Strawberry Cheesecake
Strawberry Cheesecake
As a lover of both strawberries and cheesecake, this macaron is the perfect combination of them. Out of three macarons we made, the strawberry cheesecake version was my absolute favorite. In my opinion the best part is the hidden dollop of strawberry jam in the macaron filling. This scrumptious delight will surely leave your mouth hungry for more.
Ingredients
- 3 eggs whites, room temperature
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup superfine almond flour
- 3 drops red food coloring
- 1 8-ounce package of cream cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- Strawberry jam
Prep & Bake
1. Preheat oven to 285ºF/140ºC.
2. In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy.
3. Keep beating and slowly add sugar until stiff peaks form.
4. Sift powdered sugar and almond flour over the egg whites.
5. Fold the dry mixture into the egg whites, giving the bowl a quarter turn every third fold. Make sure to not overmix or the macarons will not rise.
6. Once the batter reaches a lava-like consistency, transfer half the batter to another bowl and add the food coloring. Mix until just combined. Do not overmix!
7. Working quickly, put the white and pink batters into separate sandwich bags.
8. Cut the corner off of each bag and squeeze the two batters evenly into a larger gallon-size bag or piping bag to create the multicolor effect.
9. Pipe 1½-inch dollops onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (Tip: take a little batter to “glue:” down the edges of the parchment paper so it stays put).
10. Let the cookies rest for 30 minutes to an hour, until they are no longer wet to the touch and a skin forms on top.
11. While resting, make the filling by mixing the cream cheese, powdered sugar and milk in a bowl until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag and set aside until ready to fill.
12. When the cookies are dry to the touch, bake for 13 to 15 minutes until they have risen to form a “foot.”
13. Let rest for 10 minutes before filling. To fill, pipe a circle of the cream cheese mixture around the edge of one cookie and place a small dollop of jam in the center. Sandwich with another macaron.
14. Macarons are best kept refrigerated until serving.
Cookies & Cream
Cookies & Cream
These cookies and cream flavored macarons were the favorites of most of my family members. I’m not sure if it was due to the euphoric combination of cookies and creme or that we actually perfected the macaron consistency of this bunch, but one thing I am sure of is how delicious these taste. They left everyone’s taste buds wanting more!
Ingredients
- 3 eggs whites, room temperature
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1¼ cups powdered sugar
- ¾ cup superfine almond flour
- ¼ cup crushed chocolate cookies
- 2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoons black food coloring
- 2 cups of powdered sugar
- 1 cup of softened butter
- 1 teaspoons of vanilla
- 2 tablespoons of milk
- ½ cup cookies and cream filling
Prep & Bake
1. Preheat oven to 285ºF/140ºC.
2. In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy.
3. Keep beating and slowly add sugar until stiff peaks form.
4. Sift powdered sugar, cookie crumbs, almond flour, and cocoa powder over the egg whites.
5. Fold the dry mixture into the egg whites completely, but make sure to not overmix or the macarons will not rise.
6. Once the batter reaches a lava-like consistency, add the food coloring. Mix until just combined, without over mixing.
8. Place the mixture into a piping bag or zip-top bag. Cut of the tip to pipe.
9. Pipe 1½-inch dollops onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Tip: take a little batter to “glue” down the edges of the parchment paper so it stays put.
10. Let the cookies rest at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour, until they are no longer wet to the touch and a skin forms on top.
11. While resting, make the filling by mixing the butter, powdered sugar, cookie cream filling, vanilla, and milk in a bowl until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag and set aside until ready to fill.
12. When the cookies are dry to the touch, bake for 15-18 minutes until they have risen.
13. Let rest for 10 minutes before filling. To fill, pipe about about a tablespoon of the buttercream onto one macaron and place another on top.
14. Macarons are best kept refrigerated until serving.
Neapolitan
Neapolitan
Probably the sweetest of the three, these French delicacies were surely exquisite. From the two subtly different tasting cookies to the sweet chocolaty center, the Neapolitan flavored macarons were a hit! The pink cookie side has a hint of raspberry jam in it giving it a subtle yet noticeable berry taste, while the other side has a faint chocolaty taste.
Ingredients
- 1⅓ cups almond meal, super-fine
- 1¾ cups powdered sugar
- 4 egg whites, cold
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons raspberry jam, strained
- ¼ teaspoon red liquid food coloring
- 1 cup white chocolate chips, melted
- 4 ounces cream cheese
Prep & Bake
1. Preheat oven to 300˚F (150˚C).
2. Add almond meal and powdered sugar to a bowl and mix to combine.
3. Using a hand mixer, beat the egg whites until they stick to the bowl.
4. Add the sugar to the whipped egg whites and beat until stiff peaks form.
5. Gently fold the powdered sugar with almond meal into the whipped egg whites.
6. Divide the batter in half. In one bowl, gently fold in cocoa powder. In the other bowl, add in the strained raspberry jam and red liquid food coloring and stir to combine.
7. Transfer the batters into separate piping bags and pipe directly onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
8. Bake for 20 minutes.
9. In a bowl, add the melted white chocolate chips and cream cheese, and stir to combine.
10. Put the chocolate filling in a piping bag and pipe filling onto the macaron shells.
11. Sandwich the macarons together.
12. Refrigerate macarons for another 2 hours before serving.
NOTE:
This recipe contains higher dry ingredients to wet ingredients ratio, so macarons do not need to form a “shell” before baking into the oven. I highly recommend folding a lot less than you would in the other recipes. Otherwise, they may end up looking more like flat cookie (like ours haha!) versus a raised and firm cookie like macarons traditionally are.
