Peppermint Macarons

These peppermint macarons are holiday perfection and guess what!? They are easy as can be! I have always been so intimidated by macarons, but there is no need to be intimidated! This recipe is so manageable and the end result is so worth it! I know I will be making these over and over again!

I found this recipe on Savory Experiments - you can find it HERE. I was most excited to discover that these macarons are gluten free! I love discovering new gluten free treats!

Before you begin, you will need to prep 1/4 cup of caster sugar in a small mixing bowl and in a separate mixing bowl, prep 1 cup of caster sugar and 3/4 cup of almond flour. I didn't have caster sugar on hand, so I put regular granulated sugar in the food processor until it becomes a little more like powdered sugar. I don't know the technical terms for this, but it becomes finer.

So process 1/4 cup granulated sugar to make caster sugar, then transfer the sugar to small mixing bowl. Next, process 1 cup of granulated sugar and once the sugar is fine, add in 3/4 cup of almond flour to process into the sugar. Sift the almond flour and sugar combo into a medium mixing bowl, then start on the rest of the macarons.

Separate 2 eggs - letting the egg whites fall into a large metal mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer to whip the egg whites until they are white and frothy.

Add a pinch of cream of tartar to the egg whites and continue to mix with the electric mixer until the mixture has increased in size. Next, add in the 1/4 cup of caster sugar that you set aside before. Whip the mixture until stiff peaks form and hold their shape. This should take 5 or 6 minutes.

Sift the almond flour mixture into the metal mixing bowl and fold the batter together with a spatula.

Once the batter is combined, load it into a piping bag prepped with a 1/2 inch or 3/4'' inch circular tip. Then, pipe 1 1/2 inch circles onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. You can draw circles on the parchment to make sure all of you cookies are uniform or you can do it by eye. I chose to do it by eye and it worked out just fine! Each macaron cookie should be about an inch apart as they rise quite a bit. A few of mine stuck together but it really wasn't the end of the world! They are easy to separate and it doesn't ruin the look of the cookie at all.

This recipe makes 20 macarons total - 2 cookies go into each macarons so you will need to pipe 40 cookies. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees while the oven is preheating - tap the cookie sheet down onto the counter several times to get the air bubbles out of the macarons then let the cookies sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. When the macarons cookies are ready to go in the oven, reduce the oven's temperature to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the cookies for 10 minutes.

The macarons cookies should be crisp on the outside with a rougher looking edge along the bottom.

When I was 12 and 13, I used to watch everything I put in the oven for almost the full bake time. I loved watching whatever I was baking change as it completed its bake time! Well, I stopped doing that because there are simply not enough hours in a day to sit and watch cake rise. That is, until these macarons - you are going to want to watch these bake! It's pure magic! I was so enthralled with how these scrumptious cookies bake!

Once the cookies come out of the oven, let them cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes. Then, they should twist right off the parchment paper. Transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack and let them cool completely before filling them.

These cookies cool pretty darn fast - I was impressed! It was just the right amount of time to whip up some peppermint buttercream frosting! I know, I know, there's a butter knife in my mixing bowl! But use an electric mixer to combine 1/4 cup of softened butter and 1 cup of powdered sugar. Then, mix in 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract and 1 Tablespoon of milk.

Once the cookies are completely cool, match them in pairs of two similarly sized cookies. Then, use a butter knife to spread some frosting on one of the cookies. It should be enough frosting that when you press the two cookies together, the frosting presses out the sides a little bit - this is what you will roll in candy canes! I was pretty conservative with the frosting at first. I didn't want to run out, but you don't need to worry. I mean, don't pile the frosting on there! But you can use a pretty generous amount!

Crush 3 small candy canes (or you can buy pre-crushed candy canes) and roll the sides of the macarons in the crushed candy canes.

That's it! How cute are they? I can't wait to try making these with different flavors!

PEPPERMINT MACARONS
yield: 20 macarons

ingredients
for the cookies...
1 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup almond flour
2 egg whites
pinch of cream of tartar
1/4 cup caster sugar

for the buttercream filling...
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup icing sugar
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 Tablespoon milk

directions
1. If you don;t have caster sugar, put regular granulated sugar in the food processor until it becomes finer. Process 1/4 cup granulated sugar to make caster sugar, then transfer the sugar to small mixing bowl. Next, process 1 cup of granulated sugar and once the sugar is fine, add in 3/4 cup of almond flour to process into the sugar. Sift the almond flour and sugar combo into a medium mixing bowl, then start on the rest of the macarons.
2. Separate 2 eggs - letting the egg whites fall into a large metal mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer to whip the egg whites until they are white and frothy. Add a pinch of cream of tartar to the egg whites and continue to mix with the electric mixer until the mixture has increased in size. Next, add in the 1/4 cup of caster sugar that you set aside before. Whip the mixture until stiff peaks form and hold their shape. This should take 5 or 6 minutes.
3. Sift the almond flour/caster sugar mixture into the metal mixing bowl and fold the batter together with a spatula.
4. Once the batter is combined, load it into a piping bag prepped with a 1/2 inch or 3/4'' inch circular tip. Then, pipe 1 1/2 inch circles onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
5. This recipe makes 20 macarons total - 2 cookies go into each macarons so you will need to pipe 40 cookies. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees while the oven is preheating - tap the cookie sheet down onto the counter several times to get the air bubbles out of the macarons then let the cookies sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. When the macarons cookies are ready to go in the oven, reduce the oven's temperature to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the cookies for 10 minutes.
6. The macarons cookies should be crisp on the outside with a rougher looking edge along the bottom. Once the cookies come out of the oven, let them cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes. Then, they should twist right off the parchment paper. Transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack and let them cool completely before filling them.
7. To make the filling use an electric mixer to combine 1/4 cup of softened butter and 1 cup of powdered sugar. Then, mix in 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract and 1 Tablespoon of milk.
8. Once the cookies are completely cool, match them in pairs of two similarly sized cookies. Then, use a butter knife to spread some frosting on one of the cookies. Press the other cookie over the cookie with frosting on it so that a little bit of the frosting presses out the sides.
9. Crush 3 small candy canes (or you can buy pre-crushed candy canes) and roll the sides of the macarons in the crushed candy canes.

Let me know if you have questions!