A bit of a confession here: macarons are not my favorite. Except for this recipe. The texture of these macarons is an absolute dream. The shell gives way to a wonderful, almondy center, which is perfectly balanced by the tartness of the jam.
Ingredients
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
- ¾ cup almond flour (not almond meal)
- 2 large egg whites
- Pinch cream of tartar
- ¼ cup superfine sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Blue, pink, red, orange, purple, and brown food coloring
- Jam, for filling
- Edible ink pens
How to Make It
- Combine the confectioner’s sugar and almond flour in a bowl, then sift 3 times.
- Place the egg whites in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until foamy. Add the cream of tartar, then beat until soft peaks form. Add the superfine sugar and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. Add the vanilla extract and gently mix to combine. Sift the dry mixture into the egg mixture and gently fold to combine.
- Divide the batter into 3 bowls. Dye one bowl blue. Divide the second bowl in half, leaving one half beige and dye the other half brown. The remaining bowl of batter will be used for the hair and the bikinis, so divide it into as many bowls as needed to dye it your desired colors. We used pink for the bikinis, and red, orange, and purple for the hair.
- Place the batter into piping bags fitted with medium-small sized round tips. First, using the beige or brown batter, pipe the faces and bodies. Use the blue batter to pipe the tails. Use the beige or brown batter to pipe the arms. Pipe the hair with your desired colors, then the bikinis. Tap the baking sheets on your countertop a couple times to remove any air bubbles. Let the macarons sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Set your oven to 375°F, heat for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325°F. Bake the macarons, one sheet at a time, for 6 to 8 minutes, rotating halfway through. After each batch, increase the heat to 375°F, heat for 5 minutes, then reduce to 325°F and pop the next sheet into the oven.
- Allow the macarons to cool on the sheet for 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to fully cool. (I recommend leaving them overnight, since they will be quite delicate and need to slightly stiffen in order to draw the faces.)
- Draw the facial features with edible ink pens.
- Place a dollop of raspberry jam between the top and bottom macarons, sandwich them together, and enjoy!