by Kim Holloway

Ingredients:

Macarons

150 grams almond meal 150 grams powdered sugar 120 grams egg whites (divided into two 60 gram portions) 185 grams sugar (divided into two portions: 150 grams and 35 grams) 1 tsp vanilla paste 50 grams water A few crushed candy canes

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 335° F

2. Sift almond meal and powdered sugar together. Set aside.

3. Put 150 g granulated sugar and 50 g water into the tiniest saucepan you have and put it over medium heat. Resist the temptation to stir.

4. Meanwhile, put 60 g of egg whites in a bowl and start whipping. When foamy, sprinkle in 35 g of granulated sugar and continue whipping to soft peaks.

5. With your third arm, check sugar syrup temperature with candy thermometer. When it reaches soft ball stage (235° to 240° F), immediately remove from heat.

6. With your fourth and fifth arm, resume beating egg whites at medium speed while pouring in sugar syrup. Let it slowly trickle down the side of the bowl so it can blend with the meringue without turning into scrambled candy.

7. Increase speed to high and whip till the bottom of the bowl no longer feels hot, about 5 minutes or so, depending on the power of your mixer. (Note: I use a copper bowl for this. When using ceramic, the bowl will retain heat longer so you’ll need to go by time rather than temperature.)

8. Add the remaining 60 g egg whites to the almond meal/powdered sugar mixture and stir with a spatula till incorporated, then mix in vanilla paste.

9. Fold in the meringue mixture with the almond meal/powder sugar mixture. Keep stirring until the mixture will slowly flow from your spatula to the bowl. If it falls off in a big lump, keep stirring. If it's runny, you've gone too far. This is one of the trickiest parts. Better to err on the side of not blended enough because that can be corrected.

10. Put half the macaron batter into a pastry bag with a medium-sized round tip. Pipe in small circles onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. You can trace circles on the underside of parchment if you’re terribly particular, but I just count to five while piping for a more or less consistent size.

11. Slam cookie sheet onto the counter a couple of times to prevent air pockets. Pop any surface bubbles with a toothpick. Sprinkle tops of half the cookies with crushed peppermint.

12. Some people say that you should let the cookies rest for half an hour to dry. I don’t think it’s necessary. But I live in Seattle where nothing ever really gets dry.

13. Bake macarons in center rack at 335° for 12-14 minutes. If you aren't using an insulated cookie sheet, you'll want to double (or triple) up on the cookie sheets.

14. Check doneness by gently lifting cookie from parchment (with an offset spatula or your eager little fingers, if you’re like me). If it doesn’t seem very sticky, it’s probably ready. If it does, give it a couple more minutes. It’s best to err on the side of slightly overcooked.

15. Remove cookies from oven and set pan(s) on cooling rack. Once cookies are cool, you should be able to lift them off cleanly, but if not, a few minutes in the freezer works like magic.

16. Put filling of your choice in a piping bag (I usually cheat and use a zippered sandwich bag with a corner cut off). Match similarly sized shells; pipe filling onto the middle of one and top with the other.

17. “Mature” macarons by refrigerating in an air-tight container for 24 hours. Bring to room temperature before serving. If you can’t wait that long, go ahead and eat them. They’ll taste great, but the texture will be off (sometimes too crunchy, sometimes too chewy). I’m impatient as they come, but it’s worth waiting for the moment when the filling becomes one with the cookie.

18. Store macarons in the fridge for a few days or in the freezer indefinitely. Ok, maybe not indefinitely, but at least a few months.

For the Filling:

4 oz. unsalted butter, softened

10 oz. powdered sugar, sifted

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 T milk or cream (plus more, if needed)

1 tsp. vanilla paste Peppermint extract to taste

Red gel food coloring (optional)

1. Using a handheld or stand mixer, cream butter for about a minute. Add half the powdered sugar and the tablespoon of milk to butter and beat until combined.

2. Add the rest of the powdered sugar, vanilla paste and salt and beat until combined. Add a bit more milk, if needed.

3. Beat on high speed for about five minutes or until frosting is fluffy.

4. Mix in a few drops of peppermint extract and taste test, adding more if desired. Try to avoid entering toothpaste territory.

5. If you want to get fancy, separate filling into two bowls and color one with red gel paste. Add the red filling to a pastry bag fitted with a drop flower piping tip, then form a well inside the bag and add the white filling. Pipe in a swirl pattern onto the bottom of plain shells and top with the peppermint-embellished shells. If you’re short on time/patience, white filling piped with a makeshift sandwich bag works just fine.