Lime Macarons
Haha, so, just to be straight up here, I realize I should have titled this “wonky lime macarons”, we’ll chat more on that in a bit.
When I saw the theme for this month’s Cooks in the Kitchen (hosted by Elah Tree & Sweet Lavender Bake Shoppe) was limes I thought it was such a good ingredient because it’s not one I use often. I actually made some steaks this week with some lime in the marinade, intending for that to be my recipe to link up, but once they got off the BBQ we ate them right away, I was too excited about steak to take the time to photograph them.
So that lead me to search Pinterest for something limey to make. I had been pinning a lot of macarons lately so I thought I’d check if there were recipes for lime macarons and low and behold, there was! Honestly, I had been pinning a lot of these French treats because they looked pretty, but I had never actually tried one (or even seen one in real life), but I decided to try to make them anyway. During this time, Raeca was napping (or supposed to be), so while I was quietly trying to bang the pan against the counter so they would flatten out and look normal; my macaron ignorance, impatience when baking, and silently praying I wasn’t waking Raeca up resulted in my poor little macarons not straightening out like they should have, resulting in these wonky little guys.
On the bright side, Raeca did end up napping. You win some and you lose some!
I then tried to decide if I was too embarrassed of these misshapen treats to share them but decided, ultimately I was in this to practice my food photography skills and weird shaped meringues or not, I was going to photograph them!
LIME MACARONS
recipe adapted from Amy Rose
Cookies
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup almond flour
- 2 egg whites, at room temp
- 2 to 3 drops green food coloring
- 1/4 cup bakers granulated sugar
- zest of two limes
Filling
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
- 1 Tbl lime juice
- 1 ts vanilla
- 1/8 ts salt
- 1 to 2 drops green food coloring
DIRECTIONS
- For cookies, line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. combine powdered sugar and almond flour in food processor. Pulse into fine powder, scraping bowl occasionally. Sift mixture into medium bowl; discard large pieces. Add the lime zest.
- Beat egg whites in large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until foamy. Beat in 2 to 3 drops food coloring. Gradually add sugar, beating at high speed 2 to 3 minutes or until mixture forms stiff, shiny peaks, scraping bowl occasionally.
- Add half of flour mix to egg whites; stir with spatula to combine (about 15 strokes). Repeat with remaining flour mix. Mix about 20 strokes more by pressing against side of bowl and scooping from bottom until batter is smooth and shiny. check consistency by dropping spoonful of batter onto place. It should have a peak which quickly relaxed back into batter. (Do not over mix or under mix).
- Attach 1/2 inch plain tip to piping bag (or use a Ziploc bag with the tip cut off). Scoop batter into bag. Pipe 1 inch circles about 2 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets. Rap cookie sheets on flat surface to remove air bubbles and set aside. Let macarons rest, uncovered, until tops harden slightly; this takes from 15 minutes on dry days to 1 hour in more humid conditions. Gently tough top of macarons to check. When batter does not stick, they are ready to bake.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place rack in the center of oven. Bake 13 to 15 minutes, rotating cookie sheets halfway through baking time. Cool completely on cookie sheets.
- For filling, beat 3/4 cup powdered sugar and butter in a large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add lime juice, vanilla and salt; beat about 2 minutes or until smooth. Add 1 to 2 drops food coloring, blend well.
- Match same size cookies; pipe or spread filling on flat side of one cookie and top with the other.
- Place in fridge or cool area for a few hours.
So tell me, are you a macaron lover?
I’m definitely planning on doing another attempt with a different flavor,
any suggestions what I should try next?
Also linking up to I Should be Mopping the Floor, It’s Overflowing, The Modest Mom Blog, Nap Time Creations, Moments by the Mile and By Stephanie Lynn
Is it weird I’ve never had a macaroon? Ha! Probably.
Before yesterday I never had either! They are definitely different than I was expecting!
Me neither!
I JUST tried my first macaroon a couple weeks ago in Paris, and I fell in love with the little guys. Yours look great! And the flavor sounds yummy…were they hard to make? I’ve heard they can be tricky.
Ooh, I’m pretty sure Paris would be the perfect place to try your first macaron! They weren’t hard to make though they didn’t turn out looking the prettiest, so maybe I’m not the best person to answer that. 🙂
And P.S. Your blog link isn’t in your Disqus profile.
Ah! thanks girl. I am still trying to figure out this stuff. hopefully it’s better now 🙂
I have never had a macaroon! I need to because I see them everywhere. I actually like that yours are wonky and not so ‘perfect’ in shape. They look homemade yet really pretty. I also like that you use the word wonky! A friend and I say that to each other a lot and other people think we are crazy. =)
Thanks Beka, your sweet words make me feel better about these funny looking guys. And I’ll be crazy and use the word wonky with you. 🙂
I think these look great! I’ve eaten macarons before, but have have been way too intimidated to try making them. Perhaps I shall try now!
Yes, definitely give them a try!
And P.S. your blog link isn’t in your Disqus profile. 🙂
Oops! Fixed.
i bet those are so hard to make! i always see them everywhere, but have never tried them before! i just may! 🙂
and ya know, the weird shaped food always tastes the best!
Give them a try Robyn, I bet you can get them to look better than mine. 🙂
I’ve never tried to make macaroons, but I’ve heard they are really hard! I don’t think they look wonky at all… they are adorable and very photogenic 🙂 Love reading along with your photography growth!
Haha, you are too sweet! And thanks for the photography comment! I think I’m slowly getting a little better, though I feel like I need to pick up some cool looking kitchen supplies to photograph, I’m realizing none of my stuff is photo worthy. 🙂
Girl! Those look great! Macarons are very technical and not for the faint of heart! So good job! Thanks for linking up!
Thanks girl!
This is fantastic! I think your Macarons look amazing! I want to eat some because I also think they look delicious!
Thanks Samantha!
Those look yum! I love they are made with almond flour too!
Yes, me too! I was pumped when I realized that macarons are actually gluten free! That makes it less stressful in my house!
Oh my good gracious, these looks delicious! I honestly think their imperfect shape makes them look even yummier. 🙂 And your photography skills are amazing!
Thanks Jenna, you are so sweet! I think I’m slowly improving with the whole food photography thing but I’m such a people photographer I find it hard to try to photograph objects like food!
Girl, these photos are gorgeous!!!
Awesome job! And this recipe sounds amazing! 🙂
Thanks Amy!
I LOVE these! Can’t wait to try them!!
Let me know what you think of them!
Wow! The pictures are beautiful!
Thanks Brittainy!
They still look fantastic to me!
Thanks Madison!
Oh my yum! These look amazing!
Thanks!