Coffee Macarons with Maple Bacon Cream

 

Imagine the perfect complete breakfast. Rich creamy coffee. Pancakes doused in maple syrup. Crackling bacon piled high.

Ain’t nobody got time for that.

Now you can get all those flavors in one satisfying bite. I present the Coffee Macaron with Maple Bacon Cream! Read on for the recipe and tips on how make these right the first time (my first time was a bust).

 

We moved to Savannah Georgia at the end of July 2015. The first several months were spent touring all the local food joints in this quaint city. Within the first week, I stumbled upon Maison de Macarons. With flavors like Bananas Foster, Bourbon Pecan and Tybee Turtle, this little shop became a sweet treasure.

I heard through the grapevine that macarons are finicky and challenging to make. The food blogger in me wondered, “Can I tackle this feat?”

 

 

So I set out to find the perfect French Macaron recipe. In my research, each macaron recipe had the same basic ingredients: almond flour, confectioner’s sugar, egg whites, cream of tartar and sugar.

As far as flavor, I played with the savory-sweet pairing of maple and bacon. A perfect couple. It began sounding like breakfast and, to me, the best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup (if you know what I mean). Coffee. I mean breakfast tastes better with coffee. Everything tastes better with coffee. But this is not JUST a coffee flavored macaron, mind you. A coffee smear is painted on their delicate shells to add a hint of bitter bliss.

So I totally messed up the first batch. They were lumpy and unbecoming. I am the type of person that thinks it’s okay to skip steps on a recipe. Not a good idea for macarons. After creating these macarons, I visited the  macaron shop in Savannah and chatted with the manager to get some tips on how to perfect this recipe. Pay attention to every detail of the recipe below and you should get it right the first time!

Ingredients

• 1 ¾ cups of confectioners’ sugar
• 1 cup almond flour
• 3 large eggs whites, at room temperature
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• pinch of salt
• ¼ cup superfine sugar
• 2 packages of instant coffee & 1 tablespoon hot water

•  8 oz. vanilla cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons real maple syrup
• 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 3 pieces bacon, cooked until crispy

Coffee Smear

• Paint brush
• 1 package of instant coffee
• 1 tsp. hot water

Special Equipment

• Silicone baking mats or parchment paper
• Fine-mesh sieve
• Pastry bag with ¼-inch round tip or gallon Ziploc bag with tip cut off

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F using the convection setting. Line 3 baking sheets with silicone mats.
2. Whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a bowl.
3.  Sift this mixture through a sieve into a large bowl. Press the mixture with a rubber spatula. Coarse almond flour may be left over; throw it away.

Tip #1   I didn’t do step three the first time. The macarons came out lumpy instead of smooth like the ones pictured above. Take the time to do this step!

4. Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt with a mixer on medium speed until      frothy. Then increase the speed to medium high and gradually add the sugar. Beat until stiff and shiny peaks appear.

5. Mix 2 packages of instant coffee with 1 tablespoon hot water until blended. Slowly drizzle the coffee into the egg whites while continuing to beat until stiff and shiny. The egg whites should take on a caramel tint.

6. Add the almond flour mixture to the beaten egg whites. Fold together gently until the batter is smooth and falls off the spatula in a thin flat ribbon (2-3 minutes).

7. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag with a 1/4-inch round tip. Pipe 1 1/4-inch circles onto the silicone baking mats. Firmly tap the baking sheets twice against the counter to release any air bubbles.

Tip #2   If you do not have a pastry bag, use a gallon Ziploc bag. After transferring the mixture into the bag, seal it. Then cut one bottom corner, about 1/4 inch.

Tip #3 You must firmly tap the baking sheets against the counter. It is important to release bubbles and give your macarons a smooth texture.

8. Let the cookies sit at room temperature until the tops are no longer sticky to the touch, (15 minutes to 1 hour).

9. Now is a good time to make the filling. Blend the cream cheese, maple syrup and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Cut the crispy bacon pieces into small bits and fold them into the cream cheese mixture. Set aside.

10. Ready to bake? Add another baking sheet under the first batch (it will protect the cookies from the heat). Bake the first batch until the cookies are shiny and rise to form a “foot” (about 20 minutes). Transfer to a rack to cool completely. Repeat, using a double sheet for each batch.

Tip #4    Only put one batch in at a time, it will be worth it.

11. Peel the cookies off the mats and sandwich with a thin layer of filling.

Tip #5    I used a small Ziploc bag to pipe the filling onto the macaron halves. See Tip #2 to see how I did this.

12. Get out a paint brush. Mix 1 package of instant coffee with 1 tsp. hot water. It should create a thick paint-like paste. Gently paint a smear of coffee on the top of each macaron.

There you have it friends. Coffee Macarons with a Maple-Bacon Cream filling. I love how versatile macarons are. The flavor combinations are endless. Have fun with them and let me know what you come up with! Meanwhile, I am going to work on perfecting this treat, because there is a lot of room for growth.