fruity cheerios macarons

hello again! yes, i know it's been forever since the last time i posted something here. i haven't been baking a whole lot lately just because i'm trying not to eat too much sweets these days. anyway, i did however get around to baking some french macarons for mother's day and actually remember to take some photos. :)

what i have here are fruity cereal french macarons. who says you can't use kiddie cereals as a macaron flavor? of course, the only not so great thing about this is i have no idea if the cereal is gluten-free or not. mostly likely not in my case. of course, if you want to make some cereal flavored macarons, you can always check your cereal to make sure if it's GF, or else keep in mind these macarons may not be so GF friendly.

okay, so these have become my favorite flavor at the moment. i'm not a big cereal fan but i do love my fruity sugary cereal. this is one way to eat it, you can say. actually, it may be one of the best ways to enjoy those colorful sugary cereals. so if you're up for baking up a batch, why not give this a try?! enjoy and happy baking. :)


this is my new favorite macaron flavor. who says crunched up colorful kiddie cereal can't make for some good-tasting and looking macarons? in love with these.

fruity cheerios french macarons with fruity cheerios buttercream filling

ingredients:

macaron batter:
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup almond meal
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 tsp gel food coloring (optional – i didn't use any here)
1/4 cup crushed fruity cereal (i used fruity cheerios but i'm sure you can use fruit loops or equivalent), for sprinkling on top of piped macaron batter

fruity cereal buttercream:
1/4 cup crushed fruity cereal
2-4 tbsp milk
1/2 stick of butter, room temperature
1 to 1-1/2 cups of powdered sugar

directions:

to make the macaron batter/shells:

1. line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2-inch, 2 cm) ready.
2. sift together the powdered sugar and almond meal so there are no lumps. set aside.
3. in the bowl of a standing electric mixer (or if you prefer, you can use a bowl and hand mixer – this is my prefer method), beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape. while whipping, beat in the sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes.
4. optinal: add in the gel food coloring.
5. carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. when the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white and the colors have combined, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag (standing the bag in a tall glass helps if you're alone).
6. pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1.35-inch circles evenly spaced one-inch apart. then sprinkle the piped batter with crushed fruity cereal.
7. rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons. then let it sit for at least 30-60 minutes depending on humidity before baking them in the oven. about 10-15 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. bake for 15 minutes.
8. once macaron shells are out of the oven, let them sit for 30-60 seconds before removing the hot baking sheet underneath. let the macarons cool completely before removing them from the parchment paper.

for the fruity cereal buttercream filling:

1. in a medium bowl combine the butter and sugar and mix until incorporated. then add in the crushed fruity cereal and mix until combine.
2. next, add in the milk (1 tablespoon at a time) and mix until combine and you've reached the right consistency for buttercream. if it's too thick, thin it out with a little bit with more milk. if too thin, add in a little more powdered sugar.

to assemble the macaron cookies:

1. before assembling these cookies, make sure to pair up all the cookie shells so they are as close as possible in size.
2. using a knife, spread a good amount of the buttercream on the inside of the macarons then sandwich them together. note: you can certainly put the buttercream in a piping bag and pipe the buttercream onto the cookie. it's a lot easier i think and less mess. but i can't be bother to do this so i almost always just spread it with a knife.
3. let them stand at least one day (keep them refrigerated in an airtight container) before serving (serve at room temperature), to meld the flavors.

store in airtight container for up to 5 days. makes 20-24 macarons. enjoy! :)