Rose water Macarons

 I can't say enough about the love that I have for these little round "circle" cookies. They are just too adorable to describe in word. I think, the more I make them, the more I got addicted and fall in love with them.  In this hot summer day, these pink little circles are dazzling in the sun rays and that is just so beautiful to look at.

Summer is here, believe it or not and that is, once again, time for many fun adventures to begin. As for us, we actually just came back from an awesome adventure of our own. The trip was so nice and we almost did not want to return. Napa, the so peaceful and romantic place to be, has instilled so many warmhearted memories in me. 

 

We had wined and dined with the utmost pleasure and happiness in this short weekend getway. The inspiration for this macaron flavor came to me after we had a wine tasting experience at Mumm in Napa, where we tried a beautiful hue of the pink sparking wine called DVX Rose. I immediately thought of making a macaron that will not only carry out the color, but also the flavor of this delicate and elegant wine. The subtle fragrant from the rose water extract is just perfect in this summer heat. It pairs so well with the raspberry jam Swiss butter cream filling. The soft, and slightly chewy texture of the shells blends just right with the creamy and fruity flavor of the filling. 

A couple of these little cookies and a cup of jasmine tea will send me to heaven in a warm, lazy afternoon.

 

Ingredients: (make about 80 shells or 40 macarons)

120 g almond meal 

200g powdered sugar

100g egg whites (aged for 24hrs on the kitchen counter)

35g granulated sugar

red food coloring gel (a few drops)

1/4 tsp of rose water extract

 

1. Mix together almond meal with powdered sugar in a food processor. Pulse until all incorporate well, sift and set aside. Place egg whites in a clean bow of a stand mixer, start at low speed (number 2) until foamy then gradually add in granulated sugar and increase speed to medium (number 6). Add in food color and rose water extract.  Continue to beat the meringue until a stiff peak formed (do not over mix). 

2. Add the nut flour/sugar mixture into the meringue in three additions and start folding until all incorporated (about 50 strokes). This step is very crucial for macarons, make sure you don't over mixed the batter, otherwise it will become too runny. However, under-mixed batter will yield cracked and footless macarons. The mixture should flow down like a strand of ribbon as the spatula lifted from the batter. 

3. Attach the round tip (Ateco #11) to the pastry bag and pipe them onto the prepared baking sheets that lined with silpat or parchment paper . The size of each cookie is about the size of a quarter (1 inch), and make sure to leave enough space between the cookies. Pick up the tray and tap down hard on the counter to bring up the bubbles inside the macarons.

4. Let the macarons rest at room temperature for about 30min to dry up the surface (it's ready when it doesn't stick to your finger or feel wet when touched)

5. Preheat the oven to 305F, place an aluminum foil sheet on the top rack to prevent the macarons from  browning too quickly (make sure you know your oven, they are not all the same in term of temperature, and this is the temperature that works for my macarons). Then place the cookie sheet on the bottom rack and bake for about 13-15min. 

6. Remove from the oven and let they cool down a little before remove from the silpat or parchment paper. Cool completely on the cookie rack before adding the filling.

7. Assemble the macaron with a small dollop of buttercream filling in the middle of one shell and top with another shell. Refrigerate the macarons in an airtight container for 24-48hrs before devouring them. The macarons will need time to mature and absorb the moisture from the filling, so be patient and trust me it worth the wait !

Raspberry jam Swiss butter cream:

50 grams egg whites (about 2 small egg whites)

100 grams sugar

150 grams butter, softened

3-4 tsp of raspberry jam (I used my homemade jam)

Mix the egg whites and sugar and place them in the double boiler. Whisk them together until all the sugar dissolved and the egg whites start to turn white and fluffy. Continue whisking until the egg whites become hot to tough. Transfer the egg whites into a mixer bow and start whipping at high speed until light and fluffy (or until the bow is not hot anymore, it takes about 3-5 min).

Start adding softened butter piece by piece until all incorporated into the meringue. It might look like it is curdling but continue whipping will make it comes together. Finally add the raspberry jam and mix well. 

Leftover butter cream can be stored in the freezer for later use.

This is also the first time I'm submitting this post for the MACTWEETS, Mac attack challenge #30- Vacation Getaway Macarons.