Gluten-Free S’mores Macarons
How to Bake
Estimated bake & assembly time: 3 hours
Makes: 30-35 filled macarons
Best eaten within 5-7 days
“S’mores…the dessert that brings out the kid in everyone”
What’s in the box?
Cream of Tartar
Sugar
Gluten-Free Flour Mix
Chocolate Chips
Gluten-Free Graham Crackers
Swiss Meringue Mix
Kitchen Torch
Ingredients you’ll need:
100 g Egg Whites
66 g Egg Whites
1/4 Cup Heavy Cream ~ or ~ Non-Dairy Substitute
Equipment you’ll need:
Kitchen Scale
Mixer with Whisk Attachment
Fine Mesh Strainer
Half Sheet Pan
Heat-Safe Bowls
Spatula
Blender or Food Processor
Parchment Paper
Whisk
Piping Bags
Large Round Piping tip (Wilton #12 or Ateco #805)
Small round Piping tip (optional)
Toothpicks
Sauce Pan or Pot
Candy Thermometer
Butane
Tips & Tricks
Macarons
1
Start with room temperature egg whites. Leave your egg whites out on the counter for 30-60 minutes before starting your macarons. This will ensure that they form a stiff meringue.
Make sure that your mixing bowl and whisk attachment are free of any oils. To be safe, I always use a little lemon juice or vinegar to make sure they are clean before adding the egg whites. If there is any residual oils, your egg whites might not come to stiff peaks.
When piping out the macarons, make sure your piping tip and bag are completely vertical. Give slight pressure until the batter reaches the inner circle. Release pressure to stop the batter from leaving the tip, and pull the tip away in a tight circular motion.
You’ll need to allow the macarons to form a skin before baking to prevent uneven baking and cracks. This process creates the smooth tops and classic “foot” formation.
Chocolate Ganache
2
When making your ganache, let the chips sit in the warm cream covered for 5-10 minutes. This will help ensure that the chips have melted thoroughly. If they haven’t melted all of the way, you can microwave the ganache in 5 second intervals until smooth and shiny, stirring in between microwave blasts.
Swiss Meringue Filling
3
Again, make sure you’re using room temperature egg whites. Also, you’ll want to use a heat safe mixing bowl since you’ll cooking the egg whites over steam. I prefer stainless steel since the heat distribution is better and takes less time to cool down.
Piping Bags and Tips
4
You can either use reusable piping bags or single use piping bags. If you’re using reusable bags, you will need a Wilton #12 or Ateco #805 piping tip for the macaron shells, and Wilton #6 or a Ateco #802 piping tip for the Swiss meringue filling.
With the single use piping bags you can just cut the hole to the right size. 0.4 to 0.5 inches (10 to 12 mm) for macaron shells, and 0.2 inches (5 mm) for the filling.
No piping bags, not a problem! You can use a ziplock bag and cut the tip off to the size you need.
Kitchen Torch
5
To fill the kitchen torch with butane, first make sure you’re in a well ventilated area away from anything flammable. I like to do this outside for good measure.
Under the rubber foot, on the bottom of the torch is a small hole. Insert the tip of the butane canister and press in to fill the torch. This may take a minute or two since the butane reservoir in the torch is quite large.
Once filled, remove the tip and cover both the butane canister and the bottom of the kitchen torch with the rubber foot.
When torching the Swiss Meringue, be very careful to not burn yourself. You can adjust the level of the flame on the side of the torch. You’ll want to keep your macarons on the cookie sheet or another heat-safe dish.
You can find butane at your local hardware store or a supermarket.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Make the Macaron Meringue
1
Cream of Tartar
Sugar
100 g (about 3) egg whites, room temperature
Using your electric mixer with a whisk attachment, add 100g room temp egg whites to a mixing bowl and whisk on med-high until foamy. Once foamy add in cream of tartar.
Start to add in sugar a little at a time, allowing the sugar to fully incorporate between each addition. This should take a few minutes. Whisk until stiff peaks form.
Sift in Dry Ingredients
2
Gluten-Free Flour Mix
In a blender or food processor, add gluten-free flour mix and blend on high for 1-2 minutes. You may have to stir to loosen the flour from the bottom of the blender a few times. Once finely ground, sift half of the mixture into egg whites with a fine mesh strainer or sieve. Gently fold until mostly incorporated. Sift the remaining flour mixture into egg whites.
When fully mixed, the texture should resemble lava - thick, yet flowing like magma. You should be able to make a figure 8 before it reincorporates back into the batter.
Pipe out Macarons
3
Prepare your half sheet pan with either the provided macaron guide under some parchment paper, or a silicon macaron mat
Add your macaron batter in a piping bag with a 1/2 in hole or fitted with a 1/2 in piping tip. Pipe out macarons following the macaron guide. (see notes above for piping technique)
Once the batter is piped out, tap the half sheet pan on the counter to release the air bubbles trapped under the surface. You’ll need to tap it at least 3-5 times. Then use a toothpick to rupture any bubbles that appear on the surface of the cookies.
Allow the cookies to sit on the counter for 30-45 minutes until a skin has formed on the cookies. You’ll know they’re ready when you touch the cookie and the batter isn’t disturbed.
Preheat Oven to 300°
4
Preheat the oven to 300° and bake macarons for 13-15 minutes. The cookies are done when they don’t move on their “feet” when touched.
Allow cookies to cool completely on the sheet pan. They should be easy to remove after they have completely cooled.
Make Chocolate Ganache
5
Chocolate Chips
1/4 cup heavy cream
Add your chocolate chips into a heat safe bowl. Warm heavy cream either in the microwave (30 seconds) or on the stove to at least 100°. Pour cream over chocolate chips and allow to sit covered for 5-10 minutes. Stir until smooth and shiny.
Decorate Tops of Macarons
6
GF Graham Crackers
Chocolate Ganache
Pair your macaron shells with like-sized macaron shells. Take one out of the pair and coat it with a thin layer of the chocolate ganache you made in the last step. Repeat this step until half of all of the macaron shells are coated with chocolate ganache.
Crush the gluten-free graham crackers and sprinkle the tops of the chocolate ganache with the crumbs.
Make the Swiss Meringue
7
Swiss Meringue Mix
66 g (about 2) egg whites, room temperature
In a pot, add 2-3 inches of water and bring to a simmer.
In a heat-safe bowl, mix together egg whites and Swiss Meringue Mix. Place bowl over the simmering water, making sure that it doesn’t actually touch the water. Whisk egg mixture continuously until it reaches 160° or has doubled in volume and has lightened in color.
Once it’s reached the right temperature, use the mixer and whisk attachment to whisk the mixture to stiff peaks. Start on a lower speed and gradually increase the speed to high. Whisk until the bowl comes back down to room temperature and the egg whites have reached a stiff peak.
Assemble the Macarons
8
Swiss meringue & Chocolate ganache
Add the Swiss meringue to a piping bag with 1/4 in hole or 1/4 tip. Pipe out a circle of meringue on the macaron shells that do not have chocolate ganache on them.
In the center of the meringue, add about 1/8 - 1/4 tsp of the remaining chocolate ganache you used to coat the macaron shells.
Use the provided kitchen torch to toast the meringue to give it that classic toasted s’more flavor!
Top each filled macaron with the coated macaron shell. Once assembled, allow the macarons to sit in the fridge for 12-24 hours to cure.
