French Macaron with Black Cherry Chocolate Glaze

I've always wondered how hard it is to make macarons... turns out it's not that bad. I'm not going to lie, it's a bit of a delicate process but not a lost cause for us novice bakers. I started my little project by googling macaron recipes and found that there are countless variations. I chose a French Macaron with a black cherry chocolate glaze. First things first, lets list the ingredients:


Cookie:


1 cup confectioners’ sugar, 4.5 oz
3/4 cup almond flour, 2.5 oz (I know you're thinking what the heck is almond flour... it's basically ground up blanched almond slivers. You can either throw the almonds in the food processor or do what I did because you don't have a food processor and pound them out with a mallet until you get a fine powder. It's a bit of a process).
2 large egg whites, room temperature 
Pinch of cream of tartar
1/4 cup sugar


Black Cherry Chocolate Glaze:


1/2 cup heavy cream, 4 oz
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temp.
6 oz semisweet chocolate chips
1/8 teaspoon cherry extract (I used McCormick's).


Take the confectioner's sugar and whisk it well with the almond flower, set aside. 


With an electric mixer, mix the egg whites on medium speed until you get a nice foamy consistency. It should take a good 5-8 minutes. Add the cream of tartar and continue to mix on medium for another 5 minutes. The mixture should start to get thicker. Slowly add the sugar and turn up the mixer to med-high. Mix for about 8 minutes or until you get stiff peaks. This is the part where you add the food coloring. I used a water based red and added 4 drops to get a nice pink color. I would recommend water based food coloring because it will mix easily. Once you add the drops, continue to mix for another minute or until you have an even color. Do not over mix your egg white mixture... stop once you get the stiff peaks by dipping a spoon and taking it out of the mixture. It should look like the top of a Hershey's Kiss. 


Take the almond flour mixture and slowly fold it into the egg white mixture. Fold it about 20-30 times or until it is evenly dispersed. Don't worry, it is normal for the egg white mixture to deflate slightly. 


Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a piping bag, or ziplock sandwich bag ready. Spoon your cookie mix into the piping bag and snip the bottom for an opening that is about a quarter of an inch wide. Pipe 3/4 to 1 inch rounds about an inch apart on the parchment paper and set aside at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Do not skip this process, it is crucial when striving to achieve that perfect macaron shape. 


While you're waiting for the cookies to set, pre-heat your oven to 325 degrees and get ready to make the glaze. 


In a saucepan, melt the butter and heavy cream together. Bring them to a boil and take them off the heat. Mix in the chocolate chips until you get a nice thick mixture. Add the cherry extract and mix well. Set the chocolate glaze aside and when it is time, pop the cookie mixes into the oven one baking sheet at a time. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Be careful not to brown the bottoms because the cookies will stick to the parchment paper. If you smell something that is similar to burnt popcorn, you've over-baked them. Take the baking sheet out repeat the process with the second sheet. 


Let the cookies cool for about 20 minutes and carefully take them off the parchment paper. Fill another piping bag with the chocolate mixture and pipe the chocolate onto the bottom side of half the cookies. Let the chocolate sit on the cookies for 5 minutes before you take the other halves and make sandwiches. This will keep the chocolate from running because it starts to set. 


There you have it! Easy, fast and YUMMY... Enjoy!