Coffee and Baileys Macarons

Baking temperature: 200º F; 350º F
Baking time: 15 minutes; 9 minutes
Yield: 24

Ingredients

Macaron Shell:

• 1 ¾ cups almond flour
• 1 ⅓ cups powdered sugar
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup aged egg whites
• 2 ½ tsp. espresso powder
• 2 tsp. cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. cream of tartar

Filling:

• 1 Valencia orange peel in candied form
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar and
• ½ cup water needed to make candied orange peel
• 1 ⅛ cup milk chocolate chips
• 3.5 oz. heavy cream
• 2 oz. Baileys Irish Cream

Instructions

Candied Orange Peel:

1. First wash one Valencia orange
2. Quarter and peel orange
3. Cut orange peel into thin strips
4. Boil pot of water and add strips of orange peel and let boil for 5 minutes
5. Strain out orange peel strips and rinse under cold water
6. Repeat steps four and five
7. Dissolve ⅓ cup of granulated sugar in ½ cup of water in a pot
8. Add strips of orange peel into sugar water and simmer for 30 minutes (uncovered)
9. Strain out the orange strips to dry on cooling rack
10. Once cool chop candied orange peels into smaller pieces and set aside

Filling:

1. Slowly bring 3.5 oz. of heavy cream to a boil.
2. Pour heavy cream over 1 ⅛ cup of milk chocolate chips
3. Slowly stir mixture of heavy cream and milk chocolate chips until thor- oughly mixed
4. Add 2 oz. of Baileys Irish Cream and thoroughly mix
5. Pour mixture into zip lock bag, add chopped candied orange peel and place into refrigerator to firm

Macaron Shell:

1. Line baking sheets with a silicone baking mat
2. Place almond flour, powdered sugar, cocoa powder and espresso powder in a food processor for 3 seconds and set aside
3. Pour almond flour, powdered sugar, cocoa powder and espresso powder into a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl and strain
4. Pour aged egg whites, and cream of tartar in a bowl and mix with a hand-held electric mixer on a medium speed until the aged egg whites become frothy. Slowly add ¾ cup granulated sugar while mixing until the meringue is glossy and forms stiff peaks (about 10 min.). Once the meringue reaches stiff peaks, the whisk will leave marks in the meringue as it spins in the bowl and will look like marshmallow fluff. The meringue is ready when you can turn the upside down and the meringue does not slip in the bowl
5. With a spatula quickly fold the sifted dry ingredients (almond flour, powdered sugar, cocoa powder and espresso powder) into the meringue and mix until homogeneous.
6. Scoop the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a ½ inch round tip and fill the bag halfway with the batter.
7. Pipe the meringue on the silicone mat into quarter-size mounds, 1 ½ inches apart from each other (do not move the bag while squeezing out the batter).
8. After piping, firmly slam the baking sheets down to remove excess air (and piping tails).
9. Set the shells aside for 30 minutes and preheat the oven for 200° F.
10. Bake the macarons for 15 minutes to dry out the shells.
11. Increase the oven temperature to 350° F and bake for additional 9 minutes the oven will not truly be 350° F when the temperature is raised since it’ll take several minutes to reach that temperature, but the increase in heat is enough to bake the shells.
12. Remove the shells from the oven, slide the silicone mat onto a cooling rack, and let the shells cool completely for one hour.
13. Remove cooled shells from silicone mat.
14. Take filling out of the refrigerator and spoon half the shells in mounds ½ inch high, leaving ¼ inch to the edges.
15. Place another shell of matching size flat-side down onto the filling to make a sandwich and twist lightly to secure.
16. The macarons are ready to be served or can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.