These pecan cinnamon macarons are easy to make for the holidays. Credit: Copyright 2015 Martha Rose ShulmanFinally, there's an easy macaron that is as enticing as the French classic but can be made in less than half the time. French macarons can be intimidating. The method involves an Italian meringue that requires slow streaming of very hot syrup into egg whites while they're being whipped, a task that is always a little scary.
These cinnamon pecan macarons, which come from pastry chef Genevieve Gergis, co-owner and pastry chef at Bestia in downtown Los Angeles, don't call for the Italian meringue. Just fold a mix of ground pecans, powdered sugar, vanilla seeds and cinnamon into beaten egg whites and you're ready to pipe. The egg whites require an overnight rest, but that's nothing compared to the 48 hours that many traditional macaron recipes call for.
Gluten-free for the holidays
These are gluten-free cookies you can add to your usual Christmas repertoire. Macarons are a natural choice because they don't require any substitutions.
"Flour substitutes take away from the integrity of the original dessert. There are plenty of desserts out there that don't have gluten and never have," says Gergis, whose gluten-free desserts fall into that category.
The mix of ground pecans, sugar and cinnamon gives the almost-decadent cookies a texture and praline-like flavor that are unique. "They're like nutty, super chewy snickerdoodles," Gergis says. A creamy, unsweetened filling of mascarpone mixed with creme fraiche creates a perfect balance inside the sweet, moist, chewy masterpieces.
Genevieve Gergis' Cinnamon Pecan Macarons
Genevieve Gergis' Cinnamon Pecan Macarons
Prep time: 15 minutes plus overnight rest at room temperature for egg whites
Batter and baking time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield: 3 dozen 2-inch cookies
Ingredients
For the macarons:
A little under 7 large egg whites
2 3/4 cups pecans
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
1/4 vanilla bean, scraped
For the filling:
7 ounces mascarpone
1 ounce creme fraiche
Directions
To facilitate working with this batter, divide the ingredients in half and make two batches. Even if you don't choose to make two batches, grind the pecans and powdered sugar in two batches to avoid making pecan butter.
1. Put egg whites in a container, a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Cover with plastic wrap, pierce plastic wrap in several places and let stand at room temperature overnight.[aside]
2. In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine half the pecans and half the powdered sugar. Pulse until pecans are finely ground, taking care not to turn them into butter (this is why you should pulse, rather than turn on the machine full tilt). Transfer to a bowl and repeat with remaining pecans and powdered sugar. Stir in cinnamon and set aside.
3. In a small bowl, combine granulated sugar, salt and vanilla seeds.
4. In a standing mixer fitted with the whisk or using electric beaters, beat egg whites on medium low speed until soft peaks form. Turn speed to medium and gradually add granulated sugar mixture, a tablespoon at a time. Beat to stiff but not dry peaks.
5. Carefully transfer egg whites to a very large bowl. A cup at a time, slowly fold in pecan/powdered sugar mix, taking care not to deflate egg whites (they will deflate a little no matter what). Resulting mixture will be thick.
6. Preheat oven to 225 F (200 F for convection) with rack positioned in middle. Fit a pastry bag with a 3/4 inch round tip. Line sheet pans with parchment and use a 2-inch cookie cutter and pencil to trace 2-inch circles on the parchment, leaving 1 inch between circles and staggering rows. Flip parchment over so macarons don't absorb pencil marks.
7. Holding pastry bag with tip pointed straight down, pipe 2-inch circles. Bake 10 minutes in a regular oven, 7 minutes in convection. Cookies should have a skin on surface. Remove from oven and turn heat up to 325 F for regular oven, 315 F for convection. Return to oven and bake 15 minutes. Cookies should be crisp on outside and soft on inside. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before removing from parchment.
8. Whip together the mascarpone and creme fraiche until smooth. Turn over half the macarons and place a teaspoonful of cream mixture on each bottom half, then top with another half and gently press together. For best results refrigerate overnight (but the macarons are also good right away). They will keep for a few days in the refrigerator. Don't stack them, but stand them side by side in a container or box.By Martha Rose Shulman (Zester Daily) -
©Thomson Reuters 2015