TBT - Pistachio Macarons

I’m hoping to make macarons later on today, so until that time, here’s a look at the last time I made pistachio macarons. This was probably my third or fourth attempt since learning about how utterly delicious macarons are.

I use a recipe from the book Mad About Macarons and it’s never failed me. There is even a troubleshooting guide in the back, so that if your macarons don’t come out perfect, you can find out what you’ve done wrong.

The last batch that I made was pistachio macarons- my absolute fave - and I even used home made butter for the filling! Whenever I buy macarons from a patisserie, I made sure that I get a pistachio macaron because I like to compare and see which ones are the best. I was quite surprised to find that my pistachio macarons were up there with some of the best that I’ve tried 🙂

I started by getting all of my ingredients together and making sure that they were weighed properly. I have seen recipes that are in cups, but I think the more accurate form of grams works better for macarons. I also prepped my pans by drawing circles on the parchment and then flipping that over and placing the parchment on the pans as seen here:

I then followed the recipe in the book and added some green dye to the batter, as well as some splatters on the top, just for a bit more visual interest. When piping my macarons onto the cookie tray, I use a template that I’ve drawn on parchment. After they have all been piped, I tap the tray to flatten them out a bit and release any air bubbles. Then I let them sit for about half an hour at room temperature - I think this step is really important in helping form the crust of the shell and ensure that you have good “feet” or pieds on the cookie.

Here’s what the tray will look like:

After the half hour, it’s time to bake!

Here’s what your cookies should come out looking like:

Next I filled them with a pistachio filling that I made, that can also be found in the Mad About Macarons book. I ground my own pistachios instead of using the paste, as I found that hard to find anywhere in store. It was definitely worth it though - I could have eaten that filling on its own!

So basically you just want to line up a row of bottoms(top side up) and then beside that, find cookies that are similar in shape and line them up beside their matches. Then, start filling by using a plain tip and piping a mound of filling in the centre. Don’t worry about piping the filling all the way to the edge - it will get there when you sandwich the cookies together.  I happen to like a lot of filling in mine, so I went back and added extra, which is why it looks kind of uneven in some of the photos.

Regardless, they came out tasting fabulous after I aged them covered in the fridge for at least 24hrs. It was REALLY hard to sit and wait, but it’s so worth it in the end when the filling and the shells meld together in a perfect “ahh” moment of bliss.

Here’s a look at my final product, the shells are a wee bit too dark, but I think they still look pretty nice otherwise:

So what do you think of my pistachio macarons? Are you tempted to try making French macarons anytime soon? Let me know!

- tess