In case you weren’t aware that these little French pastries were deserving of a day, you’re welcome.
Macaron Day (or Jour du Macaron) was started in Paris in 1995 by Parisian pastry chef Pierre Hermé, who wanted people to enjoy the delicate pastries while raising awareness for important causes. It is now celebrated in cities all over the world, including Philadelphia!
In fact, Sugar Philly – a food truck, located at 38th Street between Walnut and Sansom, specializing in gourmet desserts – is giving away FREE macarons in honor of the special day. The next give away is today at 3:00 p.m.
Since it’s (a) Friday and (b) macarons, it was time to wipe the droll off your face and make sure you set aside time to get to Sugar Philly!
In the meantime, here are two macaron recipes (one fancy and one simple) that you can try at home:
Ladurée Macarons Framboise:
Macarons
2 ¾ cup + 1 tbsp almond flour
2 cups + 1 tbsp powdered sugar
6 egg whites
1 cup + 1 tbsp granulated sugar
A few drops of red food coloring
Filling
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2-3 tbsp raspberry jam
- Preheat your oven to 300°F. Line a baking sheet with a macaron-geared silicon mat, or a piece of parchment paper that has 1 1/2 inch circles traced on its underside to work as a stencil (you should be able to fit about 36 or so circles).
- In a large bowl, sift your almond flour and powdered sugar through a flour sifter or sieve to remove any lumps. Set aside.
- In a dry bowl (or your stand mixer’s bowl), whisk the egg whites to a foam. Once they are frothy, add about a third of the granulated sugar and whip until sugar is dissolved. Again, add another third of the sugar and whip until dissolved. Finally, repeat for the remaining third of sugar. Egg whites should be stiff and stick to the sides of your bowl when you tilt the bowl sideways.
- Using a rubber spatula, very delicately fold the almond flour mixture (in about 3 batches) into the whipped egg whites. It’s importantly to fold very gently and just until everything is combined. Add in your food coloring until you obtain your desired color. If you find your batter too stiff, you can loosen it up by adding 1/2 an egg white (that’s been whisked in a separate bowl until it’s frothy).
- Transfer your batter to a piping bag fitted with a no. 11 (1/2 inch) tip. Pipe small macaron rounds onto your macaron mat or parchment paper. Lightly tap the sheet so the macarons spread fully.
- Let the macarons sit on the sheet for 10 minutes and then place in the oven to bake for approximately 15 minutes, until they form a slight crust. You’ll see the cookies form the typical macaron “foot” along the bottom rim.
- Allow the macarons to cool slightly before using a spatula to transfer them onto a wire rack to cool completely. Meanwhile, prepare your frosting by simply beating your butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in the raspberry jam and beat until combined.
- Use a butter knife to apply your frosting to every other macaron before placing a non-frosted macaron on top of each. Enjoy immediately, or for even better developed flavor, refrigerate in an air-tight container overnight.
Martha Stewart’s Basic French Macarons:
2/3 cup sliced blanched almonds (71 grams)
1 cup confectioners’ sugar (117 grams)
2 large egg whites, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar (53 grams)
Jam or other filling
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in lower third. Place almonds in a food processor; process until as fine as possible, about 1 minute. Add confectioners’ sugar; process until combined, about 1 minute.
- Pass almond mixture through a fine-mesh sieve. Transfer solids in sieve to food processor; grind and sift again, pressing down on clumps. Repeat until less than 2 tablespoons of solids remains in sieve.
- Whisk egg whites and granulated sugar by hand to combine. Beat on medium speed (4 on a KitchenAid) 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high (6) and beat 2 minutes. Then beat on high (8) 2 minutes more.
- The beaten egg whites will hold stiff, glossy peaks when you lift the whisk out of the bowl. Add flavoring and food coloring, if desired, and beat on highest speed 30 seconds.
- Add dry ingredients all at once. Fold with a spatula from bottom of bowl upward, then press flat side of spatula firmly through middle of mixture. Repeat just until batter flows like lava, 35 to 40 complete strokes.
- Rest a pastry bag fitted with a 3/8-inch round tip (Ateco #804) inside a glass. Transfer batter to bag; secure top. Dab some batter remaining in bowl onto corners of 2 heavy baking sheets; line with parchment.
- With piping tip 1/2 inch above sheet, pipe batter into a 3/4-inch round, then swirl tip off to one side. Repeat, spacing rounds 1 inch apart. Tap sheets firmly against counter 2 or 3 times to release air bubbles.
- Bake 1 sheet at a time, rotating halfway through, until risen and just set, 13 minutes. Let cool. Pipe or spread filling on flat sides of half of cookies; top with remaining half. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate.
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