pumpkin spice macarons

Yes, I've jumped on the bandwagon. Macarons. They seem to be the new baking "thing."

I like this fad much better than the whole cupcake dealio from a while back. Macarons [not to be confused with macaroons] are a French, meringue-based sweet of some sort of filling sandwiched in between two airy, crunchy "cookies," made out of almond flour, egg whites, and sugar.

Got together with my good buddy, Tommy, to make these. He and Angie came by the apartment last night because Noosh and I hadn't seem them in a while. Tommy and I had been planning a bake-date for a while now, and finally settled on macarons.

Plus, being the pro bakers that we are, we have to maintain our street cred and keep up with trends. Word.

The recipe we used actually comes from make and bake, and is incidentally the Daring Baker's challenge recipe for this month [which I myself am not a part of yet, but hope to be soon!].

Pumpkin Spice Macarons

For the macarons, you'll need:

• 2 1/4 cups confectioner's sugar
• 2 cups almond flour
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 5 egg whites
• 1 tsp vanilla

For the pumpkin filling, you'll need:

• 4 oz pumpkin [canned or fresh]
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 4 tbsps confectioner's sugar
• pinch of nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine confectioner's sugar and almond flour in a bowl until well-blended. In a clean, dry bowl attached to a stand mixer, whisk egg whites on medium until they form soft peaks. Slowly add granulated sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Add 1/3 of almond mixture to egg whites and gently fold. Add in vanilla. Fold in remainder of almond mixture in two batches, being careful not to deflate the egg whites.

Gently pour batter into a piping bag fitted with a plain, half-inch tip. If there isn't one on hand, a ziplock bag with a small portion of the corner cut off will suffice. Pipe small disks, about 1-inch in diameter, on the baking sheet. Bake for 12-13 minutes, until top is slightly golden. Wait for them to cool slightly, 3-4 minutes, before removing disks and letting them cool on a wire cooling rack.

To prepare frosting, beat pumpkin, cream cheese, confectioner's sugar, and nutmeg in the bowl of an elecric mixer with the paddle attachment on medium-high until smooth and creamy. Once macarons have cooled, spread a layer of pumpkin on the flat side of one disc and use another disc of a similar size to sandwich the filling. Repeat until all macarons have been used up.

These actually tasted much better than I expected they would. I'm really iffy about meringue, because I feel like all I'm doing is eating fluffed up sugar. Which is not far from the truth, but also because purchasing supermarket meringue can just be one of the worst on-the-spot decisions you could make in a grocery store. But I think it's the pumpkin filling that is the star here; super creamy, not too sweet, and my first taste of pumpkin this Fall. Delicious.

Also delightful to serve because everyone loves how cute they are.

I'd say it was a total success. Excellent job, Tommy. We are definitely well on our way to pro status.



[I mean, I can always dream.]