Ever since my son was a boy, I have always put a box of cherry cordials in his Christmas stocking. So, on Easter I surprised him with a box of Cherry Cordial Macarons.
Let’s BAKE!
INGREDIENTS:
MACARON
150 grams powdered sugar
124 grams almond flour
16 grams cocoa powder
100 grams egg whites, room temp (about 3) *see notes
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
66 grams castor sugar (ultra fine sugar)
GANACHE FILLING
4 Ounces bittersweet chocolate (60%) (do not use chips)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter, room temp
CHERRY FILLING
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 tablespoon milk, cream or buttermilk
2 teaspoons maraschino cherry syrup
1 cup powdered sugar
16 maraschino cherries, whole
DIRECTIONS:
MACARON:
In medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, almond flour and cocoa powder. Sift mixture through a sieve into another medium bowl. If there about a pinch remaining of pieces too large to sift, throw them out. Set aside. In a mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, beat egg whites at medium speed until frothy; add cream of tartar, Whip until eggs start leaving a trail; add castor sugar 1/3 at a time. Whip until stiff peaks form (when you pull out the whisk the peak should be stiff and not droopy, and you can hold the bowl upside down and nothing comes out.), Pour 1/3 of the cocoa powder mixture into the egg whites and gently fold in until incorporated. Continuing to fold in 1/3 of the cocoa mixture at a time, until it is completely blended (do not over mix, it should be like thick lava, and you can make a figure eight).
Make a template of 1-1/2″ circles about 2-inches apart on printer paper (about 16 to a baking sheet 4 across by 4 down). Place printer paper between baking sheet and parchment paper. Fit a pastry bag with a 1/2-inch round tip and fill the bag with the batter. Using the template as a guide, pipe circles onto the parchment papers. The peaks in the center should fall, if they don’t wet your finger and pat the peak down. Tap the bottom of each sheet on the work surface to release trapped air bubbles. Let the cookies stand at room temperature for 15-60 minutes,to allow the cookies to dry to the touch and develop their crusts. While the cookies are standing at room temperature, preheat oven to 320 degrees F. Once the cookies are dry to the touch, bake, one cookie sheet at a time, at 320 degrees F. for 14-16 minutes, until the top does not wiggly from the feet (error on the side of overcooked). Cool slightly, remove from parchment (they should release, if not, use an offset spatula) Let cool completely. Match up same size cookies with one top side up, and the other filling side up.
GANACHE FILLING:
While cookies are cooling, break up chocolate bar into small pieces into a small bowl. On the stove, warm up cream until edges simmer; add to chocolate pieces and let sit for 1 minute. Blend chocolate until creamy. Add butter; blend until smooth. Set aside to cool and thicken. Once thick enough to pipe, spoon into piping bag with a #12 tip (1/4-inch)
CHERRY FILLING:
Whisk together butter, milk, cherry syrup and powdered sugar until smooth. Put icing into a ziplock bag, cut an 1/4-inch hole in the corner. Set aside.
ASSEMBLING MACARONS:
Pipe the chocolate ganache in a circle on the filling side up cookie. Pipe a dollop of the cherry icing in the middle of the ganache. Place 1 maraschino cherry on the cherry icing in the middle of the ganache Press 2 cookies together until filling comes to the edge. Place in an airtight container, place in the refrigerator for about 24 hours (so the shells absorb the flavor of the filling). Take the cookies out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving, to bring back to room temp.
Enjoy!
