then scrape bowl.

Increase speed of mixer to medium, beat 1 minute longer.

Fold in the coconut.

Drop by teaspoons onto baking sheet two inches apart on the

baking sheet parchment paper.

Bake about 10-12 minutes until they are set and just

beginning to brown.

Remove from oven and slide the parchment paper with the

macaroons on top of a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes.

Remove the parchment paper and re-use it for the remainder

of the batch. The macaroons could easily be colored.

You may want to do a trial batch to see if it's what you're looking for.

Re: Macarons - advice? recipes?

house_cat — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 23:23:26 GMT

@1920712

Thank you for posting. That looks like a delightful recipe!