This St. Patrick’s Day, step out of your baking comfort zone with these festive and fun Irish Creme Macarons that may just be lucky!
This post is sponsored by Amoretti. As always, thank you for reading and for supporting companies I partner with, which allows me to create unique content and recipes for you from readily accessible ingredients. All opinions are always my own.
I can’t believe the day has come that I’m sharing a macaron recipe on the blog. I’ve thought about it many times, but it’s a scary recipe to share with your trusting followers! I wanted to try and make it as simple as possible, which is not easy for a macaron. Keep in mind, even the slightest shift in altitude, humidity, or additive (food coloring or extract) could drastically change the recipe. I’ve tested many methods and ingredients with different results every time. So, proceed with that note in the back of your mind! That being said, the flavor combinations for macarons are endless. Considering St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner, I thought I would start with these festive Irish Creme Macarons!
One of the keys to baking perfect macarons is quality ingredients, starting with almond flour. All almond flours are not created equal. I use Amoretti almond flour because of the quality of almonds and the fineness of which they mill their nuts. In addition to their blanched almond flour, they also have pistachio, pecan, and hazelnut flour. What’s next on my baking list? Using the hazelnut flour to make chocolate hazelnut brownies. YUM.
If this is your first time making macs, I would recommend flavoring your filling as opposed to the cookie. The reason for this being that the added moisture may complicate things. If you do decide to add an extract, Amoretti Irish Creme extract is the way to go. For color, I used a squirt of their green food coloring, but for a more intense option, you could go for their flavorless alfalfa extract!
Amoretti is unique because their offering appeals to both the home chefs and food industry professionals. On their website, you can find anything from a 2 oz. bottle of extract to a 2500lb vat of caramel sauce. With ingredients like edible strawberry perfume spray, even the most novice of cooks can plate like a pro. Whether you’re an at-home brewer or a side hustle baker, Amoretti has everything you need and more to be successful!
- 2 cups Amoretti Almond Flour
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 4 egg whites
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- Amoretti Green Food Coloring or Alfalfa extract (optional)
- [b]For Irish Cream Buttercream[/b]
- 1 stick butter {8 tablespoons}, softened
- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons Amoretti Irish Cream Compound
- 1/2 cup Amoretti Irish Creme Ganache
- Prepare 2 baking pans by lining them with parchment paper. Sift together your almond flour and powdered sugar in a bowl, and set it aside. If there are a lot of large pieces leftover, pulse in a food processor and sift again.
- In the bowl of a clean stand mixer, add place the egg whites and cream of tartar. Using the whisk attachment, beat until frothy.
- Once the mixture has started to become frothy, slowly pour in the granulated sugar in a stream while continuing to beat. The mixture will become more opaque and glossy. Stopping somewhere between soft peaks and stiff peaks. If you’re using any colorant, this would be the time to add it. Whisk until all of the coloring is incorporated, but be careful not to overmix.
- Add about half of your dry ingredients to the beaten egg whites and gently fold it in until it has disappeared. Add the remaining almond flour mixture and repeat the process until it is fully incorporated. I usually fold the mixture about 25 times. It should be thick, and you should be able to drizzle an “8” without the ribbon of batter breaking.
- Scoop the mixture into a piping bag with a medium round tip. To pipe your macarons, gently squeeze the bag holding it vertically so that the batter pools into a perfectly round 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inch circle. Pipe onto the parchment until you’ve used up all the batter. They won’t spread too much, but give them an inch or so of space between each one.
- Gently, but firmly tap the pan on the counter top to help get rid of any bubbles. Set the macarons aside and let them air dry for about 30 minutes – 1 hour. You want them to develop a “skin”, meaning they won’t be wet and sticky anymore when you touch them lightly with your finger.
- Preheat the oven to 300ºF. Once the macarons are dry, you’ll be able to run your finger over the top with no stickiness. Place the baking pans in the oven and let them bake for 17-20 minutes.
- Once they are done, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool.
- Meanwhile, make your filling. Simply beat the butter and powdered sugar until smooth, then add the Irish Cream Compound a tablespoon at a time until you’ve reached the desired consistency and flavor.
- To soften the ganache, scoop about 1/2 cup into a small saucepan and melt over medium heat. Set aside to cool completely.
- When ready to pipe the filling, scoop the buttercream into one piping bag and the ganache into another. Pipe around the edge of one of the macaron shells with the buttercream, creating an “O” shape then, pipe the ganache into the hollow portion in the center. Pipe half of the shells with buttercream, then fill with the ganache. Top the piped shell with an unpiped shell to create a cookie sandwich.
- Refrigerate in an airtight container if not serving right away for up to 5 days.
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