12 days of christmas baking - day 7: peppermint & coffee nutella french macarons

who doesn't love french macarons? yes, i've finally made some again since that last giant batch of macarons i made for a wedding. i can't believe i haven't made any since then. to go with the whole christmas theme, i decided on the peppermint flavor macarons, sprinkled with peppermint candy on the side. and to add to that, since i personally like to have more than one flavor of macarons whenever i'm making/eating them, i went with (almost) everyone's favorite, the coffee nutella.

i know, i haven't gotten my recipe up for these macarons yet, but again, i promise i will write a blog post soon and post the recipe here as soon as i have it written out. in the meantime, you can browse through these previous posts and get david lebovitz's recipe from one of these posts.

enjoy and happy baking! :)

***UPDATE 12/18/12***

i've finally got the recipe written up. scroll below for the peppermint recipe. for the coffee nutella macaron recipe, please click here. enjoy and let me know how yours turn out if you make them! :)


i love how festive and flavorful these peppermint french macarons are!


these peppermint and coffee nutella macarons really turned out great. so yummy and just the perfect treat for a cold day with warm coffee/tea.


i absolutely love making and eating french macarons. i really can eat all of these delicious peppermint and coffee nutella macarons. ;)


another shot of the peppermint macarons. yum!

peppermint macarons

ingredients:

macaron batter:

1 cup (100 gr) powdered sugar

3/4 cup almond meal (about 3 ounces or 75 grams)

red gel food coloring (optional)

2 large egg whites, at room temperature

5 tablespoons (65 gr) granulated sugar

peppermint buttercream filling:
1 stick of butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tbsp peppermint extract
up to 2 tbsp heavy cream or milk
3 candy canes, crushed (optional)

peppermint candy decorations:
6 candy canes, crushed

directions:
to make the macaron shells: Preheat oven to 350º F (180º C).

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2-inch, 2 cm) ready.

Sift together the powdered sugar, almond meal and 2 tablespoons of espresso so there are no lumps (usually I just use a fork to break any large lumps). If your almond meal isn't so fine, you can put the ingredients into a blender or food processor to make it finer. Personally, I'd just use the sifter and dump out any remaining crumbs that didn't make it through the sifting process.

In the bowl of a standing electric mixer (or if you prefer, you can use a bowl and hand mixer), beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape. While whipping, beat in the granulated sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes.

Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. If you want your macaron shells to be red, this is where you'd to add in the food coloring (with the dry ingredients), otherwise, you can just skip it and use the food coloring as paint to paint it on once the cookies are assembled (like I did!). When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag (standing the bag in a tall glass helps if you’re alone).

Pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1.35-inch (3.5 cm) circles evenly spaced one-inch (3 cm) apart. Quickly after it's piped, sprinkle a few espresso powder over each shell (this step is optional, personally I do it because I like how they macarons look once they're baked).

Rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons. Then it let sit for at 30-60 minutes (okay, I've done it with just 15 minutes before and they turn out fine, but whatever you do, do not skip this step; even at just 15 minutes) before baking them in the oven, 15-17 minutes. Let cool completely then remove from baking sheet.

to make the peppermint buttercream frosting filling: beat butter for a few minutes with a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed (or you can use a hand mixer). add the 2 cups of powdered sugar and turn your mixer on the lowest speed (so the sugar doesn’t blow everywhere) until the sugar has been incorporated with the butter. increase mixer speed to medium and add peppermint extract, and 1 tablespoon of milk/cream and beat for 3 minutes. if your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add a little more sugar. if your frosting needs to be thinned out, add remaining tablespoon of milk, a little at a time. once you've gotten the right consistency and the buttercream is complete, add in the crushed peppermint candy cane pieces and mix until incorporated. of course, this last part here is optional, you can skip it if you like. i personally like the added crunch when biting into my peppermint macaron, so i do this last step. :)

to assemble: Before assembling these cookies, make sure to pair up all the cookie shells so they are as close as possible in size. Then using a knife, spread a good amount of the peppermint filling on the inside of the macarons then sandwich them together. Sprinkle the crushed peppermint candy cane pieces over the filling portion of the assembled macaron. Or you can roll the cookie on the candy pieces. This last step adds a nice decorated touch to these peppermint macarons. They are so cute and delicious!

Let them stand at least one day (keep them refrigerated) before serving (serve at room temperature), to meld the flavors. Or if you can't wait to dig in and eat, I say wait a few hours, at least! (Shhhh, I've eaten them newly assembled too, and they taste just as yummy! hahahaha). But really, for the best optimal flavor and taste, you must wait at least one day. They really are THAT good and worth the wait!

Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Makes about 16-20 cookies. Enjoy and happy eating! :)

Note: I typically just bake mine for 15 minutes and they turn out fine. But yours may be different as all oven temperatures vary so letting them bake the full 17 minutes may be fine. I say set your timer for 15 minutes and add on from there.