Just in time for Mother’s Day, chef Stephen Coe shares some tips for making the cookie-of-the-moment: the French macaron. These beautifully-hued little treats will brighten anyone’s day and this recipe makes as many as 40 so you can spread the love – the delicious, buttercream and meringue-y love.
French Lavender Macarons with Honey Buttercream
Details
Ingredients
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1 tablespoon dried lavender buds
- 3/4 cup almond meal
- 2 egg whites
- 3 tablespoon sugar
- food coloring of your choice
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 2 tablespoon honey
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Blend the confectioners' sugar, lavender, and almond meal in a food processor until fine, then whisk everything into a large bowl.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment affixed, add the egg whites and sugar.
- Turn the mixer on to power level 4 and whisk the mixture together for 3 minutes.
- Next, turn the power up to 7 and whisk an additional 3 minutes.
- Turn the power up to 8 and whisk an additional minute or two. By now, there should be a stiff meringue in the bowl. Feel free to mix in the food coloring at this point and whisk at 8 speed for an additional minute to incorporate the color.
- Knock the meringue that’s trapped in the whisk back into the bowl.
- Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip and pipe 1 1/4-inch circles (20 per sheet).
- Let the cookies sit at room temperature until the tops are no longer sticky to the touch, 15 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the humidity.
- Bake each batch until the cookies are shiny and rise 1/8 inch - about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter using the whisk attachment for about 2 minutes.
- Slowly add the confectioners' sugar, and whisk until everything is incorporated.
- Do the same with the honey.
- Beat another minute or so to get everything well incorporated.
- Peel the cookies off the racks and sandwich with a thin layer of the buttercream.