French Macarons with Lemon

I love French Macarons – especially these fresh and delicate mini-mini French Macarons with Lemon!

Macarons always makes me dream myself back to the fantastic macaron boutique Pierre Hermé in Paris – sigh!

If you’d never tried making macarons before, don’t hesitate – try it, and try it now!

You will only be amazed!! (-and don’t worry if they don’t look pro the first time – they taste just as good anyway!)

French Macarons with Lemon

Ingredients: (makes about 20 macarons)

1/4 cup of sugar

3 egg whites

1 cup almond flour

1 2/3 cups of confectioners’ sugar

2 teaspoons of Lemon Extract

a few drops of Yellow Food Color

– Start by lining up 3-4 baking plates with either Parchment Paper or a  Silicone Baking Mat.

(You can also buy a Macaron template – but it’s actually easier to just put your Silicone Baking Mat/Parchment Paper over the Macaron template and use it for measuring to get them the same sizes)

– in a separate bowl sift almond flour and confectioners. sugar – and put aside.

– Use your stand mixer, and mix the regular sugar with the egg whites, and beat until its fluffy and glossy and can hold a soft peak – it takes a few minutes.

– Add a few drops of Yellow Food color and the Lemon Extract.

– Now quickly fold (about 30 strokes) the almond flour and confectioners’ sugar into the egg whites. Don’t worry about knocking the air out of the meringue. Is a part of the process, to make the batter more runny.

– Test the batter on a baking sheet to see if it flattens immediately or holds a peak. If a peak holds, fold the batter gently a few more times and test again.

– Spoon the batter into a Pastry Bag with a plain Round Tip and pipe out to small disks about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.

– Firmly tap the baking sheets twice against the counter to release any air bubbles.

– Let the piped cookies stand out at room temperature until they form a “hard skin” on the top and you gently can tap them without leaving marks on them. (about 1,5 hour)

– Bake the Macarons in a preheated oven (285 degree Fahrenheit) for about 16-18 minutes.

– Cool completely before you gently remove them and add the filling.

(The key is that the batter has to flatten like this – and then rest for 1/2-1 hour before you bake them)