April 13, 2022 - Enjoy National Peach Cobbler Day!
So, we don't typically make a lot of peach cobbler at our house. It feels like more of a Southern thing to me. Don't get me wrong, we do love peaches. But it is harder to get good, fresh peaches in Alaska in April.
So, I am going to focus on the peach part of this day and make some Peachy Vanilla Macarons. Forgive me, but for this recipe, I am going to use canned peaches. My family actually really loves canned peaches, they are sweet and can still have great texture.
Yes, I did hand paint these macarons to look peachier.
French Macarons
Ingredients
130g superfine almond flour
130g powdered sugar
90-100g egg whites, room temperature
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/8 tsp salt
90g granulated sugar
gel food coloring - optional (for this recipe I used peach)
Instructions
Sift almond flour and powdered sugar onto parchment paper and set aside.
Pour room temperature egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk and mix on a low/medium speed until the surface of the egg whites is covered in small bubbles. Add in a pinch of cream of tartar and salt, continue to mix until it reaches a frothy stage.
Slowly add granulated sugar into the eggs and mix on a medium speed in 2 tbsp increments.
Keep mixing until white and glossy. If desired, add in gel food coloring and extract at this point.
Increase the mixing speed to a medium-high speed, until stiff, glossy peaks form.
Fold the dry ingredients into the meringue in two additions using a circular motion until a thick ribbon of batter runs off the spatula when it is lifted. Be careful not to over-mix the batter! It will take time and experience to get this just right.
Pour the batter into a large piping bag fitted with 1/2-inch piping tip onto the prepared baking sheets. I use silicon mats, placed on upside down baking sheets. Space them about 1-inch apart.
Bang the pans firmly on the counter a few times to release air bubbles. Pop any remaining air bubbles that come to the surface with a toothpick.
Let the macarons rest for 20-60 minutes to develop a skin. The macarons should look matte once the skin has formed.
As the macarons rest, preheat your oven to 300 F. Every oven is different, and you may need to set your temp higher or lower.
Bake one tray of macarons at a time on the middle rack of your oven for 16-18 minutes, until the macarons do not wiggle when you test them.
Remove from the oven and let the macarons cool on the pan for about 15 minutes. Gently peel them off of the silicon mat and set aside.
Vanilla Buttercream
Ingredients
1/2 stick butter, room temp
1-1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
food coloring, if
1 tbsp milk, if needed
Instructions
Cream butter for 2 minutes.
Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract, combine completely.
Add milk if buttercream seems too thick.
Pipe onto macaron shells in circles, leaving space in middle.
Fill middle with finely chopped canned peaches (be sure to drain and dry well so your mixture isn't too wet.)
Enjoy!