Macs are back! First macs back after a little hiatus? Gingerbread macarons!
A few weeks ago, I started training for my new job. A group of new hires, just like myself went to a “sim lab” to be trained on how to properly do our jobs and practice before we went to the clinics and started interacting with patients. The day after Thanksgiving, my fellow PRRs stumbled upon my blog and were looking through everything.
A couple of them came across all the macaron recipes I’ve got on here and not-so-subltely mentioned that they’ve never had a macaron before (WHAT?!). Naturally I told them that was unacceptable and said if I could, I would make them some to bring to our last day the following Monday.
So of course I spent one day that weekend making these festive gingerbread macarons! It was very therapeutic and a good test for the new ovens we have after the kitchen remodel. It worked like a dream!
These might be the best holiday macarons. Both the shells and the filling are filled with the flavours of gingerbread, which is so warm and comforting. Putting them in the fridge overnight really brings out the incredible flavours so I highly recommend holding off on eating them until they’ve had a chance to mature in the fridge. WORTH IT.
I took these to work and to say they were a hit would probably be a little bit of an understatement. I don’t want to toot my own horn or anything but my fellow newbies and our trainers ate them all. There is nothing better than hearing from people that they love what you made, especially people that have never had macarons before.
It was the perfect way to end our two weeks of training together!
Gingerbread Macarons
Ingredients
- Macaron Shells:
- 275g almond flour
- 250g powdered sugar
- 210g sugar
- 210g egg whites
- 2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
- Filling:
- 200g white chocolate, chopped
- 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp. heavy whipping cream
- 1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp. cloves
- 2 tsp. ginger
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
- 2 tsp. crystallized ginger, finely chopped
Directions
- Step 1 Shells:
- Step 2 To start, put the almond flour, powdered sugar, and spices in a food processor and blend thoroughly. Sift into a bowl to ensure there are no lumps.
- Step 3 In the bowl of a stand mixer (make sure it’s clean and dry), beat the egg whites until foamy. Slowly add the sugar, about 2 tbsp at a time, beating on a medium speed. Once the sugar has dissolved, increase speed to medium high and beat until a thick glossy meringue forms. The mixture should form stiff peaks and you should be able to tip the bowl over your head with none of the mixture coming out.
- Step 4 With a large, flat rubber spatula, gently fold 1/3 of almond flour/powdered sugar mixture into egg whites until combined. Repeat until all of the almond mixture has been added. Fold to combine until you see no streaks of almond flour in the batter. The batter should be pretty fluid, a lot of people describe as a lava-like consistency. It should run smoothly off the spatula when you pull it out. This part comes with practice. Once you know the consistency, you’ll just be able to feel when it’s ready.
- Step 5 Pipe the batter into circles onto parchment or silicone lined baking sheets. Bang the tray a few times on a table to remove air bubbles and allow to sit for about 30 minutes before baking. To see if they’re ready for baking, touch your finger to them. If you get batter on your finger, they need to rest longer.
- Step 6 While resting, preheat your oven to 300°F with a rack placed in the lower third of the oven. Bake, one sheet at a time, for 15-18 minutes (this depends on your oven, my old one was fine at 15 minutes, this one needs 17-18). The shells should cool completely before you remove them from the parchment/silicone.
- Step 7 Gingerbread Ganache:
- Step 8 Place white chocolate in a medium size bowl.
- Step 9 Heat heavy cream until just boiling, then pour over the white chocolate. Allow to sit for a couple of minutes then stir until the chocolate is fully melted. Add in the spices and crystallized ginger and stir until combined. Leave it out on the counter, covered with plastic wrap, or in the fridge until it reaches a pipable consistency.
- Step 10 Assembly:
- Step 11 Pair up shells. On one half of each pair, pipe a dollop of gingerbread buttercream. Gently sandwich together.
- Step 12 Refrigerate overnight for the flavours to fully develop.
