{"id":467,"date":"2008-02-19T07:28:36","date_gmt":"2008-02-19T07:28:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2008\/02\/19\/chocolate-macarons\/"},"modified":"2013-01-10T18:57:51","modified_gmt":"2013-01-10T16:57:51","slug":"chocolate-macarons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2008\/02\/19\/chocolate-macarons\/","title":{"rendered":"Chocolate Macarons Recipe"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Edited to add:<\/em> First <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2008\/02\/13\/laduree-macarons-and-finding-the-perfect-macaron-recipe\/\">read my post about Laduree Macarons and Finding the Perfect Macaron Recipe<\/a> for inspiration, tips and other links about macarons &#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/tartelette.blogspot.com\/2008\/02\/hot-macarons-for-my-hot-tamale.html\">Tartelette also made Hot Tamale macarons yesterday<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p>Making macarons was easier and more fun than I hoped it would be, but it was perhaps the biggest mess I&#8217;ve made in the kitchen for quite some time (<em>Sara: 0, Piping Bag: 1<\/em>). I definitely have lots of room for improvement.<\/p>\n<p>This time making macarons it was all about the cookies. I threw some filling options together at the last minute since I wasn&#8217;t sure how the macarons would come out and I just wanted to get familiar with what I see are the basic components of the recipe:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Aging and beating the egg whites<\/li>\n<li>Folding the dry ingredients into the egg whites<\/li>\n<li>Piping the macarons onto a baking tray<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Of course I should have added to this list &#8220;grinding, sifting and pulverizing the almonds&#8221; because, as you&#8217;ll see, my freshly ground almonds were a bit rough. <strong>Quelle horreur!<\/strong> My little food processor just couldn&#8217;t handle Macaron Duty. Lesson learned.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a title=\"Chocolate Macaron shells by MsAdventuresinItaly, on Flickr\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/msadventuresinitaly\/2275909755\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Chocolate Macaron shells\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2184\/2275909755_05c5e51658.jpg?resize=500%2C333\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Chocolate Macarons<\/h3>\n<p>I basically doubled <a href=\"http:\/\/www.davidlebovitz.com\/archives\/2005\/10\/french_chocolat.html\">David Lebovitz&#8217; Chocolate Macaron recipe<\/a>, except I didn&#8217;t double the sugar added to the whites (my mistake).<\/p>\n<p><em>Note: My macarons cooked rather fast (perhaps because I didn&#8217;t follow the &#8220;wooden spoon in oven door&#8221; advice I&#8217;ve seen floating around) and at around 10 minutes I checked on them and took them out. <\/em><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a title=\"Chocolate Macarons ready for the oven by MsAdventuresinItaly, on Flickr\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/msadventuresinitaly\/2276701962\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Chocolate Macarons ready for the oven\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2392\/2276701962_ede3d47a43.jpg?resize=500%2C333\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>My first few shells were treated to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.francis-miot.com\/francis-miot\/home.php\"><strong>a lovely raspberry jam from Frances Moit<\/strong><\/a> that I picked up at the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.comptoirdefrance.it\/main.php?pagina=home\"><strong>Comptoir de France in Milan<\/strong><\/a>. <a href=\"http:\/\/kitchenpantry.blogspot.com\">Sara<\/a> says it&#8217;s one of the best jams in the world and I have to agree, it&#8217;s very very good. My mom&#8217;s homemade raspberry jam is hard to compete with, though.<\/p>\n<p>I also couldn&#8217;t test this tart and tangy jam without pairing it also with peanut butter, so I whipped up a little peanut butter and powdered sugar in my mini-prep and added that to another macaron with the jam.<\/p>\n<p>And&#8230;.(comes closer to the screen)&#8230;<strong>it was good!<\/strong> I could probably be stoned for admitting that in several towns in France, but for now I am safe in my apartment.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a title=\"Chocolate Macarons by MsAdventuresinItaly, on Flickr\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/msadventuresinitaly\/2275909577\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Chocolate Macarons\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2258\/2275909577_41a20df059.jpg?resize=500%2C333\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>And because I think all chocolate needs to be spicy at least once, I made a spicy chocolate filling that I am going to play with for future rounds of macarons.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Spicy Chocolate filling<\/strong><br \/>\nSoftened butter<br \/>\nPowdered sugar<br \/>\nDutch-processed cocoa powder<br \/>\nPeperoncino \/ hot pepper flakes, crushed<\/p>\n<p>Mix 1 cup powdered sugar and several tablespoons cocoa powder together thoroughly. Beat into softened butter, taste. Add hot pepper flakes sparingly, but to taste.<\/p>\n<p>Chocolate Macarons with Spicy Chocolate Filling &#8211; the spicy in these macarons was more of an afterburn rather than a spicy-lips feeling.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a title=\"Chocolate Macaron and Spicy Chocolate Filling by MsAdventuresinItaly, on Flickr\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/msadventuresinitaly\/2276701698\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Chocolate Macaron and Spicy Chocolate Filling\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2162\/2276701698_ea0662088f.jpg?resize=500%2C333\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>See all those white flecks? Bad almonds that didn&#8217;t want to be crushed!<\/p>\n<p>So what did I learn this time around? Next time&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><strong>I will:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Age my egg whites for 24 hours or more (<a href=\"http:\/\/kitchenmusings.typepad.com\/my_weblog\/2007\/10\/the-macaron-chr.html\">Veronica&#8217;s Test Kitchen has a lovely post about using aged egg whites or not to make macarons<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>Experiment with letting the macarons set-up for 30 minutes or more<\/li>\n<li>Pour the water under the parchment paper after taking them out of the oven because it makes me giggle<\/li>\n<li>Try cooking at a lower temperature and\/or using the &#8220;wooden spoon trick&#8221; for softer shells<\/li>\n<li>Experiment with almond flour and hazelnut flours that are pre-ground<\/li>\n<li>Continue not to trace circles on the paper &#8211; having irregular-sized macarons was fun and I enjoyed matching them up<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>I won&#8217;t:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Grind my own almonds unless I change the currrent food processor I have<\/li>\n<li>Fill up the piping bag so much<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Anyone have any recipes just for egg yolks? I have a feeling I&#8217;m going to have a bumper crop of them in my near future.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a title=\"Chocolate Macaron and Spicy Chocolate Filling - Profile by MsAdventuresinItaly, on Flickr\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/msadventuresinitaly\/2276701464\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Chocolate Macaron and Spicy Chocolate Filling - Profile\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2064\/2276701464_948e89ec63.jpg?resize=500%2C333\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Edited to add: First read my post about Laduree Macarons and Finding the Perfect Macaron Recipe for inspiration, tips and other links about macarons &#8211; Tartelette also made Hot Tamale macarons yesterday! Making macarons was easier and more fun than I hoped it would be, but it was perhaps the biggest mess I&#8217;ve made in&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2008\/02\/19\/chocolate-macarons\/\">Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[73,106,3,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-chocolate","category-dessert","category-food","category-recipe","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4uB1-7x","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":475,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2008\/03\/14\/colorful-cinnamon-easter-egg-macarons-recipe\/","url_meta":{"origin":467,"position":0},"title":"Colorful Cinnamon Easter Egg Macarons Recipe","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"March 14, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Last year I some enacted some Lifetime Eggdramas with colorful chocolate eggs before heading to Berlin for Easter break. This year, I can't not play with my food again! If you notice in my pictures, I love color. I think colors represent life and the more of them, the better!\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Dessert&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Dessert","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/recipe\/dessert\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A plate of Easter egg Macarons","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2103\/2332017385_7a47ab0da5.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":949,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2009\/01\/12\/dark-mint-chocolate-french-macarons-recipe\/","url_meta":{"origin":467,"position":1},"title":"Dark Mint Chocolate French Macarons Recipe","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"January 12, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I promised you a recipe for the Dark Mint Chocolate French Macarons that I made for the The Best Holiday Cookie Swap Ever. If you're going to make these, I would recommend making them the day before or the morning of your event so that you have time to do\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Chocolate&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Chocolate","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/food\/chocolate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Dark Mint Chocolate Ganache French Macarons","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3091\/3189170348_031fb6f581.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1147,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2009\/02\/25\/lemon-french-macarons-with-limoncello-white-chocolate-ganache-recipe\/","url_meta":{"origin":467,"position":2},"title":"Lemon French Macarons with Limoncello White Chocolate Ganache Recipe","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"February 25, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I love lemons. In California I had a lemon tree in my backyard and loved it. And though now everyone is talking about meyer lemons all over the food blogosphere, I thought it the best time to share some lovely lemon macarons made with some of the best lemons Italy\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Campania&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Campania","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/italy\/campania\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lemon French Macarons with Limoncello White Chocolate Ganache Recipe","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3365\/3306178126_27dbacda70.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1029,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2009\/02\/05\/hazelnut-macarons-with-nutella-and-spicy-nut-centers-for-world-nutella-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":467,"position":3},"title":"Hazelnut Macarons with Nutella and Spicy Nut Centers for World Nutella Day","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"February 5, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Happy World Nutella Day!!!! Today, February 5th is World Nutella Day! For the 3rd year, we're celebrating the chocolaty hazelnut spread that is Nutella! Back in early 2007 I was thinking about how there was no holiday to celebrate wonderful nutty Nutella. And World Nutella Day was born! As your\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blog Event&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blog Event","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/blog-event\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"World Nutella Day 2009","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/big2009.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":466,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2008\/02\/13\/laduree-macarons-and-finding-the-perfect-macaron-recipe\/","url_meta":{"origin":467,"position":4},"title":"Laduree Macarons and Finding the Perfect Macaron Recipe","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"February 13, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"An exhaustive look at Parisian macarons (with pictures of Laduree macarons), lots of recipes from around the web and how to make them in your own home! **Update** Since writing this I've made a few kinds of macarons myself:\u00a0Chocolate Macarons Recipe, Colorful Cinnamon Easter Egg Macarons Recipe, Dark Mint Chocolate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Discovering Food&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Discovering Food","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/discovering-food\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Laduree box of macarons","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2268\/2261714237_dd9660dc21.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":746,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2008\/12\/09\/the-best-holiday-cookie-swap-ever\/","url_meta":{"origin":467,"position":5},"title":"The Best Holiday Cookie Swap Ever","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"December 9, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Ok, maybe not ever, but in my time in Italy, yes. And we've only just begun...(cue music). Now that I've waded into the waters of cookie swapping and dragged some Italian friends with me, I know that next year will be even easier! So many cookies, so little time. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Behind the Scenes&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Behind the Scenes","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/behind-the-scenes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cookies on the Table for Holiday Cookie Swap","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3233\/3094335275_868d7d335b.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=467"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4574,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467\/revisions\/4574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}