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KIDS BAKE: MACARONS

KIDS BAKE: MACARONS

Kids can. Let your kids bake Macaron.1600 June-18-Macaronb

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1600 June-18-Macaronb I don’t think that art has to be restricted to paper and pencil alone. Do you? To me, Macarons are edible art. These are 100% kid-made. I think the kitchen is such a wonderful place for kids to experiment and be creative. Kids are also much more capable than we imagine.

1600 June-18-MacaronEMacaron’s might look too delicate and taste too heavenly to imagine they can be made by kids, but, our kids make macaron on their own and I’d love to encourage yours to do the same.  We’re happy to share our recipe and tutorial with you today. Just continue below and click on the “read more” for the full tutorial and recipe

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Kids Bake: Macaron Recipe

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1 1/4 cups plus 1 teaspoon confectioners’ sugar
1 cup finely ground sliced, blanched almonds
6 tablespoons fresh egg whites (Approximately 3 extra-large eggs)
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup finely ground granulated sugar*
Food Coloring
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confectioners’ sugar and ground almonds together.
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Whisk egg whites with salt on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add granulated sugar.*
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Continue to whip until stiff glossy peaks form and add food coloring to make desired color. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the confectioners’ sugar mixture until completely incorporated.
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  • Use a silicone baking sheet or line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Fit a pastry bag with a 3/8-inch round tip, and fill with batter.
  • Pipe approximate 1-inch disks onto prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies.
  • The batter will spread a little. Look at the photo above for the technique we thought worked best: make a circular outline and then fill in the middle for easiest shape. Let stand at room temperature until the outer edge looks “dry” —- a soft skin forms on the tops of the macarons and the shiny surface turns dull, about 15 minutes.
  • Bake, with the door of the oven slightly ajar, until the surface of the macarons is completely dry, about 15 minutes.
  • Remove baking sheet to a wire rack and let the macarons cool completely on the baking sheet.
  • Gently peel off the parchment. Their tops are easily crushed, so take care when removing the macarons from the parchment.
  • Use immediately or store in an airtight container, refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month.
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Fillings:
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Jam is the perfect kid-friendly filling. Pictured above: our own homemade raspberry jam.

Filling #1: Jam
A simple and fresh filling for macaron is to fill them with jam. We’ve made pink versions with both raspberries and cherries.

Filling instructions:

  • Fill a pastry bag with the jam or filling (recipe below.)
  • To fill the macarons, once cool, lay them with their flat bottoms face up.
  • On half of them, pipe about 1 teaspoon filling.
  • Sandwich these with the remaining macarons, flat-side down, pressing slightly to spread the filling to the edges.
  • Macaron’s that are filled with jam are best served and eaten immediately.
  • If filled with traditional alternative #2 filling, chill until firm, about 1 hour.
    (See below for a 2nd alternative traditional filling*)
  • *Finely ground sugar if possible called sucre semoule, available in specialy pastry stores or in France.
Filling #2: Creamy (follow the same filling instructions as above)
  • *Traditional Macaron Filling:
    3 large egg whites
    1 cup sugar
    1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
  • In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk egg whites and sugar.
    Set mixer bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and heat mixture, whisking often, until it feels warm to the touch and sugar is dissolved, 3 to 5 minutes.
  • Transfer bowl to the mixer, and fit with the whisk attachment.
    Whip on high speed until mixture is stiff and shiny, 3 to 5 minutes.
    Add butter, one piece at a time, and continue mixing until butter is thoroughly incorporated.
    The filling can be kept, covered and refrigerated, up to 1 week.
    Bring to room temperature before stirring.

I’d love to see the creations your mini’s make, too!  share willowday projects with me on  Instagram and  Facebook.

1600 plain June-18-MacaroncNotes from our Macaron Makers Gallery: The perfect macaron is crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. It’s important to not over bake them or they will be dry. Let the macaron sit in the fridge for a bit after filling if filled with the traditional filling. The traditional creme filling will give the macaron moisture. People often mistake a dry, baked macaron for being stale, but, it’s not. It’s actually too fresh and hasn’t set for long enough. The perfect macaron should sit for 48 hours once it’s been filled. Also, to repeat, that if macaron’s are filled with jam they should be served immediately or they become soggy.

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