Macarons

Macarons:
Yields approx. 100 sets.

450g Almond Flour (Finely Ground)
50g Cocoa Powder
800g Powdered Sugar (Confectioners 10x)
400g Whites
160g Granulated Sugar

Preheat oven to 425F.

Sift together the almond flour, cocoa powder, and powdered sugar.

Whisk the egg whites until foamy. While still whisking, slowly add sugar. Whisk until medium peaks.

Fold the dry mix into the whites in three batches.

Line 6 baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a little pan spray on the baking sheet to hold down the paper. DO NOT spray the top of the paper where you will be piping.

With a medium sized tip piping bag, pipe rounded dots the size of a nickel. Allow sheet pans to sit until a firm skin develops on cookies. This will take 30 minutes or more.

Once skin has formed, place in oven and turn down temperature to 325F. Bake for 5 minutes and then gently spin pan in oven for even baking. Bake another 3-5 minutes until set.

Ganache:
700g Milk Chocolate
350g Heavy Cream
20g Corn Syrup
50g Cherry Liquor

Bring cream, corn syrup, and liquor to a boil. Pour over chocolate.

Gently stir with spatula until completely smooth.

Place plastic directly on top of ganache and set aside until ganache starts to firm up.

Once pipe-able, Pipe a small dot on the underside of half of the macarons. Sandwich together with the other half.

-- Liz Miller, Pastry Chef