Cinnamon Apple Macarons Mindy Starr http://www.getcreativejuice.com/ relatively cool, carefully peel the shells off the parchment. 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar 1 cup finely ground almonds 3 egg whites, aged 48 hours a pinch of salt 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1 tbsp finely ground freeze dried apples red gel food coloring Line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper. Tape two sheets of printer paper together to form a large sheet about the size of your parchment. Trace 1-1.5� diameter hearts (I traced a heart cookie cutter) onto the now large sheet of paper and alter the heart outlines as shown above to form the basic apple shape. Set aside for now. Mix the powdered sugar, ground almonds, and ground freeze dried apples together. In a clean bowl, add your aged egg whites and salt. With an electric mixer, beat on low until frothy. Turn up the mixer to high and slowly add in the granulated sugar as you continue to mix till the whites are stiff peaks (when you lift up the mixer, there should literally be stiff, shiny peaks). Add in the red food coloring and mix a few more seconds. With a spatula, gently fold in the powdered sugar/nut/apple mixture until incorporated. Place a plain piping tip in a piping bag and fill the bag with your macaron batter. Now take that large stenciled paper and place it under a piece of parchment, using it to guide you as you pipe out your macarons. When done, slide out that paper and place it under your other parchment and repeat. Let your macarons dry for a few hours, until the tops are completely dry. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Bake your trays one at a time for 8-10 minutes or until the macarons are set on top. Let them cool on the parchment on a cooling rack. When
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Decorating the Macarons Pair all the macarons up by matching size. Place 1/2 of each pair of macaron shells on a sheet of parchment paper, remembering which shell goes with which. Fill a piping bag with the cinnamon apple filling (recipe below), pipe the filling onto one half of a pair, and sandwich the filling with the matching macaron shell. Once done, refrigerate the macarons overnight to let the flavors meld. Cinnamon Apple Filling 3 tbsp salted butter, room temperature 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar 1/4 tsp cinnamon 2 tbsp apple juice Cream with butter with 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Add in the cinnamon. Alternate between adding the remaining 1 cup of powdered sugar and the apple juice. If the filling is too stiff,