Macarons are naturally gluten-free and very light compared to most other cookies. But that’s not why I love them. When you get them right, they are a ton of fun to make (and eat!), and that’s why I went a little nuts with the macarons last weekend.
My macaron mania started when I volunteered to test this chocolate green tea macaron recipe and this candied peanut butter one to help determine whether they should be “Editor’s Picks” over at food52.
I love food52 (and this week I got some big love back!), so I was very nervous about testing these recipes. Macarons aren’t easy to make and I didn’t want to screw up. I’ve attempted them before, but I would not exactly categorize that venture as a complete success (you can see what I ended up with here, when I made “macs” for the Daring Bakers).
So I studied the recipes. I read up on macaron-making techniques. I bought a digital scale. I was ready.
First up? The chocolate macarons with matcha cream.
This one is a little unusual as far as macaron recipes go, but it works. It works well, and I loved these. Kitchen Butterfly: you done good.
Next, I made the candied peanut butter macarons. These were not the only recipe Dolcetto Confections entered into the best macaron contest; her Meyer lemon macarons actually took top honors. So I just had a feeling this recipe would be great.
It was: the candied peanut-topped macarons were perfect, with gorgeous “feet”…I was so proud…
I filled them with lots (and lots) of smooth organic peanut butter.
If you are a peanut butter fan, you will absolutely love them.
Now, I could have stopped there. But I didn’t. Buoyed by my success with the plain macaron recipe, I made some more…
…and filled them with leftover Meyer lemon cream I defrosted from when I made this tart. Outrageous is the word that comes to mind to describe these. Simply outrageous.
And last, but not least, I made a quick filling out of ricotta cheese and homemade fig jam for the rest of my “macs”. Pretty darn delicious, if I do say so myself.
It’s really too bad recipe testing is such a tough job :)
This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesday over at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free!
