Holiday baking season is here! Today we’re going to focus on peppermint macarons.
Now, I’ve been doing holiday baking since October because I had knee surgery last week, but I wanted to wait until after Thanksgiving to start posting everything because that just seemed like the right thing to do.
Thanksgiving has come and gone now though, so we’ll all be holiday baking for the next few weeks, ok?
To me, cookies scream holiday baking. There are SO MANY different cookies you can make. Sugar cookies. Gingerbread. Molasses cookies. Anything involving peppermint. Anything involving copious amounts of chocolate. And I always, without a doubt, associate the pairing of dark chocolate and orange with the holidays.
Bake Sale Prep
A few years ago I posted a recipe for chocolate peppermint macarons that I worked on for a local newspaper. I’ve since worked on a macaron shell recipe that never, ever lets me down that I use as the base for all of my macarons.
It’s versatile and I feel confident putting the shells in the oven and them coming out with feet. That hasn’t always been the case.
I actually made these macarons for a bake sale at work we’re having next week. Obviously due to my surgery I’m out of the kitchen (and off work), but the bake sale is my baby and something I really, really look forward to so I made sure to get all of my baking in for it before I was operated on.
My coworkers also never say no to things I bake, so I know whatever I bring in to the office, bake sale or not, will be consumed in record time. Honestly, you’d think medical residents never, ever eat. The faculty doctors are just as bad, one of them literally followed me to my office like a little lost puppy.
Anyway, back to this week’s macarons.
As it’s officially the holiday season, we’re having a Christmas bake sale. For each bake sale I make two different macarons and for this one I’m doing my gingerbread macs and these peppermint macarons. I didn’t want to do the chocolate peppermint because I’ve got two cookies filled with chocolate that will be making an appearance too, but I had to incorporate the peppermint flavour somewhere.
I love the look of two-tone shells and decided to try them myself. All I needed to do was paint some red gel food colouring onto the inside of my piping back. I could have made two different coloured batters and piped them together, but time was not on my side so painting the piping bag was the answer.
And I was not disappointed! I wish I hadn’t needed to be so hurried in my photographing of these macarons because they are truly so, so beautiful. Obviously this means I have to remake them 😉
In the meantime, I can’t wait to hear how my coworkers respond to these next week and I hope you all love them too! Happy baking!
Peppermint Macarons
Ingredients
- Macaron Shells:
- 275g almond flour
- 250g powdered sugar
- 210g sugar
- 210g egg whites
- Red gel food colouring, for lining the piping bag (optional, if you want the swirled effect, you'll need this)
- Filling:
- 20 oz. high-quality white chocolate, either chopped or chips
- 1 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
- 3 tbsp. unsalted butter
Directions
- Step 1 Macaron Shells:
- Step 2 To start, put the almond flour and powdered sugar 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 While the meringue is beating, paint a few lines of red food colouring onto the inside of your piping bag. I wanted more red than white on my shells so I painted about 8 lines, if you don’t want them as red, paint fewer lines. Set your piping bag aside while you finish the macronage.
- Step 5 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 6 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 7 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 8 Filling:
- Step 9 Heat heavy cream in a small saucepan until it is just boiling. Place white chocolate chips/chunks in bowl and pour the hot cream on top. Let the cream sit on the chocolate for 2-3 minutes, then stir until silky and smooth. Add butter & peppermint extract, stirring again until smooth (room temp butter works best here). Either cover the ganache with plastic wrap until it reaches a pipable consistency or place in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
- Step 10 Assembly:
- Step 11 Pipe peppermint ganache onto one half of each macaron pair. Sandwich gently together. Macarons should be refrigerated until ready to eat. They are best if they have been out of the fridge for 30 minutes before eating. Refrigerating helps the flavours build and letting it sit out a bit before eating will mean you are enjoying it at the ideal macaron texture.
