Macaron Recipe (Italian Meringue Method) Part Two

I have been doing some experimenting in my kitchen with a few things, and also a new recipe. I still wish you can reduce the sugar in macarons, but I suppose you can't. It affects their structures too much. What a fussy little cookie. I still prefer the Italian meringue method because it is less fussy than the French one, and always produces feet with my recipe. Anyways, here is my new macaron recipe (with pictures!:o) and I wish you good luck.

Macaron Recipe (Italian Meringue Method) makes about 24 macarons, or 48 shells

Ingredients:
Mass:
-150g almond meal/flour (I use Trader Joe's Blanched Slivered Almonds and grind them in a food processor)
-150g powdered sugar
-50g egg whites (do not have to be aged)
-Gel food coloring (optional)
-2 tsp cornstarch (if weather is humid)
-pinch of salt

Italian Meringue:
-120g granulated sugar
-55g egg whites (do not have to be aged)
-40g water

Materials:
-Candy thermometer
-Kitchen/postal scale
-Piping bags/large round tip (These give the most perfect results if that's what you're going for)
-Good insulated baking sheets (I use Nordic Ware Baker's Half Sheet)
-Parchment paper or silpats (I prefer silpats but parchment is nice too)
-Stand mixer (recommended, but it is possible with a hand mixer, just takes longer)

Sift almond meal and powdered sugar together into a large bowl. Add the 50g egg whites and mix until it becomes a dough-like consistency. (This is the time to add food coloring, remember the meringue will lighten the color of the mass)

Set aside and cover with plastic wrap so it doesn't harden.

For the meringue, beat egg whites in the bowl of your stand mixer until soft peaks form. DO NOT overbeat egg whites at this stage. After they have formed, turn down your mixer to "stir" or very low to keep them moving so they don't deflate.

At the same time, put the water and sugar on the stove over medium-high heat and attach your candy thermometer. When the mixture gets bubbly all around with no spots of unboiled water (or 240 degrees F) pour the sugar syrup into the egg whites and turn up the speed of your mixer to high. Let it beat until the bowl of the mixer is warm to the touch (body temperature). It should look like this:

Shiny, stiff, and smooth.

Then, add 1/3 of the meringue to the mass and fold until you cannot see any more white streaks of meringue. After you have lightened the mass, add the rest of the egg whites and fold.

The way you fold is crucial to how your macarons turn out. Here I have made a video of how to fold. It is a fold, press, turn motion.

Now you are ready to pipe them with your piping bag into 1-1.5 inch diameter circles, however big you like. I pipe them onto a parchment paper-lined or silpat-lined aluminum baking sheet. I usually fit about 20-24 circles on each pan.

Then drop your baking sheets about 2-3 times until they flatten out and the air bubbles pop. If you still see any, pop them with a toothpick. Now let them dry about 20-30 minutes or until they are dry to the touch (depends on humidity). While you're waiting, preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit  Check your oven to make sure it's the correct temperature! Sometimes the oven lies. lol

Dull and dry, ready for the oven!

Now bake them for 10-13 minutes, or even longer if they are still too moist inside. Bake only one tray at a time if your oven has inconsistent heat. Let them cool completely before you take them off the parchment/silpat.

Sandwich together with a filling (my favorite is Swiss Meringue Buttercream) and you're done! Store filled shells in an airtight container in the fridge for at least 24 hours. This helps the shell meld together with the filling, making it a bit crisp on the outside but melt-in-your-mouth on the inside. :)

Nice and fluffy on the inside :3

The beauty of this recipe is that you can split it in half or thirds! For the meringue though, you need to weigh out 55g of meringue for 1/3 batch, and 80g meringue for 1/2 batch. For example,

75g almond meal/flour

75g powdered sugar

25g egg whites

You would make the meringue as usual and then weigh out 80g of it and proceed with the rest of the recipe. With the leftover meringue, you can make Italian Meringue Buttercream :)

Hope this helps!:)