Baymax Macarons

I’ve always been intimated by shaped macarons. If you look back on my archives, they’re mostly round with details added to them. But recently, I made Hello Kitty macarons and I learned that it is quite easy to do as long as you use a smaller piping tip. The key is understanding that macaron batter is not like frosting, it moves and doesn’t make crisp lines without help.
As you know, I have made Baymax macarons before, but never posted a tutorial on it. So this time, I added tiny hands to make it a little more dimensional and fun. I think that if you’ve made macaron batter before, then this is possibly the easiest shaped macaron you can do.
These were filled with black sesame frosting which was quite interesting, and have their own post coming up. But before I post that one,  I have an amazing chocolate banana bread recipe I want to share. So there is something to look forward to soon!

Baymax Macarons

You will need:

1 batch of basic macaron batter (recipe below)
frosting
edible black marker
wilton decorating tip, #2 (or any tiny round tip)
½ inch round decorating tip

Instructions:

1. Prepare two piping bags each fitted with the ½ inch round tip and the #2 tip.
2. Divide ⅞ of the batter into the ½ inch round tip bag and ⅛ of the batter into the #2 tip bag.
3. On a baking sheet lined with a macaron template and parchment paper, pipe rounds of macarons as you usually would with the ½ inch round tip bag. (as shown in picture #1)
4. Let the macarons set until dry, about 20 minutes. Then pipe tiny rounds on the bottom half of the macaron circles forming hands with the #2 tip bag. (as shown in picture #2)
5. Bake macarons as usual. (as shown in picture #3)
6. Once cool, find a match for each macaron sandwich. Sometimes the hands will not line up perfectly, that is okay.
7. Using an edible marker, make two dots and a line in the middle forming Baymax’s face. (as shown in picture #4)
8. Fill each half with frosting and sandwich together.
9. Enjoy

Basic Macaron Batter

Ingredients:

212 g. almond meal (aka almond flour)
212 g. powdered sugar
172 g. egg whites, divided to 82 g. and 90 g (aged, if possible)
236 g. sugar
158 g. water

Instructions:

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
2. In the bowl of a food processor, add the almond meal and powdered sugar and pulse until thoroughly combined.
3. Sift the mixture over a large mixing bowl, throwing out the lumps as they appear.  Add 82 g. of the egg whites and stir until you get a thick mixture.
4. In a small pot attached with a candy thermometer, combine the sugar and water over medium heat and boil until the syrup reaches 200˚F.
5. Once the syrup reaches 200˚F, start whipping the remaining 90 g. in the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment on medium speed until soft peaks are reached.
6. Once the syrup reaches 248 ˚F, remove the pot off the burner and slowly pour the syrup down the side of the mixing bowl with the egg whites on medium speed.
7. Once the egg whites are fully incorporated, increase the speed to medium high until egg whites form glossy, stiff peaks.
8. Mix a ⅓ of the egg white mix to the almond mixture and stir together until the batter is slightly lighter and less pasty.  From then on, fold in ⅓ of the egg white mixture at a time until the mixture “flows like magma”.  The mixture should be smooth and run thick ribbons off the spatula.
9. With a pastry bag fitted with a ½ in. plain tip, pipe 1¼ – 1½ in. rounds.
10. The piped batter may have peaks but should smooth away in a minute or two.
11. Let the batter stand until the tops of the macarons are dry to the touch, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
12. Preheat the oven to 325-350˚F.  If your oven tends to run hot go for 325˚F, if not then 350˚F.
13. Lower the heat to from 350˚F to 300˚F. (If starting from 325˚F, lower to 275˚F.)
14. Bake 10-12 minutes, until the feet are formed and the tops are smooth.  The macaron shell is done when you slightly wiggle it and it starts to come off of the parchment paper / silicone mat.
15. Remove pan from oven and reheat oven to higher temperature for 10 minutes before baking the next tray, lowering the temperature when you start baking it.
16. Continue until you bake all of the macaron shells.