Macarooning

The heavenly French pastry! After five hours to master the art of "macarooning" I now can share with you the recipe :)

Macaroons are very delicate but very simple to make. The trick is in the egg whites & the time in the oven. The first time I tried it was a failure because in my oven they were ready in 9 minutes and I left them the time the recipe said (10-12 min). After this I learned to watch them around 8 min. Second try went wrong because I use regular eggs instead of extra large, so my kids had delicious crunchy cookies for snack ;) 

Here I learned not to improvise with what I have in the fridge and go buy exactly what the recipe ask for.

Then came the charm, third time I did use big eggs and sat in front of the oven. The peanut butter & jelly macaroons were ready in 8 minutes. The vanilla macaroons baked in 12 min. As I always repeat, because every oven is different you must keep an eye for time variations.

This is how they look before baking 

Even prettier out of the oven!

After baking and cool, the bottom should look like this.

Peanut butter & Jelly Macaroons.

Vanilla Macaroons

Peanut Butter & Jelly Macaroons

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cup ground almonds
• 1/4 Cup finely ground unsalted roasted peanuts
• 1 Cup confectioners sugar
• 2 Extra large egg whites
• 1/4 Cup sugar
• 1 tbsp finely chopped salted peanuts

For The Filling: 

• 1/4 cup natural creamy peanut butter (I use Smuckers)
• 2 tbsp raspberry jelly

1. Place the ground almonds, ground peanuts, and confectioners sugar in a food processor and process for 15 seconds. Sift the mixture into a bowl. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or baking silicone pad.

2. Place the egg whites in a large bowl and whip until holding soft peaks. Gradually beat in the superfine sugar until you get a firm glossy meringue.

3. Using a spatula, slowly start adding and folding the almond mixture into the meringue. When all the ingredients are well incorporated, continue folding until it forms a shiny batter with a ribbon like consistency.

4. Pour the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch/ 1cm plain tip. Pipe 30 small circles (about the size of a dollar coin) onto the prepared baking sheets. Tap the baking sheets firmly onto a work surface to remove air bubbles. Sprinkle over the center of each circle with salted peanuts. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 325゜

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes and then let cool for 10. Carefully peel the macaroons of the paper or liner and let cool completely.

6. Pair and sandwich the macaroons together with the peanut butter and your favorite jelly.

Enjoy!!