Pistachio Macaron

R E C I P E

Approximately 34-40 cookies depending on size

1 macaron = 2 cookies, approximately 17-20 macarons total

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I N G R E D I E N T S

Macaron Shells:

Meringue (swiss method):

Egg Whites 67g

Granulated Sugar 54g

Egg White Powder 2g

Cream of tartar 0.87g

Dry ingredients:

Almond flour 67g

Powdered Sugar 67g

Pistachio Flour 34g

Salt 0.67g

Pistachio Buttercream:

Unsalted butter 46g

Powdered Sugar 50g

Pistachio Flour 12g

Salt 0.2g

Almond Extract 1-2 drops

Milk/Water if consistency too thick

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S T E P S

Macaron Shells : Preparation:

1. Preheat oven so internal oven temperature is 320-350 degrees Fahrenheit

2. Get ALL ingredients and supplies out. This makes things easier so you're not wasting time grabbing things and accidentally letting meringue over-whip or dry out

3. Clean anything that is going to touch the meringue with vinegar. I put the vinegar in a spray bottle and spray the bowls, whisks, silicone mat, etc. and wipe them with a paper towel

Pistachio Flour:

1. Pistachio flour can easily be made by grinding up roasted unsalted pistachios

2. Use a blender or food processor to grind the pistachios into a powder and sift to remove the large pieces

Macaron Shells : Meringue (swiss method):

1. Put 1" water in a pot and bring to boil

2. Combine all meringue ingredients (egg whites, granulated sugar, egg white powder, and cream of tartar) in heat proof bowl

3. Place bowl over pot with boiling hot water and beat for approximately 2 minutes

4. Transfer to Standing Mixer. Beat on lower setting (I use 4) for 2 minutes, then increase to medium high setting (I use 6) for another 6-9 minutes until stiff peak forms

Macaron Shells : Macronage (batter folding):

1. Sift all dry ingredients together (almond flour, powdered sugar, salt, pistachio flour)

2. Pour dry ingredients into meringue

3. Gently fold until dry ingredients are all incorporated

4. "Macronage" until batter is desired consistency (soft enough to where if you drop batter onto itself, it melts into itself within 15-20 seconds)

5. Pour into piping bag

Macaron Shells : Piping, drying, and baking:

1. Pipe desired cookie shape onto silicone mat

2. Get small air bubbles out of cookies by either tapping the bottom of the tray with your hand or banging the tray onto your counter.

3. Let dry for about 1-2 minutes

4. Place on the top rack of the oven for about 1 to 1½ minutes to speed up drying the top of the cookies. I usually only have to do this with the first tray. The other trays are usually out for enough time to naturally form a skin on top.

5. I place the tray under a ceiling fan or in front of a fan to help the top of the cookies dry faster

6. Once you can run your finger along the top of the cookies without any sticking, place in the oven. My oven seems to bake the macarons best in the second rack from the bottom.

7. I check the temperature inside the oven every 3-4 minutes to ensure it's not getting too cold or hot and adjust manually accordingly

8. Rotate the tray after the first 4-6 minutes if your oven has hot spots (mine does) to ensure even baking

9. Gently touch the cookies and if it is wobbly / jiggling at all bake longer

10. I usually end up baking my macarons for a total of 16-19 minutes

11. Cool completely before removing from silicone mats

Buttercream:

1. Whip room temperature butter and powdered sugar until lighter in color and fluffy

2. Mix pistachio flour, almond extract, and salt into butter mixture.

3. Add water or milk if consistency is too thick

Macaron:

1. Assemble by sandwiching pistachio buttercream between 2 cookies

2. Let macaron set in the refrigerator for 24 hours

3. Let the macarons come to room temperature (5-10 minutes) before serving

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Why I use the "swiss" meringue method:

I have tried all 3 methods of making the meringue - French, Italian, and Swiss.

I find the French method (simply slowly adding sugar into the egg whites as it whips) the easiest but the meringue is the most unstable. I saw my macarons would turn out very different depending on how much I macronage or how humid / hot my house is. It was difficult to have consistently nice looking macarons.

I found the Italian method (slowly adding melted sugar into the egg whites as it whips) the most difficult. I couldn't get the timing right of when to start melting the sugar in water and when to start whipping the egg whites. I also didn't like the stream of hardened sugar it left on the side of my mixing bowl.

The swiss method (dissolving the sugar in the egg whites over a double boiler first before whipping) is supposed to be in the middle in terms of stability of the meringue but for me it is the easiest and has the most consistent results.

My Macaron Shell Recipe:

My base recipe ratio for pistachio macarons is always as follows (subject to change):

Meringue (swiss method):

Egg Whites 100g

Granulated Sugar 80g

Egg White Powder 3g

Cream of tartar 1.3g

Dry ingredients:

Almond flour 100g

Powdered Sugar 100g

Pistachio Flour 50g

Salt 1g

I always weigh the amount of egg whites I get after I separate eggs and adjust the rest of the ingredients according to the amount of egg whites. I'm a bit nerdy so I made an excel sheet that calculates this for me.

My oven:

My oven is NOT a convection oven. There are heat spots all over so things tend to bake at a higher temperature towards the back and sides of the oven. The temperature I set the oven to is also NOT the actual temperature inside the oven.

An oven thermometer has been THE BEST purchase. I have learned that I have to set my oven to about 255-275 degrees Fahrenheit in order for the inside of my oven to be in the 320-350 range which seems to be ideal for macaron baking.

I set my phone's timer to go off every 3 minutes to remind myself to peak at the oven thermometer to adjust the setting accordingly. Otherwise my oven goes rogue and gets too hot or cold.

I am still figuring out the best timing to rotate my tray & how many times I should rotate the tray.

Things that were successful:

I sprayed down everything that my meringue would touch - bowls, whisks, AND silicone mats - and wiped everything down. None of the cookies ended up concave! This was more successful than my last batch!

I am also liking my new method of macronaging. My shells seem much more filled out and I haven't had any hollow shells. There is also way less little bubbles after I pipe out the cookies.

Things that needs improvement:

I baked at about 340-350 Fahrenheit, rotated the tray after about 6 minutes... a lot of my cookies ended up baking up lopsided. Not sure if this has to do with the higher heat in comparison to last time, or if I should rotate the tray sooner.

The cookies on the outer edges also baked faster and the cookies in the center of the tray was slightly undercooked and stuck to the silicone mat. Next time I will purposely not pipe cookies closer to the edge and I might try rotating the tray sooner than 6 minutes.