Macarons, second attempt

This was my second stab at making macarons - my first being The Great Egg White Massacre of 2009. I had been kind of avoiding them ever since. But a good friend of mine loves macarons, ever since her trip to France last summer. So I made some to give as a Christmas gift.

I've learned from making this batch that I tend to over-beat the egg whites. The first sheet of cookies came out with a crinkly surface and sans feet. But the second sheet (after the batter had rested while the first sheet baked) poofed nicely and had feet. Success! I'm still figuring out the correct consistency for the egg whites, but I'm heartened that it didn't take five batches of batter.


Macarons
from Claudia Flemming' The Last Course: The Desserts Of Gramercy Tavern
as seen on Tartelette

Confectioners’ (Icing) sugar: 2 ¼ cups (225 g, 8 oz.)
Almond flour: 2 cups (190 g, 6.7 oz.)
Granulated sugar: 2 tablespoons (25 g , .88 oz.)
Egg whites: 5 (Have at room temperature)

Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.

Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.

Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.

Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. It’s easiest to fill your bag if you stand it up in a tall glass and fold the top down before spooning in the batter.

Pipe one-inch-sized (2.5 cm) mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper).

Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F (190°C). Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.

Cool on a rack before filling.

Ganache Filling

6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

4 oz heavy cream

Place chocolate chips in a heat-proof bowl. Warm cream in a small saucepan until just beginning to bubble. Pour over the chocolate, and let sit 5 minutes. Stir gently until combined. Let cool until it is a good spreading consistency.