YangYang Cooking: Rose Rasberry French Macaron

The little sandwich cookies seem to be so popular nowadays. With colorful smooth shells, they are definitely pleasant to look at. They are also a good test for baker's patience and skill (emphasis on PATIENCE). I learned most from the recipe & demonstrations from Joy of Baking, Martha Steward, and Food Networks. This recipe I followed is from Food Networks with some tricks from other recipes.

Ingredients:

Powdered sugar - 1 3/4 cups
Almond flour - 1 cup

Egg whites - 3 large , at room temperature
Cream of tartar - 1/4 teaspoon
Pinch of salt
Superfine sugar - 1/4 cup - (I used spice grinder to grind the granulated sugar)

Gel food color - rose pink
Raspberry Jam - 1/2 cup or so
【Special Equipment】

Fine-mesh sieve
Pastry bag with 1/4-inch round tip

Steps:

1. Measure the powdered sugar and almond flour by spooning them into measuring cups and leveling with a knife. Transfer to a bowl; whisk to combine.
2. Sift the sugar-almond flour mixture, a little at a time, through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing with a rubber spatula to pass through as much as possible. It will take a while, and up to 2 tablespoons of coarse almond flour may be left; just toss it.

3. Beat the egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt with a mixer on medium speed until frothy. Increase the speed to medium high; gradually add the superfine sugar and beat until it hold a firm peak, about 5 more minutes. I added the food color during this process.

4. Transfer the beaten egg whites to the bowl with the almond flour mixture. Draw a rubber spatula halfway through the mixture and fold until incorporated, giving the bowl a quarter turn with each fold. Continue folding and turning, scraping down the bowl, until the batter is smooth and falls off the spatula in a thin flat ribbon, 2 to 3 minutes. It takes about 35-40 folds.
5. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip. Holding the bag vertically and close to the baking sheet lined with Parchment paper, pipe 1 1/4-inch circles (24 per sheet). I have a mini Macaron silicon mat which I just pipe according to the circles on the mat. Some people recommend to draw pattern on parchment paper so that you can pipe more evenly.

6. It is important to firmly tap the baking sheets twice against the counter to release any air bubbles. I also examine it closely and pop any bubbles with a toothpick.
7. Preheat the oven to 325F.
8. Let the cookies sit at room temperature until the tops are no longer sticky to the touch, 15 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the humidity. I waited 30 minutes. Slip another baking sheet under the first batch (a double baking sheet protects the cookies from the heat). I did not do that since I do not have any spare after lined up all my cookies.
9. Bake 14 minutes or until the cookies are shiny and rise 1/8 inch to form a "foot". Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

10. Peel the cookies off the sheets and let it cool completely. Sandwich the cookies with a thin layer of filling. You can pipe the filling with a piping bag. I did not put much filling since the jam is very sweet.