Valentine’s Day is the sweetest holiday. Quite literally! And with Valentine’s Day just over a week away, I wanted to share with you a yummy dessert that makes for the perfect sweet treat. I have always loved macarons, but have never attempted to make them. I have always heard how difficult the process is and the need for perfect weather conditions when baking, so in the past I have just bought the dessert. A few weeks ago, I gave these Valentine’s Day Macarons a try and was delighted at the finished product.
For the Love of Macarons
It seem like every few years, the latest “hot” dessert hits the market. A few years ago it was cupcakes and now macarons have been taking the world by storm. If you are unfamiliar with macarons, they are a sweet meringue-based dessert. Orginally from France that are light, airy and available in several flavors. The “cookie” part of the dessert is made with egg whites, sugar, almond flour and food coloring while the inside is usually stuffed with buttercream or jam. Macarons are a popular treat here in the D.C. area with several macaron shops within the city limits. However, these macarons come with a hefty price tag. At Ladurée, arguably the most famous of the macaron shops, one sandwich cookie costs almost $3!
Valentine’s Day Macarons
With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, I knew I wanted to share a sweet recipe with you for the holiday. And since macarons have been on my cooking bucket list for some time now, I decided to give it a go. But, to make it more holiday appropriate, I made heart-shaped macarons for a fully festive Valentine’s Day treat! I can’t take credit for the recipe (see original here) but I am sharing the one I used below. Unlike most of the recipes I share, this is NOT an easy recipe. But, if you are in the mood for a challenge in the kitchen, these heart shaped macarons will live up to the challenge. It doesn’t hurt that they are pretty cute and taste good, too!
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- 1 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1 cup almond flour
- 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup superfine sugar
- 2-3 drops pink gel food coloring
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
Ingredients
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- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Use the convection setting. Line 3 baking sheets with silicone mats. If making heart-shaped macarons, use parchment paper. With a pencil and heart-shaped cookie cutter, trace the shape onto the parchment paper and place the traced side down. This will be your stencil for the macarons.
- Measure the confectioners' sugar and almond flour by spooning them into the measuring cups and leveling with a knife. Transfer to a bowl, whisking to combine.
- Sift the sugar-almond mixture, a little at a time, through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl. Press with a rubber spatula to pass through as much as possible. This will take some time. Up to 2 tablespoons of the coarse almond flour may be left over, just throw that away.
- Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt with a mixer on medium speed until frothy. Increase the speed to medium high and gradually add the superfine sugar and beat until stiff and shiny, about 5 minutes. **If you cannot find superfine sugar at the store, you can place regular granulated sugar in a food processor and process for a minute or two.
- Transfer the beaten egg whites to the bowl with the almond flour mixture. Draw a rubber spatula halfway through the mixture and fold until incorporated, giving the bowl a quarter turn with each fold. Do not over mix. Overmixing will cause the mixture to lose it's light and airy texture.
- Add the pink food coloring and extract. Continue folding and turning, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until the batter is smooth and falls off the spatula in a thin, flat ribbon, about 2-3 minutes.
- Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip. Hold the bag vertically and close to the baking sheet, pipe the heart on the parchment paper (or circles on the silicone mat). Firmly tap the baking sheet twice against the counter to release any air bubbles.
- Allow the cookies to sit at room temperature until the tops are not longer sticky. Depending on the humidity, that can be anywhere from 15 minutes to 1 hour. **The humidity was pretty low the day I made these and it was closer to 15 minutes for me.
- Slip another baking sheet under the first batch. A double baking sheet will protect the cookies from the heat. Bake the first batch until the cookies are shiny and rise 1/8 inch to form a "foot", about 20 minutes.
- Transfer to a rack to cool completely. Repeat, using a double sheet pan for each batch. Peel the cookies off the mats and sandwich with a thin layer of the seedless raspberry jam.
**Original recipe post on Food Network.
Wow! these turned out beautifully! I am so scared to try these because like you said, they can be difficult. Yours are so pretty and they look delicious!
xo, Whitney and Blaire
Peaches In A Pod
Holy yum! I am so impressed you attempted macarons! They are so pretty and look absolutely delicious!! I want one or two, or three., LOL!
I’ve always wanted to try making my own macarons but like you said, heard they were a lot of work! Yours turned out beautiful though!
How difficult they are has stopped me from attempting to bake them too! They’re so good though and I love to eat them, so it would be fun to try them out! I think that these are perfect for Valentine’s Day!
I applaud you for taking on this challenge, girl, because they have a reputation for being quite hard to make, but you did such an amazing job!!! I’m really impressed. I would love to try it myself on a weekend when I have more time. Recipes that are more challenging are always somewhat therapeutic for me. Have you ever felt that way about cooking/baking? Anyway, thanks for sharing , beautiful, and I hope you have a great week!
XO,
Jalisa
THE STYLE CONTOUR
How cute and perfect for Valentine’s! Super impressed with your baking skills, babe!
-Ashley
Le Stylo Rouge
OMG I would totally mess these up and you nailed it! I feel like I can smell them through the screen,…. yummy!!! 🙂
Brittany 🙂
http://www.kingdomofsequins.com
Those look so yummy! I’ve never tried to make macaroons, but maybe I’ll give this recipe a try
Carly at A Modern Mom Blog
That’s cool. I like your blog. Go to my blog http://alamodenatine.blogspot.com
Omg what?! These are so stinkin cute! Ive always wanted to try to make macaroons but heard they are hard to make! Might have to try your recipe! Yum!
<3 Shannon
Upbeat Soles
Those are such a good idea. I want to make some.
https://sugarcoatedbears.blogspot.com/