Heart Macarons

30 standard portions

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Ingredients

• 1 cup (100g) almond flour*
• 1½ cups (180g) powdered sugar*
• 3 large egg whites (around 90 grams, at room temperature*)
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoon red gel food coloring*
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ cup unsalted butter (softened)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method

1. Print out 4 copies of the Heart Template.
2. With a large sieve, sift the almond flour and powdered sugar together twice into a large bowl. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, pour in the egg whites and cream of tartar. Beat the egg whites on medium-low speed until soft peaks form.
4. Add the granulated sugar slowly, and beat until almost stiff peaks.
5. Add the red gel food coloring and vanilla extract, and beat until stiff peaks form, or you can tip the bowl upside down and nothing falls out.
6. Fold in a third of the dry ingredients to the egg white mixture with a spatula until completely mixed. Fold in the rest of the dry ingredients until the batter can run off of the spatula forming a “figure 8” without breaking. Be careful not to over mix the batter, or you will lose the air bubbles from the egg whites. Scoop the batter into a piping bag with a small round tip.
7. Place 2 of the heart templates side by side onto one cookie sheet, and place a piece of parchment paper on top of the heart templates. Fill the hearts by piping the batter on to the parchment paper. After you’ve piped each column, use a toothpick to spread the batter to the edges of the hearts and to form a tip at the bottom of the hearts.
8. Tap the pan on the counter at least five times to release air bubbles to the tops of the macarons. Use a toothpick to pop any bubbles on the surface of the macarons.
9. IMPORTANT: Allow the macarons to rest in a dry area for 45 minutes to an hour, until the tops of the macarons are no longer tacky to the touch.*
10. Preheat the oven to 315°F/160°C.
11. Bake the macarons, one cookie sheet at a time, for 13 minutes. Cookies should rise and form delicate “feet” as they bake.
12. Let the macarons cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then remove the pan, keeping the macarons on the parchment paper, and leave on the cooling rack until completely cool, another 10 minutes.
13. Macarons should peel off of the parchment paper leaving little to no cookie residue on the parchment paper.
14. Cream the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed in a large bowl. Gradually add in the powdered sugar, and mix until smooth.
15. Mix in the whipping cream and vanilla extract.
16. Using a spatula, put the buttercream into a piping bag with a large round tip.
17. Pipe the buttercream onto the bottom of half of the macaron cookies.
18. Place the other half of the cookies on top of the buttercream to make a macaron sandwich.
19. Refrigerate for 1-2 days for the best texture and flavors.