White Chocolate Ganache Filled Gingerbread Macarons
Yields 36 (+) macarons
Ingredients
- 3 egg whites, room temperature (MUST BE ROOM TEMP!)
- pinch of salt
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- brown food coloring
- 2 cups (120 g) powdered/confectioners sugar
- 1 cup (120 g) superfine blanched almond flour, (I used natural roasted almond flour, which I think added to the wonderful taste)
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
Filling
- 6 oz (170 g) good quality white chocolate chips, (I used Guittard; about 1 cup)
- 5 Tbsp heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites until foamy. Add salt, cream of tartar, & white granulated sugar for 8 to 10 minutes. Whip until they form a stiff peak that stands straight up. Add food coloring & mix until desired shade.
- Sift the powdered sugar & almond flour. It's okay if some almond pieces don't sift through, just toss them in the garbage. You want a really fine powder to create a smooth top to your cookies. Add the spices (ginger, cinnamon, cloves & nutmeg) & mix together with the dry ingredients.
- Add the dry ingredients half at a time to the whipped egg whites. Fold with a spatula a total of 65 to 75 turns. Under-mixing can cause lumpy cracked cookies. Over-mixing will create flat cookies that have no feet. Go for just enough turns to not see dry powder, but it should be close to 65 to 75 turns.
- Transfer batter to a pastry bag. Pipe out 1" rounds (think the size of a quarter) onto parchment or silicone mat lined baking sheets (using silicone mats is preferred.) Tap the pan hard, 2 to 3 times, to release any air bubbles, which prevents the tops from cracking. Allow them to sit out for 20 to 30 minutes or even up to 1 hour to dry out & be tacky to the touch. This helps develop the feet. When they are dried out they can't spread outwards, & will be forced to rise upward when they bake, creating the feet.
- Bake at 300˚F for 20 minutes. Do NOT under-bake even if they look done or they will stick to your tray.
- Meanwhile, make the filling by bringing the heavy cream & vanilla to a boil in a small saucepan on the stovetop. Once it reaches a boil, remove the saucepan from the heat & pour the hot cream mixture over the white chocolate chips in a bowl. Stir until smooth & melted. Allow mixture to cool & thicken to a piping texture. To speed this process along, place the bowl of white chocolate ganache in the refrigerator, but keep a close eye on it, it can harden quickly.
- Reverse cookie shells on their backs & pipe the ganache in a circular motion to cover the base. Top with another macaron shell to create a macaron sandwich. Repeat with all of the cookies. Be gentle because they are fragile! Store in an airtight container.