First attempt - the photo doesn't reflect it well but they were massive...and this picture was taken in natural daylight whereas the one above was taken in the evening without flash. These ones had almonds sprinkled on top.
Turron Macarons
Turron - a Spanish nougat-y paste... To die for. Eaten at Christmas usually - comes in all shapes and forms...soft, hard, crunchy etc. My favourite is the hard turron with almond pieces in it. Again - to die for...beware if you have fillings!
In this recipe, the buttercream filling (optional depending on whether or not you want to make a proper macaron sandwich) calls for turron paste - but living in DC where Spanish baking ingredients are almost nonexistent, I used almond paste.
I made my first batch of macarons way too fat - in width. Rather than being just larger than bite-sized, they were the size of a tomato slice. Oh dear. However, if you love chewy meringue as much as me, then this is purely a bonus. Second try, the macarons were much better in size.
They are so simple and fast to make. The key - almond flour, and you must pipe the "batter" rather than spooning it onto the silpat or parchment paper. Spooning it means the macarons come out peaked and more like the coconut macaroon shape (not to be confused with these macarons). The filling is almond buttercream - easy to make and lasts at least a week in the fridge.
Second attempt - better in size
First attempt - the photo doesn't reflect it well but they were massive...and this picture was taken in natural daylight whereas the one above was taken in the evening without flash. These ones had almonds sprinkled on top.
First attempt - the photo doesn't reflect it well but they were massive...and this picture was taken in natural daylight whereas the one above was taken in the evening without flash. These ones had almonds sprinkled on top.
