chocolate and Peanut Butter & Fluff Macarons
Recipe adapted from Tasty
Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups powdered sugar
1 cup almond flour, finely ground
1 teaspoon salt, divided
3 egg whites at room temp
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tbsp baking cocoa powder
For the filling:
1 jar of marshmallow fluff OR 1 ½ cups of large marshmallows and 1 ½ tbsp of light corn syrup
1 cup peanut butter
Directions:
In a food processor, combine powdered sugar, almond flour, cocoa powder, and ½ tsp of salt. Process until mixed and extra fine. Sift the mixture through a sieve into a large bowl. In another mixing bowl, beat the egg whites and the remaining ½ tsp of salt with a mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually, add the granulated sugar while beating. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form. You’ll know it’s ready when you can hold the bowl over your head and the mixture doesn’t fall on you. I suggest testing it with the mixing whisk and looking for a nice tall peak that doesn’t fall over when you take the beater out before the over-the-head test. Add the vanilla and beat until incorporated.
Add about ⅓ of the sifted almond flour mixture at a time to the beaten egg whites. Use a spatula to gently fold until combined. After the last bit of almond flour is added, continue to fold until you can lift the spatula and use it to make a figure 8 without it breaking. Try not to overmix.
Transfer the batter into a piping bag with a round tip, or a disposable piping bag and cut a quarter-inch hole in the tip. If using a silicone mat, skip the next step. If using parchment paper, put a small dot of batter in each corner of the baking sheet before putting the parchment paper down, this will hold the parchment paper down during baking. Pipe the macarons onto the paper/mat, taking care to make them as even in size as possible. They should be about 1 ½ inch circles spaced about 1 inch apart. Optional: you can add sprinkles to the tops of your macarons at this time. Tap the baking sheet on the counter 5 times (just a tap, you don’t want to completely flatten your macarons) to get out the air bubbles.
Let your macarons sit on the counter at room temp for about 30 minutes to an hour until they form a dry skin over the top. Preheat the oven to 300℉. Bake macarons for 17 minutes until the feet are well risen and they don’t stick to the parchment paper. Note: if using a silicon mat, macarons might stick to the mat until they are fully cooled and may need to bake another minute or two longer to cook in the middle.
While macarons cool, make your filling. If you choose not to buy marshmallow fluff, you can easily make it at home. Combine marshmallows and corn syrup in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals until marshmallows are fully melted. Stir to combine.
I like to work in small batches with the fluff as it is easier to pipe when it is warm. Warm marshmallow fluff and spoon it into a piping bag. Pipe a generous layer onto one side of the macaron. Do all the macarons at once before moving onto the peanut butter. Fill another piping bag with peanut butter (peanut butter does not need to be warm) and pipe a smaller amount than the fluff on top of the fluff. Top with another macaron. Enjoy!
Comments