Macaron Recipes

Salted Caramel Macarons

Ingredients

Macarons

- 120g superfine almond flour

- 240g powdered sugar

- 130g (about 4) egg whites

- 120g sugar

- ½ tsp cream of tartar (I didn't use that)

- ½ tsp vanilla extract

Homemade Salted Caramel

- 1 cup sugar

- 6 tbsp unsalted butter

- ½ cup heavy cream

- 2 tsp kosher salt

Buttercream Filling

- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature

- 2 cups powdered sugar

- ¼ cup heavy cream

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

- Start by making the macarons. Pulse together almond flour and confectioners sugar in a food processor for about 20 seconds. Then sift 2-3 times, ensuring there are no clumps in the flour. (If there are any large granules that do not pass through the sifter, throw them away)

- In a large bowl, add egg whites. Begin to beat the egg whites on medium speed until the egg whites become bubbly and are no longer translucent. Once foamy, begin adding sugar very slowly. Increase the speed to high and continue adding sugar until it's gone. Beat until stiff peaks form and meringue is white and glossy. (You should be able to turn the bowl up side down without the meringue moving) Then fold in the vanilla extract.

- Add the half of the confectioners sugar and almond flour mixture to the meringue and begin to mix in. Once incorporated, add the remaining amount of and begin folding the mixture, also known as macronage, until the batter is smooth and and has flowing ribbons in the batter. Batter should flow like lava. The batter is finished mixing once you can draw a figure 8 and the batter does not break.

- Add batter to a piping bag with wilton 1A piping tip or a ziploc bag with about a ½ inch cut opening.

- Line two cookie sheet with either parchment paper or macaron silpat. Pipe macarons onto each sheet into desired size (mine are about 1 inch in diameter)

- Tap the pan onto a hard surface to pop any bubbles and get rid of any lingering gritty particles. If any of the bubbles do not pop, use a toothpick and gently pop the bubbles.

- Let the macarons sit at room temperature for 40 minutes to an hour, until they are no longer shiny and form a skin. (When you touch the macarons, the batter should not stick to your finger. This process may take a bit longer if your home is more humid)

- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Bake the macarons one sheet at a time for 14-15 minutes. Allow the macarons to cook completely prior to removing them from the cookie sheet.

Salted Caramel

- While the macarons are cooling, make the salted caramel. Add sugar to a pan over medium low heat. Stir occasionally. Once sugar is completely melted and all clumps are gone, add butter and reduce heat to low. Slowly and gently whisk butter into the melted sugar for about 2-3 minutes, then add the heavy cream. Increase heat to medium low and continue to whisk for another 2-3 minutes and remove from the heat. Add kosher salt and stir. Pour into a heat safe container and allow it to cool completely.

Buttercream

- Then make the buttercream. Add room temperature butter and powdered sugar to a mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat together on medium high and add heavy cream. Continue to mix together in high until fluffy, then add vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Once vanilla is mixed in, add buttercream to a piping bag. (I used Wilton tip 21)

Assembly

- Very gently, lift the silpat or parchment paper from the cookie sheet and peel the macaron away. (They are very delicate and If you try to just pick it up off of the sheet, it could rip)

- Pipe buttercream onto the perimeter of one macaron and then fill the center with salted caramel. Place the other macaron on top. Garnish the top of the macaron with salted caramel and flake salt. Repeat until all cookies are filled and decorated