Every time I make macarons, it’s always a love-hate start. I question the macaronage, my flavor pairings and most of all, why am I so stubborn when it comes to these little buggers?
I’ll tell you why. It’s because macarons are all about technique – 5 ingredients (the basic macaron recipe) to triumph or 5 ingredients to hair-pulling frustration. That’s right, these cookies contain only five ingredients. One fold too many and you’ve over mixed the cute little feet right out of them, one fold too few and you may end up with lopsided feet. Turn the heat too high and they will implode or end up hollow, too low and the bottoms will stick from being under baked.
There are a few more factors to take into consideration before I completely scare you off of these cookies. Let’s agree, as I once said in another macaron post, ugly or not, feet-less or cracked – they will still taste good.
But in my pursuit of trying to control all the variables, I’m doing a lot of testing, so stay tuned and I’ll report my findings in a comprehensive post soon. Until then, let’s enjoy these Jasmine Rose Macarons filled with raspberry jasmine flavored jam and champagne buttercream. If you really want to get creative with the filling, check out all the suggestions here on my Instagram feed, after I put out a filling query.
Jasmine Rose Macarons
Yield: Makes about 50 cookies
Ingredients:
Macaron
- 35g granulated sugar
- 105g egg whites
- 230g confectioners sugar
- 130g almond meal
Filling
Raspberry Jasmin Jam
- 1 cup seedless raspberry jam
- 1 teaspoon loose jasmin tea leaves
Champagne Buttercream
- 8 tablespoons butter
- 1 1/2-2 cups confectioner sugar
- 1 - 2 tablespoons champagne
Directions:
To make macarons: Line bake sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Place egg whites and sugar in a stand mixer bowl and fit mixer with a whisk attachment. Beat on medium low speed until egg whites start to form loose translucent bubbles. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat until meringue turns foamy and white and starts to resemble well lathered shampoo, about 2 minutes. Increase mixer to high and beat until meringue holds glossy stiff peaks, about another 2-3 minutes. *If you are using liquid food coloring, add it in now and beat until just combined. Turn off mixer.
Process almond meal and powdered sugar in a food processor and then sift. Discard any large chunks. *If you are using powdered food coloring, whisk it in now.
Add dry ingredients to meringue. Using a sturdy spatula, fold and smash dry mixture into meringue against the bowl for about 20-25 folds. Don’t worry about being gentle the idea is to knock the air out of it. The batter should hold its shape when spooned on itself and start to slowly flatten out after about 15-20 seconds. Start checking the batter after 20 folds for readiness. Transfer batter to pastry bag and let rest for 20 minutes before piping.
Pipe inch circles onto parchment lined bake sheet. Take hold of pan and give it quick hard tap against the counter, turn the pan 90 degrees and give it another quick hard tap. This will deflate any bubbles and will help to prevent cracked shells.
Bake macarons at 300 degrees F, until macarons easily lift away from paper, about 20 minutes.
To make raspberry jasmine jam: Place jam in a small sauce pan and heat until simmering. Place jasmine tea leaves in an infuser and steep in heated jam for 2 minutes. Remove infuser and whisk jam to fully incorporate tea flavor. Set aside to cool completely
To make champagne buttercream: Cream butter in a stand mixer bowl fitted with a whisk attachment. Add powdered sugar and beat on low until sugar is absorbed, then turn mixer to high and beat for another 30-60 seconds. Add champagne in one tablespoon at a time and beat until well incorporated. (If mixture is too thick add additional champagne, one teaspoon at time until piping consistency is achieved.)
Assembly: Pipe buttercream dam around bottom of one cookie. Fill center of dam with raspberry jasmine jam. Place second cookie on top. *Optional: Finish with a dusting of edible rose petals.
Naomi, I couldn’t agree more about the frustrating nature of French Macarons.
I’ve made dozens of batches, read multiple posts, purchased many books and taken an on-site class at my favorite kitchen supply shop.
After all of that, I’ve only made 1 batch that turned out perfectly. The rest have been disappointing.
I’m determined not to be beaten by this pesky (but lovely) dessert. Your pretty pictures reminded me it’s about time to give it another try (much to the chagrin of my family members who roll their eyes at the sight of yet another set of Macaron-lined baking trays-lol).
Happy day!
I haven’t let myself dive into making macarons, for all these reasons! These are beyond gorgeous, Naomi. And that bowl!!
Naomi these macarons are absolutely GORGEOUS! I just love the pink color and the flavor! My niece has been dying to try macarons and I think she’s going to love these and how you’ve decorated them!
I have never attempted making macarons because of my black yeast thumb. But you my dear have got made skills!
These look divine!
These are so beautiful! I’m speechless!
Ughh, I haven’t made them in a while just because I hate the drama. Yours are golden though 🙂
Macaroons can be so hard but when done right they are amazing!! These look perfect and they are gorgeous!
Naomi, these are GORGEOUS!! Just so stunning! These are like better than the ones they sell in bakeries 🙂
So grouses and I love your choice of filling!
These are stunning! I envy your macaron ways. I have some egg whites aging right now… I think I may need to bake some today or tomorrow!
Macarons are so amazing and so utterly frustrating all at once. It took me about 2 dozen attempts to get my first successful batch. And even now I feel like I am playing a delicious game of Russian Roulette with the macarons. Will they crack? Will they be hollow? I just don’t know! These macarons you’ve been look incredible! I can’t wait for your guide to come out.
I always get nervous whenever I make them too because they hardly ever come out evenly. You make the prettiest macarons! They look perfect and the jasmine rose combo sounds amazing!
These are gorgeous, Naomi! The filling sounds divine. I’ve dabbled with macarons a couple times but they have yet to come out quite right. These look perfect!
See?! This is exactly why I’m too terrified to make macarons at home. I’ve only tried once and was a bit unsuccessful, but I WILL try again when the weather is right. In the meantime, I’ll be over here ogling and drooling at the prettiest macarons I’ve ever seen.
I totally feel ya when it comes to macarons. Every time I make them, I question why I enjoy torturing myself. But when then turn out, it makes it all worth it! THESE though, might but be the prettiest macarons that I’ve ever seen!!!!! Now I want to go make a batch, hehe.
It’s incredible how delicate and touchy these are – but when they turn out as beautifully as these ones did – it’s magic!!
These are some of the most beautiful macarons I have ever seen! It’s a really interesting and different flavour that you’ve gone for as well. They are such pesky buggers to make though, despite many attempts I can never get them looking this perfect…
So fun and festive for spring!
Macarons are really not hard at all to make…after working on my 3rd batch…my macarons are coming out beautifully…once you understand the science and the process they are EASY…have no fear…and as Naomi points out…if your first tries are not so pretty…they still taste good…Thank you for this recipe…it is making my mind work on different techniques and flavor combinations
I’ve been wanting to try homemade macarons for months!! The filling sounds delicious, and I love the added touch of Jasmine. Thanks for sharing!