Shamrock Macarons
March 17, 2017 By Cathy — 6 CommentsImpossibly cute, amazingly tasty…your favorite classic macarons filled with Bailey’s buttercream. We’re all Irish today!
Okay, I know! I’m posting a seemingly involved recipe for St. Patrick’s Day ON St. Patrick’s Day. I know, I know…this isn’t the day you’re tying on the apron in the kitchen. No sir, instead you’re tying one on in the pub. As. You. Should. Be.
But, in fairness, I did provide this St. Patrick’s Day post for you and in between, well, we did have Pi Day!
So, my apologies for the late notice, but maybe we should be thinking St. Patrick’s Weekend instead of Day. You with me? Why not? My kids are always down for “birthday week”, Christmas lasts seemingly a month, and well…Hanukkah. So why shouldn’t we have St. Patrick’s Week?
If you haven’t guessed by now, I’m all about the party. And I see no reason not to extend the fun, especially if we’re talking cookies, fun drinks and hearty meals.
St. Patrick’s Day has been a mixed bag for me in the past. I love celebrating with friends, but I don’t want to get caught up in annoying shenanigans (Irish for annoying). I also don’t subscribe to anything costume-y (including mandatory green). But…I have this crew of Irish friends that I love more than life itself and nothing makes me happier than getting together with them and celebrating.
See, the thing I’ve realized as I get older…sometimes there needs to a celebration , a reason, to get together with friends. We’re all running in opposite directions, but if we all make the effort for a day, a common day, to meet up, it can tide us over for months. And yeah, if it’s a celebration about food, drink and fun, even better.
So, short and sweet (literally) today because I’m heading out to get up to all sorts of nonsense with some folks I adore. I hope you’re able to do the same. If you can’t steal away today, maybe a little macaron-making this weekend? After all, it’s a holi-weekend, right? Cheers!
- Macarons
- 1¾ cups confectioners sugar
- 1⅓ cups almond flour (I like Bob's Red Mill) or ground almonds
- ¼ tsp salt
- 4 egg whites
- ¼ cup superfine sugar
- *green gel food coloring if desired
- **piping bag fitted with a #806 Ateco tip or equivalent
- Bailey's Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 5 egg whites
- 1 cup sugar
- 14 oz unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup Bailey's (Irish Cream)
- Macarons: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment and trace 1½ inch circles onto the parchment as a guide for piping. Flip the parchment over before piping.
- Combine almond flour, confectioners sugar and salt in a food processor fitted with a steel blade and blend until completely combined, 1-2 mins.
- Beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form.
- Add superfine sugar and beat on high speed until meringue is glossy and (very!) stiff peaks form.
- Fold almond flour mixture into meringue - I find about 50 strokes to be the magic number. The batter should be the consistency of lava.
- As you are folding, you can add a drop of food coloring if desired, for green shells.
- Fill the piping bag with the batter and pipe rounds within the lines that you traced. The batter will spread a bit, so don't overfill.
- Tap the baking sheet once of twice on the counter to release any air bubbles and with a slightly moistened finger, gently pat down any points on the surface of the shells.
- Bake one tray at a time for 10-12 mins until shells are set but not browned.
- Let cool for a few minutes on baking sheet, before carefully removing to a wire rack to cool.
- Bailey's Swiss Meringue Buttercream: Combine sugar and eggs whites in the bowl of your electric mixer or a large metal bowl.
- Place over a pan of simmering water and cook, whisking frequently, until sugar is completely dissolved and isn't grainy when you rub it between two fingers.
- Remove from heat and using your electric mixer, beat on high with the whisk attachment until the meringue is thick and glossy and the bottom of the bowl no longer feels warm, about 7-8 minutes.
- Add the butter, piece by piece, and mix until incorporated.
- Switch to the paddle attachment and add the Bailey's. Continue beating until light, smooth and completely homogenized.
- Add green food coloring if desired.
- Macarons: Using a pastry bag, pipe 1½ - 2 tsps of filling on to half of the shells. Place an empty shell on top of the filling and press lightly so filling spreads to the edge, taking care not to crack the shell. You may have leftover icing.
- *Optional* Sprinkle metallic disco dust over a shamrock cutout. Shake off the excess.
- Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.
I agree we need more celebration days! My daughter’s birthday is tomorrow and we have celebrating all week already. These are the cutest things ever. Love that creamy filling and they are naturally gluten free!
I love that they are gluten-free too Karen. I have friends that can’t have gluten and macarons are a great dessert for all to enjoy!
These are so impossibly cute! I’m overdue for some macaron making, so I must make up a batch of these this weekend 🙂
i love that you’re overdue for macaroon making! they really are fun to make!
Impossible cute! What a fantastic line…. and these macaroons are most certainly marking a moment in time for me. Love the week long celebration and Baileys to boot. Love the dusted disco shamrock imprints. Priceless!
Thanks Cindy. Something about sparkles. I may prefer a new knife to a new bracelet, but I do love a little food bling!