Flavored French Macaroons
To learn how to make the French macaroons that I tasted at many bakeries and homes in Paris, I asked Sherry Yard, executive pastry chef at Wolfgang Puck’s Spago, for guidance. Spending a day with Sherry and her staff, I had the opportunity to witness how American pastry chefs are learning from the macaroon-crazy French. The first of these dainty macaroon sandwiches filled with chocolate ganache was developed by the pastry chef Pierre Desfontaines Ladurée at the beginning of the twentieth century. Today almost every pastry shop in France makes them in a dizzying array of flavors and colors with jam, chocolate, and buttercream fillings. Some pastry shops make certified kosher versions. Here is a master recipe for the chocolate macaroon, with suggestions for making them vanilla- or raspberry-flavored. I have given a recipe for chocolate-mocha filling as well. You can also fill them with good-quality raspberry jam or almond paste. After you have made a few macaroons, use your own imagination to create others. And do serve them for Passover.
*At Passover, use kosher-for-Passover confectioners’ sugar, made with potato starch.
The unfilled macaroon cookies can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months. Sandwiched, they can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 days.
Recipe information
Yield
24 to 30 sandwiched macaroons
Ingredients
CHOCOLATE MACAROONS
CHOCOLATE MOCHA FILLING
Preparation
Step 1
An hour before making the macaroons, separate the eggs and let the whites sit in the bowl of an electric mixer to reach room temperature. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Step 2
Put the confectioners’ sugar and the almonds in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse them together until they become a fine powder. Add the cocoa powder, and pulse until well mixed.
Step 3
Whip the egg whites at low speed until they start to foam. Add the cream of tartar, and increase the speed to medium. After 2 minutes, gradually add the granulated sugar. Continue to beat until stiff and shiny peaks form.
Step 4
Put the almond-sugar mixture in a large bowl, and, using a rubber spatula, fold in the egg whites. This will take about forty strokes (after twenty strokes, the egg whites will deflate; after another twenty, the batter will be mixed and runny).
Step 5
Fill a pastry bag with the batter (it is easiest to use a 1/2-inch-diameter tip). Pipe out 1 tablespoon, or enough batter to make silver dollar–sized circles, an inch apart on the lined cookie sheets. The best way to do this is by holding the pastry bag straight up and squeezing until about 1 1/2 inches of batter runs out for each macaroon. Let the macaroons sit at room temperature, uncovered, on the baking sheets for 1 hour, or until they dry and are less glossy.
Step 6
While the macaroons are drying, make the mocha filling. Stir together the butter or margarine, honey, and coffee in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, and remove from the heat. Stir in the chocolate, and, using a hand mixer or a whisk, beat until slightly stiff. Set aside.
Step 7
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees, and arrange the racks in the two lower thirds of the oven. Put the sheet pans in the oven, and bake for 15 minutes. Switch the positions of the baking sheets, and continue to bake for 5 to 10 minutes more, or until the macaroons are no longer wobbly and sticky.
Step 8
Allow to cool. To serve, spoon about a heaping teaspoon of filling on one cookie, and top with another.
MACAROON VARIATIONS
Step 9
For white macaroons, omit the cocoa powder and proceed as above.
Step 10
For raspberry-flavored macaroons, replace the cocoa powder with 2 tablespoons raspberry powder, and add a few drops of red food coloring when you whip the egg whites. Alternatively, you can make your own raspberry, strawberry, blackberry, or cherry powder by pulverizing a few dehydrated (not dried) berries in the food processor. Dehydrated fruits and raspberry powder are available from www.justtomatoes.com and are also sold at many supermarkets. Although the Just Tomatoes products are not certified kosher, they are processed in a facility that is purely vegetarian.
FILLING VARIATIONS
Step 11
Chocolate-ganache: Heat 3/4 cup heavy cream with 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, and stir until the chocolate melts and the mixture thickens slightly.
Step 12
Chocolate-orange: Substitute 1/4 cup orange juice for the coffee.
