For breakfast, on most Sunday mornings before church, I make waffles, drizzled with maple syrup, served with bacon on the side. While having are usual Sunday morning breakfast, I thought about making Macarons with the same flavors, and make them even look like waffles. So, I came up with my Waffle Macarons with Maple-Bacon Buttercream.
These melt-in-your-mouth delicious Waffle Macarons start with replacing the caster sugar with brown sugar to give them a more carmelized sugar flavor. For the maple buttercream, I added 1 Tablespoon of the bacon fat, and then added real maple syrup and a little maple extract, just to bump up the maple flavor. For more bacon flavor, I finely chopped the bacon and sprinkled it on the buttercream.
I also wanted my Waffle Macarons to look like waffles, so I added a cross-hatch on the tops of the macaron shells. Not only do they taste like waffles, they look like waffles.
Let’s BAKE!
INGREDIENTS
MACARON SHELLS
150 grams powdered sugar
124 grams almond flour
100 grams egg whites, room temp (about 3 egg whites)
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
66 grams brown sugar
MAPLE-BACON BUTTERCREAM
1 slice bacon
100 grams butter, room temperature
200 grams sifted powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon maple extract (optional)
DIRECTIONS
MACARON SHELLS
In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and almond flour. Sift mixture through a sieve into a medium bowl; set aside. In a food processor, pulse brown sugar 10 times to make super fine sugar crystals. Pass brown sugar through a sieve; throw out any large pieces; set aside. In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat egg whites at medium speed until frothy; add cream of tartar, Whip until eggs start leaving a trail; add brown sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. On high speed, whisk 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 flour-powdered sugar mixture into the egg whites and gently fold in until incorporated. Continue to fold in 1/3 of the almond flour mixture at a time, until it is completely blended (do not over mix, it should be like lave, and you can make a figure eight).
On the computer make a template of 1-1/2″ circles about 2-inches apart, tape the paper together to get about 20 to a baking sheet (5 across by 4 down), place under parchment paper on baking sheet. Fill a 12″ pastry bag fitted with a #3 (2 mm) piping tip with 1/3 cup of the batter (this is to make the waffle tops), Using a twist-tie, seal the bottom of the pastry bag right next to the tip, and seal the top right above the batter (this is so the batter doesn’t dry out while the shells dry. Fill a 16″ pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip (#1A tip) with the remaining batter. Using the template as a guide, pipe batter from the 16″ pastry bag onto the parchment paper. Remove template. Tap baking sheet on the counter to release trapped air bubbles. The peaks in the center should fall, if they don’t wet your finger, pat the down peak. Use a toothpick to release any air bubbles. Let the macaron shells stand at room temperature to dry for 15 minutes, then pipe the tops using the batter in the 12″ pastry bag, in a cross-hatch pattern (like waffles). Let macarons continue to dry for 30-45 minutes, until dry to the touch, which allows them to develop their crusts and feet. While the macaron shells are drying, preheat oven to 320 degrees F. Once they are dry to the touch, bake at 320 degrees F. for 12-15 minutes, until the top does not wiggly separate from the bottom (error on the side of overcooked). Cool 5 minutes, remove from parchment (they should release, if not, use an offset spatula) Let cool completely. These macarons will be darker because of the brown sugar.
MAPLE-BACON BUTTERCREAM
Fry 1 slice of bacon until crispy; remove from pan to paper towel, reserving 1 Tbsp. of the bacon fat. Finely chop bacon; set aside. Using the paddle attachment on a stand mixer, beat butter and 1 Tbsp. reserved bacon fat for 3-5 minutes on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar in 2 stages, beating for 5 minutes on high speed after each addition, scraping sides of bowl. Add maple syrup, 1 Tablespoon at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition (you may not need both tablespoons) until buttercream is at piping consistency. Add 1/4 tsp. maple extract, if you want a little more maple flavor, beating buttercream one additional minute on high speed.
ASSEMBLY
Match up same size macaron shells with one top side up and the other filling side up. Fill a 12″ piping bag fitted with a #12 tip with maple-bacon buttercream, pipe a dollop each filling side up macaron shell. Sprinkle with finely chopped bacon. Press 2 shells together until buttercream comes to the edge. Place in an airtight container, place in the refrigerator for 24 hours (so the shells absorb the flavor of the filling). Take the macarons out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving, to bring back to room temp. Enjoy!
