French macarons are high up there on my “Things That Scare Me” list. Right below bungee jumping. And the thought of having a second baby. But unlike those other two, macarons don’t really belong on that list.
They’ve always seemed so… high maintenance temperamental delicate. I tend to have a heavy hand and low tolerance for fussy recipes but they proved to be a pretty resilient cookie. I made several errors along the way and was a little sloppy about some of the details – and they still turned out wonderfully. I already can’t wait to make a next batch!
Vanilla Bean Macarons with Peach Preserves
Light and airy vanilla bean macarons filled with fresh peach preserves.
Ingredients
- 110 grams almond flour (I used Bob
- 200 grams confectioners sugar
- 100 grams egg whites (from 3 eggs, separated 24 hours in advance or microwaved for 8 seconds)
- 1/4 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 vanilla bean
- 50 grams granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup peach preserves
- ground cinnamon, to taste
Instructions
- Pulse the almond flour and confectioner's sugar several times in your food processor until thoroughly mixed. Place egg whites in the bowl of your stand mixer and whisk until foamy. Split and scrape the vanilla pod and add the beans and extract to the egg whites. Add the sugar and turn the mixer to high, whisking until you have a glossy meringue.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the egg whites gently, briskly at first to break up the meringue a bit, until thoroughly mixed. Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip and pipe rounds of 1.5 inches along two silicon-lined baking sheets. Let sit one hour at room temperature.
- Heat oven to 300. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool completely and remove from the pan.
- To make the filling, I processed peach preserves and a pinch of cinnamon in my mini chopper until smooth. Not more than a few hours before serving, pipe the filling onto one cookie and top with the other, gently pressing down. (The liquid in the preserves will soften the cookies so fill the cookies the day-of.)
- Note: Obviously, this is a quick and dirty recap of the process. There are a lot of details that go into macarons, many of which I screwed up or just plain ignored (what overnight step?). Check out the "Macaron Bible" for the non rocket science details.
Notes
Yields: ~24 macarons
Estimated time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Nutritional Information
Calories: 48 | Fat: 2.3 | Fiber .5
WW Points: 1
Those came out fantastic! 😀
I have the same fears/view of macarons, so I’m quite relieved to see that yours turned out beautifully. Great job! Fortunately, I was going to start with Tartelette’s recipe when I eventually overcame my fears.
Hi! I’m a frequent reader of your wonderful blog, all the way down to Brazil! Neve made comments though…:) I’ve always been scared to try these out…I have to say I’ll try to bake a batch myself…thanks! 🙂
These look and sound awesome! Also, wanted to let you know that I featured this post on my blog today- check it out at: http://blog.theapronthief.com/each-day/
🙂
Your macarons look amazing. Good job! You made them a little less scary for me now. Thanks for sharing.
They are beautiful! I actually laughed out loud at the fear of having a second baby blurb. That is one of my top fears! Ha Ha!
Wow, these are totally inspiring! I also tend to shy away from delicate and fussy-seeming recipes, but congratulations on conquering your own fear! These are absolutely LOVELY, and you should be very proud.
I agree that they are scary. But I’ve seen more and more bloggers successfully make them. You’re an inspiration to all of us scaredy-cat bakers out there. Some day I’ll get around to making these…
I dont blame you for being intimidated…they ARE intimidating. Yours are really lovely though!
They’re beautiful! Since everyone’s been blogging about these, I’ve been wanting to try to make them. However, aside from knowing how they should look from people’s photos, I’ve never had one because I’ve never seen them anywhere! I also lack a scale. By the way, Central Market (fellow Texan here!) has almond meal in the bulk section for $6.99/lb. Not sure how that compares to a pack of Bob’s.
Beautiful. They turned out perfect! And love the peach filling (=
I am scared of macarons too! Glad that you made them and did it with success! Those look perfect!
and 1 ww point? I am in!
I’ve been intimidated too! They look wonderful. Ok, I’m less scared now. Stepping a little closer to the macaron ledge.
Love the title on these 😛 I’m scared of them, haven’t been able to bring myself to try!
These look beautiful and delicious. They have perfect feet! Congratulations on your first batch of macarons. Have you heard of Mactweets? I think you may like it if you enjoy making macarons: http://mactweets.blogspot.com/
So very lovely!
I don’t think mine can ever be so white for the shell. 🙁
These look beautiful and delicious!
Macarons scare me too… but my friend has challenged me to make them before the end of the summer! Hope mine turn out as well as yours…
These are in the oven and I’m very hopeful! I’ve had a few disasters with macarons- but for the first time my batter looks right! Thanks for the easy and classic recipe!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I did my best to follow it exactly, and I was VERY happy with how they turned out. I was recently intrigued by making French macarons, but I didn’t want a recipe to ruin my healthy eating! These were light, but still very indulgent. 🙂
Are these macarons soft and chewy on the inside??
Yes – the actual cookie itself is an airy shell. With the filling, the insides get chewy.