Feast in the MIddle East

I am going to keep it real right now, are you ready? When I went to France recently, I couldn’t wait to try their macarons, but my jaw dropped at the price. Each itty bitty 1 inch diameter cookie was 4 bucks! Are you kidding me? If I wanted to buy a dozen it could cost almost $50, plus the cookies were sure to turn stale in transit, as they are meant to be eaten fresh. I tried a couple of them out of Laduree, but to be honest, I enjoyed the fresh madeleines more. So I bought bags of them fresh out of the bakery for my return flight home, and my family absolutely loved them. 

Recently I got the opportunity to learn how to make macarons at home, and no shade to the French, but these cookies were just as delicious. They were lightly crispy on the outside, and melt in your mouth soft on the inside. They had the perfect amount of sweetness flavored with real vanilla beans. And they looked like this:

Lindsey, the energetic and affable gal behind the foodie business called Food La La, spent a good amount of time in France, trying to learn the secrets to some of their most popular dishes. And woah, she did she ever succeed. Her macarons are so popular they caught the attention of Forbes magazine, and she has a prolific business selling cute macaron kits, which you can check out here: https://www.food-la-la.com/macaron-masterclass-kit

Now if you are in the mood for baking, she was kind enough to share her recipe! For the filling, use any standard buttercream recipe, lemon curd, or even fruit jam. In my new video upload, you can see her secret techniques to getting perfectly uniform cookies and that light and luscious texture here:

^{Les Macarons Recipe}

-INGREDIENTS:

• ^{130 grams superfine almond meal 225 grams powdered sugar}
• ^{115 grams egg white, room temp}
• ^{60 grams superfine granulated sugar Optional: gel food coloring}
• ^{NOTE: Preheat oven to 300 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.}
• ^{STEP 1: DRY INGREDIENTS}
• ^{Combine almond meal and powered sugar together then sift mixture three times. Set aside.}
• ^{STEP 2: FRENCH MERINGUE}
• ^{Put egg whites in large stainless steel or glass bowl, and add a few drops of gel food coloring.}
• ^{Beat with an electric mixer until foamy (about 30 sec), then add the granulated sugar little by little while continuing to beat on high. The meringue is done when it reaches a stiff peak (about 5 minutes)}
• ^{STEP 3: FOLD DRY INGREDIENTS INTO FRENCH MERINGUE}
• ^{Gently fold the sifted dry ingredients into the meringue in three batches. Keep all the batter together, scraping around the bowl and up from the bottom (do not beat or whip). When the dry ingredients are thoroughly incorporated, continue to fold the batter until you achieve a ribbon-like texture. Don’t over mix.}
• ^{STEP 4: PIPE MACARONS}
• ^{Cut tip of a large piping bag, and insert piping tip. Secure with a clip and fill bag with batter. When ready to pipe, remove clip.}
• ^{Pipe 1.5”-2” circles onto parchment paper. Rap sheet on counter to remove air bubbles and smooth caps. Let rest for 20-30 minutes or until a skin forms (it may take longer if you’re working in a humid environment—use a fan to expedite!)}
• ^{STEP 5: BAKE}
• ^{Bake for 10-12 minutes (To test doneness, lightly touch the top of a shell. It should be firm on its foot and not wiggle. If you can gently peel off a shell without it sticking to parchment paper, they are done. If batter sticks, continue baking.) Remove from oven, let cool completely then peel shells of parchment and sandwich with buttercream.}