January is citrus love month, and I was honored when Junia asked me to be another co-host for the #citruslove event.
I was excited for this month’s citrusy theme. It’s timely and much needed after the sticky sweet holidays.
When everyone was brainstorming recipes for the event there were so many good ideas, it was hard to choose 1 item.
Eventually my time ran out and I needed to pick something fast.
After going through Pinterest and many of my cookbooks, macarons were the obvious choice.
Side note: I recently scored some awesome Bob’s Red Mill finely ground almond meal. I had no choice.
I often forget how delicious macrons truly are. They are fun to make too. They have so many different flavor options, but are sort of a challenge.
The shell recipe is just a basic macaron from my favorite macaron book, Mad About Macarons. I also added a bit of green food color, but need to add more next time!
This was the first time I made macarons and filled them with something other than buttercream. I never realized what I was missing out on.
I filled these macarons with a lemon lime curd. It is tangy, addictive, and adds the much needed tartness to the sweet macaron shells.
These macarons were no exception to the rule. I highly recommend waiting 1 day before eating them (warning: it’s impossible!). They taste so much better the longer you wait to eat them.
Lemon Lime Macarons
Lemon Lime Curd
recipe from Montecarte.ca
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 large limes)
- 1 tbsp lemon zest (about 1/2 a lemon’s worth of zest)
- 1 tbsp lime zest (I used 1 lime’s worth of zest)
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter at room temperature
- 3 large eggs
To Make the Curd:
- Zest then juice the lemons and the limes. Set aside.
- In a medium sized pot whisk together the sugar and butter until smooth and creamy.
- Whisk in the eggs until a uniform mixture.
- Whisk in the juice of the lemons and limes.
- Over medium love heat (I do 4 of 10 on an electric stove) stir the mixture with a wooden spoon. Do not stop stirring and do not let the mixture boil!
- The curd is done when it is thick enough to coat the spoon (it takes 7-10 minutes depending on your stove/pan).
- Remove from the heat and pour through a fine mesh sieve into a mason jar (makes about 2 cups of curd). The curd will stay edible for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator – if it lasts that long.
Macarons
Recipe from Mad About Macarons!: Make Macarons Like the French
Ingredients:
- 110 grams egg whites (aged 5 days in the refrigerator then brought to room temperature before using)
- 72 grams caster sugar
- 132 grams ground almonds
- 198 grams powdered sugar
- green food coloring (optional) – powder or gel works best
To Make the Macarons:
- Line your baking sheets with parchment paper (I needed 3 cookie sheets).
- Sift together the ground almonds and powdered sugar into a large bowl. Remove the big lumps and mix together very well. Set aside.
- In your stand mixer (completely free of grease!) whisk the egg whites until foamy. Once foamy start slowly adding in the caster sugar. Continue to beat the egg whites until they form stiff and glossy peaks (the peaks should stand straight up). This is the time to add food coloring if you want it.
- Incorporate the egg whites into the dry mixture. This is the tricky step. I use my sturdy rubber spatula to mix everything to the right consistency, mix for no more than 5 minutes. It will be a uniform mixture that “ribbons” off the spatula.
- Once you have reached the proper consistency move the mixture to a piping bag.
- Pipe out the size of macarons you want. I made a variety of sizes. Leave space between each macaron, they will spread a bit.
- Once all the macarons are piped, take hold of the edge of the pan with both hands and slam it flat against the counter. Turn the pan 180 degrees and slam it against the counter again. Repeat with all of the pans.
- Let your macarons sit for about 20 minutes before you preheat the oven (they can sit for an hour).
- Once ready pre-heat the oven to 320 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake the trays 1 at a time (in the center of the oven) for 8-12 minutes, depending on their size.
- At 8 minutes you can check them by touching the tops – if they wobble they aren’t done. Give them 2 – 4 more minutes.
- Cool them on the baking tray then carefully peel off the parchment paper.
- Find a size match for each cookie. Flip one side up and the other down for each match. Fill a piping bag with the curd and squid a small round of curd onto each cookie. Top with the match, cover and place in the refrigerator until set, about 1 day. Enjoy!
Don’t forget to check out all the amazing co-hosts for #citruslove.
Roxana – A Little Bit of Everything – @RoxanaGreenGirl
Anuradha – Baker Street – @bakerstreet29
Terra – CafeTerraBlog – @CafeTerraBlog
Lora - Cake Duchess – @cakeduchess
Sue – Cakeballs, Cookies and More
Amy – Elephant Eats
Georgie – Georgiecakes – @georgiecakes
Richa – Hobby And More – @betit19
Mike - Mike’s Baking – @mikesbaking
Junia – Mis Pensamientos – @juniakk
TR – No One Likes Crumbly Cookies – @TRCrumbley
Lisa – Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives – @parsleynsage
Sylvia – Peaches and Donuts – @PeachesandDonut
Linda – Savoring Every Bite – @Spicegirlfla
Reem – Simply Reem – @simplyreem
Lisa – Smart Food and Fit – @LisaNutrition
Soni – Soni’s Food for Thought – @sonisfood
Liz – That Skinny Chick Can Bake – @Thatskinnychick
Laura – The Art of Cooking Real Food – @TAofCRF
Ros – The More Than Occasional Baker - @bakingaddict
EA – The Spicy RD – @thespicyrd
Susan – The Wimpy Vegetarian – @wimpyvegetarian
Jackie – Vegan Yack Attack! – @veganyackattack
Cindy – Vegetarian Mamma – @VegetarianMamma
Suzanna – You Made That? – @YouMadeThatblog
About bigfatbaker
These are absolutely gorgeous! I’ve only made macarons once and they weren’t um… pretty… at all. Yours are beautiful and I can only imagine how tasty they are!
These sound wonderful, I have only tried to make them once, but they did not turn out at all. May be worth a second try!
I highly recommend trying again! When you get them right it’s such a feeling of accomplishment. And they are so tasty
I’m still to get macs right. Yours are so gorgeous Erin! Love the lemon lime curd recipe.
Thank you!
And I am addicted to curd… It is so delicious.
All I’m going to say is… my mouth won’t stop watering! They are perfect!
This is a recipe I enjoy browsing on other’s blog..still need courage to take a risk
Yours look wonderful.
Lovely!These look soo yum and cute!Citruslove to you
These look fabulous, Erin!!! I need to make another batch…you can’t beat Jill’s book for wonderful recipe and advice! Great citruslove post
Hooray! These look super tasty and gluten free!
Wow. I Citrus Love that curd! I wish someone would change the name because “curd” is such a yucky word for such a lovely treat. Those macarons are so beautiful!
Lol!!! I agree.. Curd isn’t a very appetizing word but the stuff is too good to resist!
Your macarons look wonderful. The filling sounds amazing!
Oh my word. Those look so refreshing and delicious!
These look perfect! I’d love to try these, even though I am not the hugest fan of lemon meringues
I’ve been wanting to try making some macarons but am afraid to try as it seems so difficult! Yours look so amazing! How I wish I had your skills!
these look fab!! love the flavours you used!
Oh yum! I love macaroons! These look so tasty!!
These are perfectly delightful! Beautiful flavors…love them
Wow, these are so impressive! I have yet to attempt macarons…I’m too scared. These look so good!
These look amazing!! If I had to pick something fast, macarons would be the last on my list!! I’ve not been brave enough to attempt them yet but have signed up for a class in Feb. I really want to make my own!
These truly look so light and tender. I have some almond meal on hand as well, looks like this will the recipe to use it!
Hi Erin-Your macs look perfect! I love the filling and agree it’s difficult waiting until the 2nd day. Happy #citruslove month:)xx
How pretty are these! I just started making macarons and home and they are indeed a challenge; but they are so worth it! These lemon-lime ones look fab and I am definitely going to have to try them out
These look great! What a cool idea.
i love that lemon lime curd! totally citrusy zesty creamy goodness!
I am so excited, I just bought the Mad About Macarons book. I finally will have time on the weekends again to get them right! Your macs are just gorgeous! I love the lemon lime curd, that sounds sooooo delicious! Hugs, Terra
Oh my, these macarons look so incredible ! I’m getting hungry reading your post. Glad to bake along with you on this citrus-love!
Those look amazing!
These look absolutely amazing! Having never mace macarons before, I am intrigued by the pan slamming technique! Hope to make these in the new year. Happy #citruslove !
Thank you EA! The pan slamming is to get rid of air bubbles (to my understanding). I have read recipes that don’t mention it, but a few trusted sources say otherwise so I always do it. And it’s fun
These look awesome, God so perfect.
I can only hope my mac turns out these good some day…
Delicious!!!! Yummmm…
You can do it!!!
Wow! I just came across your blog today and this recipe got me hooked! I love lemon curd, but the recipe i normally use was cooked in bain-marie. I think i’ll try this variation next time, it sounds really interesting! Especially on macarons.
I’ve never made macarons, but i’d love to try these! Could you please tell me how manny the recipe yielded (approximately)? I’d like to try my hand with just a few (6 – 10) until i get them right… i hate throwing away food!
Aww thank you!! I LOVE curd and have found this is the easiest way to make it. It’s quick and doesn’t use too many dishes
The mac recipe made 25-30 small sized cookies. You could probably do 20 medium, or 16 large with the recipe. If you want to try and scale it down be sure to keep the proportions! Macs are too difficult, it’s just making sure to follow the recipe and pay attention to what your doing. Have fun!
Thank you! I will definitely try them as soon as i get the chance! I really hope i’ll get them right, my mouth is watering at the mere thought of them!!!
Love tangy desserts and your macarons look perfect!! I hope to join the bloghop fun soon!! Happy weekend!!
Erin, these look amazing! I have never made macaroons, but I really need to try these!
I see sooo many things on your site I want to make! I haven’t made macarons since I was in school – but I loved them. I definitely want to try yours! Love co-hosting #citruslove with you!!
Oh I love lemon and lime curd they are just so delectable and hard to resist. I need to make another batch since I’ve been out for a while now. Your macaroons look beautiful and delish.
Those are some perfect and gorgeous macarons, but most importantly, the lemon lime curd is amazing – the perfect tangy, delicious and acidic offset to the super sweet shells! Bravo on an awesome #citruslove submission, it was a pleasure to co-host with you!
Citrus is seriously my favorite thing ever. And I’ve been wanting to try making macarons forever. I see these in my future!!
to make macarons is on my wishlist for 2012. yours look amazing!
I’ve never tried a macaron, much less made them. They intimidate me but I WILL make them eventually!!
YUM!!! I love macarons, but prefer italian meringue method better. x
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