Raspberry Macarons

I finally did it! I made Raspberry Macarons – the mysterious French cookie. My daughter has been asking me to make them for at least a year and I was actually afraid to try them. They seemed so hard to make. But they’re also $2.00 per cookie which is a bit pricey if you ask me. They’re so small! But so delicious. And since I can’t afford to buy them very often and only in very small quantities, I decided to be brave and try to make them at home. It worked! And they’re just as scrumptious as the bakery version.

I also had a special occasion to give me some incentive. I made these Raspberry Macarons for my son’s teacher. It was teacher appreciation week and I thought they would make a nice little gift for Mrs. Roberts. She’s an extra special lady who deserves some extra fancy French cookies. And guess what, they’re not that hard to make after all. They came out perfectly on my first try!

You can do it too and you don’t even have to spend $2 per cookie. This recipe makes 20 cookies, so I’m actually saving you about $40 bucks! You’re welcome.

Start by tracing circles on to 1 sheet of parchment paper. I used a 1 1/2″ round cookie cutter and traced 20 circles.

Place your almond flour and powdered sugar in a food processor. Process for about a minute.

Beat egg whites on medium-low until frothy. Increase speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes. It should look like this. Gradually add the granulated sugar.

Increase speed to medium-high and beat until stiff peaks form like this.

Stir in pink food coloring until completely combined.

Using a fine mesh strainer, sift the flour/sugar mixture into the pink egg whites.

Stir to combine. It will be thick at first. Keep stirring until batter is smooth and forms a ribbon. Do not over mix!

Pour into a large pastry bag fitted with a plastic coupler (no tip).

Place a clean piece of parchment paper over the one with the circles and put them both on a large cookie sheet. Pipe batter to near the edge of the drawn circles. Let them dry for 15-30 minutes.

Bake at 350°F. for about 12 minutes. Let cool. Meanwhile, carefully remove the bottom piece of parchment from the cookie sheet. Place on another cookie sheet with a clean piece of parchment on top. Pipe the remaining 20 cookies. Let them dry 15-30 minutes, then bake for 12 minutes. Let cool.

Fill the cookies with seedless raspberry jam. You could also fill them with nutella or vanilla frosting.

Raspberry Macarons make a beautiful gift or rainy day treat. Enjoy!

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Raspberry Macarons

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup 85g ground almond flour (also called almond meal)
• 2/3 cup 42g powdered sugar
• 2 large egg whites at room temperature
• 3 1/2 tablespoons 50g granulated sugar
• Pink food coloring I used Wilton brand
• Seedless raspberry jam

Instructions

1. Place a piece of parchment paper on a large cookie sheet. Using a 1 1/2" round cookie cutter, trace 20 circles on to parchment paper (I used a colored pencil). Place another clean sheet of parchment paper on top. Set aside.
2. Place the almond flour and powdered sugar in a food processor. Process for a 1 minute. Set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium-low until frothy. Increase speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes. There should be soft peaks at this point. With the mixer on low, gradually add the granulated sugar.
4. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until stiff peaks form. Add food coloring and stir until completely combined.
5. Place a fine mesh strainer over bow and sift the flour/sugar mixture into the egg whites mixture. Gently stir the flour into the egg whites until completely incorporated but be careful not to overmix. It will seem sort of thick at first but keep stirring until it's smooth and forms a ribbon. It should take about 50 strokes.
6. Pour the batter into a large pastry bag fitted with a plastic coupler and no pastry tip. The coupler is the perfect width, about 1/2". Pipe the batter on to the parchment with the circles. Let the cookie batter go to just inside the edge of the circle line. Preheat the oven to 350°F. and let the piped batter dry for about 30 minutes.
7. Bake cookies for 12 minutes. Let them cool completely. Meanwhile, carefully remove the bottom parchment with the circles and reuse it on another large cookie sheet covered with a clean piece of parchment paper. Repeat the above piping and baking process.
8. Let all the cookies cool completely before filling. Place about 1/2 teaspoon of jam in between 2 cookies. You should have about 20 sandwich cookies when you're done. Voila! You just made French macarons. You're awesome!
9. Store covered at room temperature for up to 3 days. Or store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.
10. Recipe adapted from Bake at 350.

Recipe Notes

Please note that these cookies are very tricky to make. Don't be discouraged if they don't come out perfectly on your first try. Achieving the "foot" or crinkled edge at the bottom of the cookie is the hardest part. Even if there's no foot, they will still taste good. If first you don't succeed, try, try again. That's what my mother says anyway and I think she's right!