There’s just something about the month of December that screams chocolate and peppermint desserts to me. I mean, really, as soon as I flip the calendar and see those big, bold letters spelling out the word “December,” there’s just something in my mind that goes “Must… have… peppermint and chocolate!” Now excuse me while I go cuddle up in my Christmas pajamas, listen to Christmas music while looking at my Christmas tree, while eating some delicious chocolate peppermint goodies!
Red Velvet and Peppermint Macarons
Yields about 20 macarons
For the red velvet macaron shells:
4 tbsp. egg white powder + 1/2 cup warm water OR 4 egg whites + 1 tbsp. egg white powder
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup (packed) almond flour
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp. baking cocoa
Red gel food coloring
For the peppermint meringue filling:
4 tbsp. egg white powder (meringue powder works too)
1/2 cup warm water
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. peppermint extract
For the garnish:
1-2 bars of dark chocolate
6 crushed candy canes
Start by preheating your oven to 200* Fahrenheit (95* Celsius). In a large bowl (or a stand mixer if you have one), beat together your egg white powder and water, OR the eggs whites and egg white powder. I’ve tried both and I feel like the shells come out very similar so I usually just use whatever I have on hand. Beat until frothy. Add the granulated sugar and beat on high until stiff peaks form (about 6-8 minutes).
If you want very smooth macaron shells, pulse your almond flour for 2-3 second intervals in a food processor. My food processor had a slight meltdown, so I’m currently without one, but the macarons taste every bit as good (just a little less smooth on top)! Stir the almond flour, powdered sugar, and baking cocoa together, and gently fold them into the meringue with a spatula. Be careful not to overmix as this can cause your macarons to crack during baking. Once the dry ingredients are about 80% combined with the meringue, add you red food coloring and continue folding. Spoon the meringue mixture into a piping bag with a large, round tip and pipe the macarons onto a parchment lined baking sheet. When piping macarons, it’s a good idea to have a template so that they’re all more or less the same size. For an easy, free template you can print out, Les Petits Macarons. Once your shells are piped, lift the baking sheet about 6″ from your counter, and bring it down a couple of times to bring the air bubbles to the top. Important note: only pipe as many baking sheets as you can bake at a time (for my tiny oven: one). I know our natural instinct is just to pipe everything in one go, but macaron batter will dry out very easily when exposed to air, which can cause a lot of cracking when they bake. So just pipe what you can bake, fold the large, open end of the piping bag under (so the batter doesn’t all flow out the back), and set it upright in a cup while you bake.
For average size macarons, bake them at 200* Fahrenheit (95* Celsius) for about 15 minutes, then crank the heat up to 350* Fahrenheit (175* Celsius) and allow them to bake for another 9-11 minutes, or until you can pull them from the parchment paper without any sticking. Be sure to watch them carefully as they take very little time to go from nicely baked to black and charred (yeah, that’s past experience speaking…). Also be sure to let your oven cool back down to 200* Fahrenheit (95* Celsius) before putting the next batch in.
While the macaron shells cool, you can whip up the peppermint meringue filling! In a large bowl, whip together your egg white powder and warm water. You can use normal egg whites as well, but I tend to steer clear of them whenever I’m not cooking my meringue (like in this recipe). Once the whites are frothy, add the powdered sugar and beat to a soft peak (a few minutes). Add the peppermint extract and beat until hard peaks form. Spoon the meringue into a piping bag with a large tip or opening, and pipe the meringue filling onto half of the completely cooled shells. Top the meringue shells with one of the empty shells, and set aside to firm up.
Now for the garnish! Crush 6 candy canes and place them into a small bowl. In a small, microwave safe bowl, melt the dark chocolate in 10 second increments. If the chocolate is really thick, you can thin it with a little oil so you get a thinner layer on the macarons. Dip each macaron into the melted chocolate (about half way) and then roll the chocolate part in the crush candy cane.
Set it aside to dry on a piece of parchment or wax paper. Make sure the chocolate hardens all the way before packaging.
Happy baking!
Sources:
Shell recipe adapted from Les Petits Macarons
liztiptopshape says
December 8, 2013 at 6:33 amOooh I love these!! So adorable and delightfully seasonal!
The Simple, Sweet Life says
December 9, 2013 at 12:42 amThank you! 😀
Jilla says
January 10, 2014 at 5:37 pmWhat you mentioned about only piping what you can bake is contrary to what I’ve read in other macaron recipes. Other recipes suggested letting the piped shells sit out for 30-60 min prior to baking so they form a “skin” that helps prevent against cracking. Thoughts?
Also, I made these red velvet macarons according to your recipe, but the shells were hard as a rock after baking unfortunately. I hate that! Perhaps that has to do with letting the pre-baked shells sit out? Haha, I have no idea.
The Simple, Sweet Life says
January 10, 2014 at 7:50 pmHmmm, well, as with most things, I’m sure there’s more than one school of thought on this. So far, what I’ve read has said to keep your batter covered and to pipe only what you’re going to immediately bake. That being said, I’ve seen a number of recipes that call for letting the batter sit for an hour BEFORE piping (mainly to let the drier ingredients soak up a little extra liquid). I’m also sure that it varies from recipe to recipe, so I would go with whatever that recipe calls for. Based on personal experience, I can definitely say that the recipes I’ve used have worked best when the shells are NOT piped in advance. Sorry to hear your macarons didn’t turn out! 🙁
Jilla says
January 10, 2014 at 9:04 pmSo why do you think my shells came out as hard as rocks?! Maybe I need to shorten the baking time?
The Simple, Sweet Life says
January 10, 2014 at 11:25 pmWithout standing over your shoulder watching you make the macarons, I can’t say with 100% certainty why they’re so hard. However, when it comes to overly hard shells, there are usually two culprits. Most often, hard shells are a result of overbaking. Macarons should have little to no visible browning; you want them juuuuuuust baked. Browning usually effects the flavor and texture of the macarons, making them tough and slightly burnt tasting. In my experience, macarons can go from underbaked to overbaked in 30 seconds to a minute, so timing is crucial. The other issue could be too much almond flour, which would result in a drier, tougher shell. I use the easy method in this recipe where I eyeball my almond flour at 1 1/4 (packed) cup. If you have a scale and want to make sure you’re being exact, you really want about 165 grams of almond flour. I hope this helps! 🙂