French Licorice Macarons

Note it’s best if the ganache is allowed to refrigerate for several hours; so plan ahead.

Start by lining 3-4 baking sheets with silicone baking mats (you can use baking parchment but I find silicone mats to be the best). You can use a macaron template but it’s actually easier to just put your silicone mat over a template and use it for measuring to get them the same sizes. On my template I drew small disks about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.

In a bowl sift almond flour, licorice powder and confectioners’ sugar. Set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, mix the regular sugar with the egg whites, and beat until fluffy and glossy and it can hold a soft peak. This takes a few minutes. Add a few drops of black food color.

Now quickly fold (about 30 strokes) the almond flour mixture into the egg whites. Don’t worry about knocking the air out of the meringue. It is a part of the process, to make the batter more runny. Test the batter on a baking sheet to see if it flattens immediately or holds a peak. If a peak holds, fold the batter gently a few more times and test again.

Spoon the batter into a pastry bag with a plain round tip and pipe them out onto the silicone baking mat in small disks about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.

Firmly tap the baking sheets twice against the counter to release any air bubbles.

Let the piped cookies stand out at room temperature until they form a “hard skin” on the top and you gently can tap them without leaving marks on them. Preheat oven to 285 F.

Bake the macarons in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Cool completely before you gently remove them and add the filling.

For the licorice ganache:

Melt the white chocolate chips in a bowl in the microwave, stirring every 10 seconds and continuing to heat and stir until melted.

In a pot, bring the whipping cream and licorice powder to a gentle boil then immediately remove it from the heat. Be careful and make sure it doesn’t burn!

Add the hot whipping cream gently and slowly into the chocolate and stir. Then allow it to stiffen in the refrigerator for a few hours.

Use a pastry bag to pipe some of the ganache on the bottom of a macaron. Top with a matching macaron. Repeat until all the sandwiches are made.

Use a little silver pearl dust to add the final touch. Enjoy!

They only get better after a few days in an airtight container in the fridge. If they even last that long!