Floral Watercolor French Macarons

Hey Momoluvers, it's Momo and toady I'll be showing you how to make these beautiful little treats. As you know, I am macaron obsessed. I stand by my statement that they are the greatest snacks of all time, and although time consuming, they are definitely worth the effort. They melt in your mouth to create a harmonious blend of raspberry and vanilla that is absolutely wonderful! I thought I'd show you guys how to make these adorable floral macarons because they are so unique and perfect for spring. I had such a good time making these and painting the cute little flowers on them, that I thought you would too! Please enjoy :)

You will need:

For the shell

1. 3/4 cup of powdered sugar

2. 3/4 cup of almond meal (or finely ground almonds)

3. 2 egg whites room at temperature

4. 1/4 cup of granulated sugar

For the filling

1. 1/2 cup softened butter

2. 1/2 cup of powdered sugar

3. 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

4. 5 tbsp raspberries

For the watercolor

1. Various colors of edible gel dyes

2. Water

3. A container to hold the different colors

Sift together the powdered sugar and the almond meal, one at a time.

After sifting, whisk together the ingredients lightly.

Your egg whites will have to be room temperature in order to form a proper meringue. I always put mine in a bowl of hot water and when the water turns cool, change it out. After about 20 minutes, the eggs should be the perfect temperature.

Whisk the egg whites on medium high with an electric mixer until you have a foamy, frothy texture.

Add the granulated sugar in small portions, slowly, until you have a stiff meringue.

This took me about 2 minutes to complete.

After you have a thick and fluffy meringue, you need to combine the dry ingredients with it.

I suggest adding the dry ingredients 1/3 at a time and folding them well.

Each portion you add should require about 15-20 strokes to thoroughly combine it.

After you have thoroughly combined your macaron shell batter, you will need to pipe it onto parchment paper or a macaron template mat.

You can use a piping bag or a simple ziplock bag for piping. I prefer using a ziploc bag because it seals better at the top than my piping bag does.

A simple trick to get the batter into the bag mess-free is to fold the bag over a glass cup, and spooning the batter in.

After you have completed this, seal the bag and cup a small tip out of the end.

Begin to pipe the macarons, keeping in mind that they will settle and become larger than when you first piped them.

After you have finished piping, lift the tray a couple inches off the counter and drop it hard. Repeat about 4-5 times or until the bubbles have settled and you have a smooth surface.

Let the macarons sit out for about 20 minutes, or until the surface has become hard. If your macarons don't harden, they will not form a proper pied; the foot that runs along the bottom.

I always set my oven to 305*F and when I put the macarons in, lower the temperature to 285*F.

Make sure that your macarons are on a top rack, this helps them to cook more evenly.

Bake for about 13-15 minutes, or until your macarons have slightly browned.

If you under bake the macarons and can tell that they are still undercooked, simply pop them back in the oven at 275*F and continue to bake until slightly browned.

After the macarons have cooled, you'll need to paint them.

Mix together a tiny dab of food coloring gel and about 1/2 tsp of water.

You can have all different kinds of colors, I would suggest picking three or four colors you like and having a light shade and a dark shade. The light shade is to paint the shape of the flower, and the darker shade as an accent to define the shape.

Use a tiny paint brush and begin to sweep the color in the shapes you want. I have a couple of different looks, but it's up to you how you want to paint the flowers. After all, you are the artist!

Simply just combine all of the filling ingredients in a medium bowl and beat until fluffy.

Pipe the filling into a bag and cut the tip.

Pipe the filling into the cookie and sandwich a painted shell with a plain shell and you're done!

These are beautiful little treats that are perfect for spring and so yummy. They are so pretty you almost don't want to eat them! I hope you all enjoyed this tutorial, thanks for liking, commenting, and subscribing!

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