My first date with my husband, then a guy I went out on a date with, was to the North End. Bob is from an Italian/Irish family so whenever he is in the mood for Italian, he heads to the North End where, as he says, "It's done right." We had a nice lovely sit down dinner at Lucia's and then walked around the North End ending up at Mike's Pastry. Being an Irish Southerner, I never encountered the macaroon. Needless to say that one night over 15 years ago had me falling in love with an Italian cookie: the Almond Macaroon with pine nuts (pignolias) on top. I've made these cookies a few times but to be honest with you, I rather just go into town and purchase some.
4 years ago, I went to Switzerland to visit my best friend, Stacey. Stacey and her husband moved there due to her job and this gave me an opportunity to see her but also to see the country. Upon arrival in Geneva, Stacey had these cookies called macarons for me. Of course I pictured the Italian cookie and was surprised to see these little button cookies that had an airy cookie and a filling inside. I tried them and thought they were ok, just a little too sweet for me. Stacey loves these cookies and I guess they are big over in Europe.
Not to long ago, I got a new recipe book to try out. I wanted to do different types of cookies than the usual ones I did for a Christmas Cookie Exchange Party. The book I picked up was by Cecile Cannone and was entitled Macarons: Authentic French Cookie Recipes from the Macaron Cafe. I decided to try my hand at making these delicate Meringue cookies. I made red shells and filled them with a peppermint buttercream filling and rolled them in crushed peppermints. They were a mess to make but were a hit at the party and I was told by the host that I had to bring these to every cookie swap in the future.
Since I'm enjoying this rainy New England day, I decided to make some macarons and fill them with an apple cinnamon buttercream. If you are up for the challenge, feel free to try these out. They are time consuming, require almond flour (so they are gluten free), and can easily break when putting them together; however, they are very good and worth it.
Ingredients (cookie shells) 2 3/4 c almond flour, 2 3/4 c powdered sugar, 1 c egg whites*, pinch of salt, 3/4 c superfine granulated sugar, food coloring (optional) (filling) 3 eggs, 1 c sugar, 1 c applesauce, 1 apple*, 1 TBSP cinnamon, 1 c + 2 TBSP chilled unsalted butter
Instructions: For Cookie shells- (1) Line baking sheets with parchment paper. (2) Blend almond flour and powdered sugar in food processor to make a fine power (or sift together). Sift mixture through a strainer until its as fine as you can get. (3) Using a wire whip attachment on an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with salt, starting slowly then increasing with speed as they whites start to rise. Add the sugar and food coloring (if using). Beat until egg whites form stiff peaks and meringue is firm and shiny. (4) Pour egg whites into almond flour mixture and gently fold them in using a rubber spatula. Move spatula from bottom of the bowl to the edges with one hand, and using other hand, rotate the bowl. Continue until you can't see any more crumbs of flour and mixture is shiny and flowing as a wide ribbon off the spatula. (5) Fill pastry bag with #8 tip and squeeze small amount onto prepared sheets to form a 2.5" circle. Leave 1" space between macarons. If you get peaks the batter could have been beaten more, eliminate them by tapping the baking sheet on the countertop; hold parchment paper in place. Let the macarons rest for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 300F (325F if non-convection). Bake for 15 minutes. After the first 5 minutes, open the oven to let out the steam. Let cookies cool completely on a rack before taking them off. Press the bottom of the cooked shell with your finger, it should be soft. IF it is hard, reduce baking time for the rest of the macarons by a minute. For Filling-(1) Beat 3 eggs and sugar with an electric mixer at high speed; you want to double the volume of batter and have it become fluffy. (2) Pour egg-sugar mixture into a saucepan, stir in applesauce and chopped apple, and heat mixture at medium temp., stirring continuously until the mixture forms a compact batter. Pour into a shallow dish, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge. (3) When batter is cold, add the cinnamon and butter, which is cut into small pieces. Using a wire whip attachment, beat at high speed until no butter pieces are visible. (4) Pipe a small amount on to the flattened side of one cookie shell and LIGHTLY twist another shell on top of the filling. If you push too hard, the cookie shell with crumble/crack.
*Egg whites should be at room temperature and all the egg yolks can be saved to make a Creme Brulee.
*Core and chop apple (including peel).
*Cut the butter into small cubes; the smaller the better since it will take awhile for the butter to breakup when in the mixture.
