Cookies N' Cream Macarons

I have a love-hate relationship with macarons. They are the cutest little cookies when they are finished, but they are SO finicky to make! So, many things can cause different outcomes. I am going to try my best to go over all of my different results in this post!! This is my 36,893rd try at making them it seems and I still have weird outcomes.. Enjoy 🙂

Here's what you'll need:

Cookies n' Cream Macarons

Ingredients:

150 grams almond flour (I use Bob's Red Mill, if you have a Sam's club you can get it there A LOT cheaper in bulk)

150 grams powdered sugar

55 grams egg whites x2 (no, I do not age my egg whites, you can, but I honestly do not see much difference).

150 grams granulated sugar

38 grams water

Filling:

½ cup white chocolate

¼ cup heavy cream

3 teaspoon crushed Oreo cookies (with cream) plus more for toppings.

Special equipment:

A kitchen scale (or postal scale, just anything that weighs out in grams)

A cooking thermometer

Sifter or food processor

Stand mixer

First, you want to weigh out your ingredients.. Yes I said weigh (I told you these things were finicky). I HIGHLY recommend using a food scale and weighing each individual thing out. If you don't they will more than likely not turn out right.

Weigh out your almond meal and your powdered sugar and place in either a food processor or sifter. Sift the two together where there are no clumps at all left. This will help have the nice smooth top:)

Next, make a well in the middle of your sifted ingredients and add your first batch of egg whites (55 grams). Mix until a paste forms.

At first it will seem like there is not enough wet to dry ingredients, but keep going it will come together! Put the remaining 55 grams of egg whites into your stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Leave be for now 🙂

Place the granulated sugar and water into a saucepan, stir just enough to combine. Insert your thermometer and heat on med/high heat until the syrup reaches 115 degrees Celsius! Once it reaches 115, turn the stand mixer on high and whip the egg whites. Once the syrup mixture reaches 118 degrees Celsius, remove from the heat.

Set a timer for 6 MINUTES. Start the timer, while the stand mixer is still running on high, SLOWLY pour in the syrup. Mix for the FULL 6 MINUTES, or you will get hollow macs, and nobody wants that.

If you want to add food coloring, this is where you do it. After about 3 minutes, add in ONLY GEL food coloring. DO NOT use liquid food color, it will change the consistency which is a no-no...For this recipe I did not use any food color. After the 6 minutes the egg whites should be glossy and STIFF. You should be able to hold the bowl above your head and nothing fall out!

After you have your meringue, add half of that mixture to your paste mixture. Mix well until combined, this will help thin out the paste to make it easier to fold the rest in. Add remaining meringue and FOLD with a spatula. DO NOT use a mixer. DO NOT stir like you would cake batter. You have to fold.

You WILL develop a set of awesome arm muscles if you make these enough. Keep folding until the batter gets to the "ribbon" stage. Meaning that if you pick some up with your spatula it will ribbon off and then disappear. STOP when it gets to this stage. Check it often, because it is really easy to overfold and that will mess up your results as well!

**If you forgot to add your food color into the meringue or if you are making multiple colors, add in your food color at the BEGINNING of this stage. Adding it in too late will change the consistency as well.

NOW you are ready to pipe out your macs!! I use a Wilton #1 round tip. Fill your pipping bag with the batter, and pip out about 2.5-3 cm circle. I make mine rather big.. and some people use templates, but I just eyeball it.. haha

I also bake on a silicon mat, GET ONE OF THESE! It will make your life A LOT easier. However, if you don't have one, parchment paper will work just fine. Add on your crushed Oreos to the top of each Mac. Raise the baking sheet up and tap it on the counter 3-4 times to make sure you get all of the air bubbles out. Pre-heat your oven to 340 degrees F.

Let them sit to form their "shell". The time will vary depending on where you live and the humidity. I let them sit for roughly 20 minutes. They should NOT be sticky at all when you touch them.

After they form their shell they are good to go! Bake one sheet at a time at 340 degrees F for about 10-12 minutes. I set my timer for 10 minutes and I start checking them. If you touch the top and the top wiggles on the bottom, it is not done. Put them back in for 1 minute intervals until you can touch the top and it doesn't move.

When done, take them out and let them COOL COMPLETELY before you try removing them. While they are cooling, this is the time to make your filling.

Add your chocolate and cream into a microwave safe bowl, and microwave for 30 second increments until all the chocolate is melted and there are no clumps. Stir well, then add in the Oreo cookies. Let sit in your fridge (or freezer if you want it to harden faster).

Once it gets to a good consistency for pipping, add a little dollop on half of your macaron cookies. Add the remaining shells on top and voila! You have beautiful macarons that you can brag to your friends about!!

Let them "mature" in the fridge for at least 24 hours in an airtight container.. Who am I kidding, they will probably all be gone before they even touch the fridge, BUT they do taste better once they have set in the fridge for 1-2 days.

Macarons Tips & Tricks:

⚫️ If you get hollow shells, more than likely you did not whip the egg whites enough. If you set a timer for 6 minutes you should be fine though.

⚫️ If you get lopsided shells, it can be a few things. 1. Play with your oven temp. Each one is different and you have to get a feel for yours. More than likely the temp is too high. bring it down about 10 degrees and try again. 2. Try flipping your tray mid bake, around the 5 minute mark take your tray out and turn it around. and 3. Let them sit longer to form the "shell".

⚫️ If they do not turn out perfect your first try (more than likely they WILL NOT, don't get frustrated, do some research and try again! Like I said I have made them MANY times and sometimes I still get weird results. Practice makes perfect:)

⚫️I do not age my eggs. I know people that do and swear by it but I really don't see much of a difference. If you want to age yours, set them out in a bowl in your fridge for several hours/days. The reason people do this is to let the proteins break down in the eggs. Again, ain't nobody got time for that.

Good Luck!!

Here's the printable Cookies n' Cream Macarons recipe for you:

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Leave your comment below and tell me how yours went!!

Here are some other macaron recipes you're sure to enjoy:

Strawberry Cheesecake Macarons

Nutella Macarons

Chocolate Espresso Macarons