I’m not the biggest fan of
macarons – shocking, I know (considering I make them practically any chance I
get.) But it’s never been the final product that drives me.
It’s the process.
It’s the challenge of knowing that you’re about to make something that’s notoriously
tricky, and the excitement of somehow pulling it off (well, most of the time at
least) that keeps me making macarons over and over again. But as far as taste goes,
these delicate little cookies are way way
too sweet for me (also shocking, considering that my blog is nothing but
sweets.)
BUT I HAVE GREAT NEWS!
After making at least seven or eight different
flavors of macarons since this obsession started, I think I’ve finally found a flavor/recipe that I love. And that flavor is Oreo. Oh yes,
you heard right. You’re gonna want to try these…
To make these fancy little Oreo-infused cookies, sift together almond flour, powdered sugar, and ground up Oreo cookies (I'll call that Oreo “flour”). Make sure to use a fine sieve to sift – otherwise your macaron will not have a smooth outer shell.
Once these dry ingredients
are all sifted together, beat 3 room temperature egg whites with the cream of
tartar on high speed. Once the eggs begin to turn white and fluffy, you can slowly incorporate the
granulated sugar, salt, vanilla, and black food coloring. Whip the egg whites
until they form stiff peaks on the end of the beaters (about 8-10 minutes
total.)
(A shortcut to room temperature eggs: submerge them in warm water, in their shells – for 5 minutes.)
Slowly add the dry
(almond flour, powdered sugar, oreo crumb mix) into the wet (whipped egg white
mix). Do this by sprinkling on about 1/3 of the dry onto the wet at a time –
until all of the dry has been incorporated. Be sure to fold the dry ingredients
into the wet very gently, to keep the egg whites fluffy (watch the video links below if you’d like to see
the proper technique!)
Load this batter into
a piping bag fitted with a large round tip, and pipe out about 40 evenly spaced
1-inch circles onto two parchment (or silpat) lined baking sheets (20 cookies on each sheet).
Once they’re
all piped, tap the pan hard on the counter, multiple times, to release any air bubbles. It will sound like someone is being murdered - but this is
a CRUCIAL STEP! Your neighbors will forgive you.
Lastly, leave the baking sheets in a cool, dry area to dry them out
for at least one hour – until the tops are no longer sticky to the touch. If
you skip this step, your macarons will not come out right!
Preheat your oven to 300 F and
bake the macarons for 15-20 minutes. Bake each baking sheet separately to make
sure that heat is distributed evenly and the macarons cook properly.
While the macarons bake &
cool, make the Oreo buttercream filling. Whip the butter, Oreo crumbs, and Oreo
fillings together until smooth. Then alternate adding powdered sugar and milk
until you reach the desired consistency (not too thin – or it will just ooze out from
the macaron shells.)
Finally, pair the macarons according
to size, pipe a dollop of filling onto every other macaron, and sandwich them
together. (If desired, you can roll the edges of the cookies in extra Oreo
crumbs!)
Store your macarons in the fridge
or freezer, and ENJOY!
{ OREO French Macarons }
For the cookies…
¾ cup almond flour
¼ cup Oreo “flour”
(about 5
crushed Oreo cookies)
2 cups powdered sugar
~
3 room temperature egg whites
¼ tsp. cream of tartar
¼ cup granulated sugar
A pinch of salt
¼ tsp. vanilla extract
3 drops of black food
coloring
(optional)
For the Oreo buttercream filling…
4 tbsp. (1/4 cup) salted butter
Fillings of 5 Double Stuf Oreos
Crumb of 5 Oreos (about ¼
cup)
¼ cup powdered sugar (or
more, depending on taste)
2 tsp. vanilla almond milk
(plus more if needed to thin frosting)
{A helpful video if making macarons for the first time: here}
{A troubleshooting guide for all of your macaron concerns: here}
enjoy*
