I don’t know about you, but I am a HUGE french macaron lover. I love the texture of the light and airy crunch of the cookie shell with a smooth and sweet cream filling. For some time now I have been so curious to learn how to make these delicate treats, but I have been afraid to due to the complexity of the recipe. I have watched numerous YouTube videos, search different recipes on Pinterest, and even searched for blog articles for the easiest way to make these cute, sweet little things.

One day I was shopping with my friend at my local Sur La Table store and came across this interesting Lekue Macaron Kit! This kit was about $40, and within the kit it contained: a silicone mat that holds 48 cookie shells, a recipe book with different macaron recipes, a DecoMix pen to place your cookie dough inside, and 6 different frosting tubes for your cream filling.

I was so excited to find this gem that I could not resist the purchase and decided to take this kit home and start cooking! My initial thoughts were that I could make these quickly and have them ready for special occasions like Valentine’s day right? But after reading the instructions on how to make french macarons and learning that the total time to invest in making these yummy treats turns into a 2-hour project…I thought to myself, this must be a serious recipe and I better do a bit more research.

So I turned to many blog posts and YouTube and found a few videos that showed how to bake french macarons properly. As a result of watching the various videos, my confidence was boosted, and I was ready to bake away on Valentine’s day afternoon. So now you are probably wondering, what items did I need to create these yummy treats, right? Well, here you go!

French Macaron Supply List:

• Powdered sugar
• Almond sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• sugar
• vanilla extract
• salt
• food coloring of choice
• mixing bowls
• mixing spatula
• measuring cups
• electric mixer
• baking sheet
• Lekue macaron kit

So let’s jump right in! I got my ingredients together as you can see in the picture below. I like to have everything prepped and ready to go so that I am not frantically running around my kitchen looking for ingredients as I bake. Note: Please leave your egg whites out at room temperature before mixing your creation. I heard that it would have made the mixing process easier. As far as the recipe goes, I decided to try the Basic Macarons recipe on page 10 of the recipe guide that came with this kit.

The next step in this process was to sift my powdered sugar and almond flour together in one bowl. This is an important step to avoid a lumpy cookie batter. So please take your time in this step so that your creation will look good and taste yummy too! I sifted a 1/4 cup at a time, but you will get the feel of what is easier for you. Be flexible and take your time.

Once you have your ingredients sifted together, you can set that aside and begin to work on the meringue. Using an electric mixer, I have a handheld kitchen aid, but my goal is to purchase the beautiful KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer! Swoon!! Ok… Let’s move on. I began to beat the egg whites and gradually added in sugar. You will want to blend until your egg whites begin to form stiff white peaks.

Once you have the egg white mixture completed, then the magic begins! You will now want to add your sifted combination of almond flour and powdered sugar. Note: when mixing use a Spatula Spoon and begin to fold the mixture together until your mixture is smooth, somewhat of a paste texture and not runny. Over mixing can create a runny appearance which can alter the finished look of the cookie shell.

After folding the mixture, you can now add some COLOR!! This was the exciting step for me. I used my food coloring from my local grocery store and added a few drops. Note: If you want to have vibrant pink cookies you will want to add 5-10 drops. Because when the cookie bakes the color will be lighter than the wet mixture. So don’t be afraid. I promise your cookies will look beautiful.

After adding color to your mixture, it will look like the picture below, and you can begin to add your mix to the cute Decomix Pen!! Let me tell you how much I love this pen!! Thank you Lekue for creating this awesome gadget! I love that I can use it for decorating cookies projects. Versatility is awesome!

Might I add that this device is easy to clean too! Fantastic invention and I recommend this one for sure!! The Decomix pen and the silicone mat are both dishware safe too! You bake and toss right into the dishwasher. A girl’s dream for easy cleanup. Once you get your mixture inside the device, you can now begin to fill in the cooking sheet. This is so easy since the silicone mat has a template right on it, so as a result, you will not have to worry about measuring the correct size each time you dispense the cookie batter onto the mat! Note: before place the batter on the mat make sure you place your mat on top of a baking sheet. I will explain why below.

Once you have your cookie batter onto the silicone mat that is resting on top of the baking sheet, you will want to lift off the sheet and tap it on the counter top a few times. This process will help remove any air bubbles that are inside each cookie. If you do not complete this step, you will end up with cookies that may crack during the baking process. Another thing you will want to do is let your cookie batter rest for 30 minutes before placing them in the oven to bake. You will know the cookies are ready for baking when you touch them and the cookie dough does not come off on your fingertips. This process will also ensure that your cookies will end up with a smooth surface and achieve the beautiful feet you see on french macarons.

After your macarons have rested for 30 minutes, you are ready to toss them in a preheated oven at 300 degrees for 18-25 minutes. The cooking time may range depending on how fast your oven heats up. While your cookies are baking you can create your favorite filling I decided to make a Strawberry cream cheese filling. Once my cookies completed the baking process, I let them cool and began to add my filling using the DecoMix pen again. Did I tell you how much I love this pen? I guess I did already.

I love how my little macarons have their little feet to then. So cute!! Just like the ones I have purchased in the store! Hallelujah!! Success for my 1st time. When it comes to filling them there is no right or wrong way of doing this. I like them full, so I tend to overfill, but my family does not complain about that at all.

Once your filling is completed, you are ready to serve and enjoy. I decided to serve them on my cute Eiffel Tower Cakestand from Sur La Table. I purchased them at 50% off the day before Valentine’s which by the way is a great time to buy your holiday-themed servewear for a great price. If you are still looking for a great deal Sur La Table is still running a 50% off sale on this cute decor!! Stock up now and have them ready for Valentine’s day 2017!! Or if you are like me, you don’t have to wait until Valentine’s day to use them. I love my family 365 days and beyond.

My family and I enjoyed these cute and sweet delights. The recipe was yummy, and it yielded for 48 cookies total. I was so happy with the results that I’m ready to bake these again for Easter and Mother’s day too! I feel that this would make a great treat anytime of the year, so I challenge you to give it a try and share your results too.

I just had to share some of the other cute sale items I saw at Sur La Table. I may have to go online to purchase the remainder of the collection! So cute!! Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope that you get a chance to try this recipe out for yourself! Until next time, have a great day!

Basic French Macarons

February 18, 2016

by Natasha Hopkins

Category Dessert Food

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 3 egg whites
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1/4 sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Sift the powdered sugar and Almond flour together in a bowl,
2. In another bowl whip the egg whites with an electric mixer, add salt and gradually add the pain sugar until obtaining a thick meringue.
3. Add half of the powdered sugar and almond flour and stir gently with a spatula from top to bottom.
4. Add the vanilla extract and the remainder powdered sugar almond mixture and stir to blended.
5. If you want to add color them drop in your color of choice and mix.
6. Pour part of the mixture into the Decomix fitted with the large round tip and make circle in the size indicated by the marks on the Macaron baking sheet.
7. When the batter expands, it will not spill over.
8. Allow to rest for 30-35 minutes prior to baking.
9. Preheat oven to 300F and bake for 18-25 minutes until firm to touch.
10. Repeat the same process with the rest of the batter.
11. TO MAKE THE FILLING: Fill it with marmalade, chocolate, hazelnut cream or whatever you desire.

Tags

baking,

french macaron recipe,

french macarons,

lekue,

macaron kit by lekue,

sur la table

https://chichomelife.com/french-macarons-recipe-lekue-sur-la-table/