With some shells I had left in the freezer, I made strawberry macarons, and to make them more playful, I added a stick to turn them into lollipops! Of course, the macaron won’t hold for hours at room temperature (as the stick comes away from the macaron), but when there are greedy guests at the table, that’s not a problem! ^_^
I filled the macarons with a shop-bought strawberry jam, but you can of course make your own homemade jam!
Ingredients & preparation
2 components · Full recipe
Shells
Ingredients
- 70 g (2.5 oz) egg whites
- 140 g (4.9 oz) icing sugar
- 80 g (2.8 oz) ground almonds
- 20 g (0.7 oz) caster sugar
- strawberry red food colouring
Preparation
1
Blend the icing sugar and ground almonds together, then sift the mixture.
2
Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks, add the caster sugar in 2 additions and whisk at maximum speed to achieve the “bird’s beak” stage. Add a little strawberry red food colouring and mix again. I use powder colouring and add a knife tip’s worth.
3
Gradually fold in the almond and icing sugar mixture using a rubber spatula. The mixture should be glossy, smooth and fall in a ribbon. Once the right consistency is achieved, transfer to a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle. Don’t hesitate to use a tall glass to support your piping bag — this way you can use both hands.
4
Pipe small domes of about 3.5 cm (1.4 in) in a staggered pattern on a sheet of parchment paper. For even macarons, I use a template downloaded from Pure Gourmandise. Leave to form a crust for about 20 minutes. If after an hour the surface of your macarons is still not dry, there’s a good chance they won’t form a crust at all. There can be several reasons for this — in any case, there’s no point waiting any longer. Bake the macarons anyway, but be prepared for the fact that they probably won’t have a foot.
5
Bake at 120°C / 250°F for 20–22 minutes. Once out of the oven, leave to cool before removing the shells. The shells are baked when they can be removed very easily.
Step by step
Not quite comfortable with macaron shells yet? I’ve put together two full step-by-step picture guides to help you get it right every time:
Assembly
Ingredients
- 25 sticks
Preparation
1
Sort your macarons so that the ones you pair together are the same size.
2
Place a small amount of strawberry jam in the centre of one macaron shell, add a stick, then sandwich with the second macaron.
3
Refrigerate and wait 24 to 48 hours before eating. The macarons should spend the first night in an unsealed container (to prevent them from becoming moist), then close the box and keep them in the fridge for a further 24 hours. They’ll only be better for it.
Gallery
