Pistachio Macarons
 
A recipe for scrumptious pistachio macarons with a lovely green buttercream and a crunchy pistachio topping. Recipe from Antonio Bachour's Bachour.
Ingredients
For the macaron shells:
  • 100g egg whites
  • 125g almond flour
  • 150g confectioner's sugar
  • 100g granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon green food colouring powder
  • some coarsely (see photo) ground up pistachios (optional)
For the pistachio buttercream:
  • 75g butter, at room temperature
  • 75g icing sugar
  • 50g ground pistachios (finely ground)
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon whipping cream
Method
Age the egg whites:
  1. Separate the egg whites from the yolks, seal tightly in a container, and put in the fridge between 3-7 days before proceeding.
Prepare the macaron shells:
  1. Sift confectioner's sugar and almond flour into a large bowl. Set aside, disposing of the two or three tablespoons that can't be sifted through.
  2. In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip egg whites on medium speed until foamy.
  3. Add sugar in three additions, mixing for 30-45 secs between each addition.
  4. Whip until glossy with medium peaks.
  5. Add food coloring and beat on medium speed for thirty more seconds, or until the food colouring is evenly distributed.
  6. With a large rubber spatula, fold in half of the almond mixture.
  7. Then, fold in the remaining almond mixture until smooth and glossy. Your goal here is to deflate the egg whites, so no need to be super gentle. All ingredients should be well combined and the mixture should flow from your spatula, recombining into the batter within 10-15 seconds.
  8. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and, using a piping bag with a ½ inch round tip, pipe macarons about 3.5cm (1.4 inches) in diameter about 4cm (1.5 inches) apart from one another.
  9. After you're done, hit the sheets against the counter to flatten mounds and pop any large air bubbles.
  10. Sprinkle some coarsely ground pistachios on alternating rows of macarons (the ones with the pistachios will be the top macaron shell).
  11. Let rest on the counter for thirty minutes while you preheat your oven (using a convection setting if you have it) to 135°C (275°F).
  12. Bake for 15-18 minutes, and let cool on the pan.
  13. Remove the shells from the pan with an offset spatula.
Prepare the pistachio buttercream:
  1. Cream together the butter and icing sugar on low speed using the paddle attachment, if you're using a stand mixer.
  2. Add the ground pistachios and beat on medium speed for three minutes.
  3. Pour in the vanilla extract and whipping cream and beat for one minute on medium speed.
Assemble the macarons:
  1. Using a piping bag with a ½ inch round tip, pipe a small dollop of buttercream onto the macaron shells that were not sprinkled with pistachios.
  2. Press a macaron shell that was topped with pistachios (if you chose to do so) into the cream, gently.
  3. Let rest in the fridge for ~3 days until the macarons become softer. If you do not wait they will not be as good. Resist the urge!
Recipe by IronWhisk at http://www.ironwhisk.com/2014/04/pistachio-macarons-macaron-myths/