Oreo Macarons
Happy Macaron Monday! Today I wanted to share my take on oreo macarons.
There are many oreo macarons out there. Many recipes fall into two fields: one with oreo crumbs in the macaron shell or ones without the oreo crumbs.
I’ve tried both ways and I ended up liking the plain old french macaron shell. The flavor of the oreo crumbs is overpowered by the almond flour and the crumbs turn the macarons with potentially lumpy shells.
There’s nothing wrong with grey macarons. For cookies and cream, a grey shell could work. However when I think of an oreo macaron, I think of the bright sharp contrast between the bright white frosting and the dark cookies. I wanted to play off of the stark black and white contrast.
In my previous french macaron post, I used Bouchon Bakery’s recipe for French macarons. Though it is a lovely recipe, I think I found a different go-to recipe. This versatile recipe from Les Petite Macarons is a no fail recipe and I’ve used it 5 times (and counting). I stuck to the Italian meringue method and it yields the most consistent macarons and decreases the chances for missteps in technique.
I garnished the white shells of the oreo macarons with finely ground oreo crumbs. The dark cookie shines in the filling. To prevent the macaron from being too sweet, I opted for a cream cheese based filling. I hate dragging out equipment but sadly a food processor is needed. Having evenly ground crumbs makes for easier piping (big crumbs with clog the piping tip) and even consistency (macarons are about even consistency). I know traditionalist will say that food dye should be used minimally but I used gel dye in the shells and in the oreo macaron filling.
These inside-out oreo macarons are a great French take on a classic American sandwich cookie!
- 165 grams almond flour
- 165 grams powdered sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 150 grams granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 115 grams aged egg whites (approximately from 3 to 4 extra large eggs)
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- white food coloring
- oreo crumbs, finely ground for garnish (approximately 5 to 6 cookies)
- 8 ounces (1 package) cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 3 to 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 to ¼ cups finely ground oreo crumbs
- black food coloring gel
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper set aside. Fit a piping bag with a #3 or #5 tip place it in a tall glass, set aside.
- In a food processor combine the almond flour, powdered sugar, and salt and pulse for 4 to 8 seconds for 3 times. To ensure consistent texture, scrape down the sides and bottom of the food processor's bowl. Sift these dry ingredients TWICE into a large bowl. Set aside.
- Combine the granulated sugar and water in a small sauce pan over a medium-high heat. Clip on a candy thermometer to monitor the temperature. Stir the mixture gently around to dissolve the sugar.
- While the sugar syrup is heating up, start whipping the egg whites and cream of tartar in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whip on a medium speed until medium peaks form, about 2 to 3 minutes. If the syrup isn't ready, lower the mixer's speed to keep the egg whites aerated.
- When the candy thermometer reads 230 degrees F, add your food coloring. Cook until the thermometer reads 235 degrees F. Remove from heat.
- Turn the mixer speed back to medium. Place the saucepan on the very edge of the mixing bowl's side. You do not want the hot syrup to come in contact with the actual moving whisk (you'll have hot syrup fly everywhere). Slowly and steadily stream the hot syrup mixture into the egg whites. Raise the speed to medium-high and whip until stiff peaks form and the meringue is glossy and lukewarm in temperature, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- In the bowl of the dry ingredients, form a well in the center of the bowl. Spoon ⅓rd of the meringue into the center and briskly stir the meringue into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula moving in a circular motion. Once the dry ingredients are mostly wet, add the rest of the meringue, folding it with a stroking motion as if you were folding egg whites into a cake batter. The consistency of the batter should be the consistency of lava.
- Put into the already set up piping bag. Using a template or free-form, pipe the shells evenly onto the parchment lined baking sheets. Once piped lift and 'tap' or 'drop' the baking sheets onto the counter, leasing the air bubbles. Do this 3 to 4 sets each 3 to 4 times, rotating the pan each time.
- Let the macaron batter set so it is not sticky to the touch, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
- Bake macarons to dry the shells for 15 minutes, rotating halfway.
- With the macarons in the oven, raise the temperature to 350 and bake the shells until feet develop and they're able to lift off of the parchment, about 9 to 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, let it rest for 5 minutes before transferring the macarons to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Beat the cream cheese and butter on a medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the vanilla and salt. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- On the lowest speed slowly add the powdered sugar. Scrape down the bowl again and then add the oreo crumbs and black gel.
- Once the macaron shells are completely cooled, sandwich the shells with the filling.
- The macarons should 'marinate' with the filling overnight before eating. It texture of the macaron will change and the shell and filling flavors will blend together better.