DESSERT
Peanut Butter & Chocolate Macarons
Contributed by Zeynab Alshelh
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Loggia Lab
Servings: 15-20 small macroons
Ingredients
Shell:
120g of confectioner's sugar
80g of almond flour
2 egg whites
1 pinch of salt
60g castor (berry or fine white sugar)
1 pinch of cocoa powder
Filling:
1 cup of bittersweet chocolate (or any chocolate of your choosing)
1 tbsp peanut butter
This is my go-to dessert recipe and
it's usually a hit with everyone!
Method
Shell:
1. Sift the confectioner's sugar and almond flour into a bowl and set aside.
2. Whisk egg whites in another bowl (make sure the bowl is clean and a glass bowl is preferable) until stiff peaks form. Add the castor sugar and
continue whisking until peaks are very stiff – the mixture should be shiny and sticky.
3. Whisk in the cocoa powder (enough for the mixture to turn brown).
4. Using a spatula, mix in the sugar and almond flour gently until the texture becomes like lava. Be careful not to overwork so that it becomes too
liquidy.
5. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag (piping bag) and, on a baking sheet (lined with parchment paper), make small rounds, spacing them out
evenly. Then let stand for one hour (this step is important for creating the macaron "feet" when baking).
6. Preheat the oven to 300°F and bake for 12 minutes. You can tell that the macarons are ready when you gently touch them and there is no
bounce. Remove and let completely cool before handling.
Filling:
1. Melt the chocolate in a glass bowl in the microwave in 20-second bursts (stirring at each point). You can also use a double boiler if preferred.
2. Stir in the peanut butter and adjust to taste. The resulting mixture should be creamy-solid at room temperature.
Assembly:
1. Once the shells have completely cooled, make pairs based on the sizes (ideally, they should all be very similar sizes).
2. Spoon the filling into a pastry bag and pipe a small amount onto the bottom of one of the pairs of shells.
3. Gently close the shells (like a burger).
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
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