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Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cook Time: 10 Minutes |
Ready In: 40 Minutes Servings: 60 |
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Julia Child had a love of live and French cooking as described by her and Alex Prud'Homme in My Life in France. The woman who introduce Americans to the delights of French cuisine would find these crisp, chewy French-style macarons cookies a delight, too. Ingredients:
6 egg whites |
1-1/2 cups hazelnuts |
2-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar |
dash salt |
1/2 cup superfine sugar |
espresso filling: |
1 cup sugar |
6 tablespoons water |
6 egg yolks |
4 teaspoons instant espresso powder |
1 teaspoon vanilla extract |
1-1/2 cups butter, softened |
6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar |
Directions:
1. Place egg whites in a small bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350°. Place hazelnuts in a 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake 7-10 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant. Transfer to a clean kitchen towel; cool. Rub briskly with a towel to remove the skins.
3. Place confectioners' sugar and hazelnuts in a food processor. Cover and process until hazelnuts are ground.
4. Add salt to egg whites; beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add superfine sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high until stiff peaks form. Fold in hazelnut mixture.
5. Place mixture in a heavy-duty resealable plastic bag; cut a small hole in a corner of bag. Pipe 1-in.-diameter cookies 2 in. apart onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake at 350° 9-12 minutes or until lightly browned and firm to the touch. Cool completely on pans on wire racks.
6. For filling, in a heavy saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil; cook over medium-high heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat. Add a small amount of hot mixture to egg yolks; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Cook 2-3 minutes or until mixture thickens, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; stir in espresso powder and vanilla. Cool to room temperature.
7. In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat butter until creamy, about 3 minutes. Gradually beat in cooked sugar mixture. Beat in confectioners' sugar until fluffy. Refrigerate until filling reaches spreading consistency, about 10 minutes.
8. Spread on the bottoms of half of the cookies; top with remaining cookies. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 5 dozen.
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