Macaron Manufactory, Part the Second

Macarons are fantastically impressive and wonderfully versatile. Given a basic recipe and method, the possibilities are endless. Without too much difficulty, Toad and I produced several variations during our baking blowout, including Meyer lemon with white chocolate; pistachio with bittersweet chocolate, and almond with Grand Marnier.

A common perception seems to be that they cannot be produced satisfactorily by the home cook and it's true that they are extremely temperamental. Toad and I made three batches of macarons (six half-batches, actually) and probably only 65% of them were successful in every agreed-upon detail. Macarons are mysterious.

So what makes a successful macaron? Putting aside the issue of crunch vs. chew (see Part the First) there are several undeniable attributes shared by all proper examples of the species:

• The pied. The little crinkly layer at the base of each meringue is what makes a macaron authentic. Otherwise, it just looks like a gaily-colored whoopie pie.
• The finish. A good macaron is glossy and smooth. There should be no cracked surfaces on the meringues or (horrors) nipples where the piping bag was pulled away. The footprint should be perfectly round, although its ideal size is a matter of some debate.
• Flavor. A macaron should be delicate and have the aroma and taste of almonds or (in our case) pistachios. Additional flavors are welcome, but should be used sparingly so as not to compromise the cake's essential essence.

Here then, is how Toad and I made our most successful macarons. Some of these steps are controversial and we left out a few deemed by others to be gospel. What can I say? It worked for us when we did it right. We used as our basic source Hisako Ogita's I Heart Macarons, but made a few fundamental changes to the recipe along the way.

Macarons

• 3 oz ground almonds or pistachios (or a mixture, even)
• 5 oz powdered sugar
• 3 egg whites, room temp
• 5 Tblsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• optional flavoring (for example, we used the grated rind of one Meyer lemon for half a batch, but you could add anything you like: cocoa powder, finely ground coffee, cinnamon - go insane!)
• optional food coloring (macarons can be all the colors of the rainbow - or even colors that are not seen in nature)
• optional bits for the tops (finely chopped nuts or cocoa nibs, for example, or sesame seeds, black pepper, grated peel, or a sprinkle of nutmeg or cinnamon depending on the the season - half the fun is thinking up new combos of deliciousness. This Thanksgiving, I'm considering pumpkin and candied pecan macarons as a gluten-free alternative to pumpkin pie)

Preheat your oven to 300 deg F and prepare your gear. Line baking pans with silicon parchment paper and mark out circles to guide you later on (if your meringues aren't all the same size, sandwich-making becomes a challenge). I use a Sharpie and a round cookie cutter on the wrong side of the paper - bitter experience has taught that permanent marker does, in fact, transfer to egg whites. Circles of between 1 and 3 inches work well: I like my macarons on the large side, but that's the kind of girl I am. This recipe makes about 35 halves if they're smallish. Place each pan inside another one for insulation (this is key! we forgot to do this on one batch and had no pieds at all - it was tragic). Make sure you have a piping bag ready to go: I don't bother with a tip, since I find that the round nozzle all by itself is a good size for macaron production.

Sift together the ground almonds/pistachios and powdered sugar. Twice is good - you don't want to do it too many times or the oils in the nuts start to come to the surface, which makes for splotchy meringues.

Whip up your egg whites until they're frothy and start to turn white. Add the granulated sugar, beating like a demented person the whole time. You are going for very shiny, stiff peaks and will be at it a while. I don't use my standmixer for this - I know others do with excellent results but I prefer my electric handmixer for egg whites. Always have.

When you have meringue, beat in the vanilla plus any flavors (to taste) or colors (by eye). Then proceed to fold in your nut/sugar mixture in two or three batches. You want it very well incorporated, but you don't want to over-work the mixture. I think this is the trickiest part. Too little mixing and you can get a dull finish on your finished meringues; too much and the batter becomes thin and won't hold its shape. Practice makes perfect.

Glop the mixture into your piping bag and go to work filling in your prepared circles. Hopefully, the batter isn't too runny and doesn't go all over the place (if it does, you can bake it up anyway and crush the result over ice cream) although it will spread a little bit. Make sure to smooth each shape out with a damp finger, or you will be rewarded with rather obscene-looking macarons that won't stack properly (again, this is experience talking). At this point, you can also sprinkle your bits on top.

When all your circles are filled, rap the baking sheet - hard - against the table. Ogita-san maintains this is the essential step for pied-production and I would not dare to doubt her.

Then let the meringues sit for at least fifteen minutes so they can dry out a bit on top. They should not be at all sticky when you put them in the oven, but have a sort of thin crust overall. You might have to wait half an hour if it's raining out or blow a fan on them in summertime. This is one of the reasons I do not make macarons in hot or humid weather.

Into the oven for 15-20 minutes, more if the macarons are big. They should be completely dry when baked and not wobble on their pieds when you gingerly agitate them between thumb and forefinger. Again, some people like theirs on the sticky side, others prefer them crispy all the way through. Totally up to you - but they must be sufficiently cooked so that when you remove them from the paper, they don't leave their insides behind.

When you judge you macarons fully baked, transfer them to racks to cool. It's easiest if you just slide the whole paper right off the pan and onto the rack, removing them from the paper when they are stone cold. Match up halves that are roughly the same size and fill them with whatever you like: we flavored buttercream three different ways and were content, but you could also use preserves, sweet chestnut paste, or chocolate ganache - anything spreadable would probably work. I have provided one of Julia Child's classic buttercream recipes elsewhere together with the only way to make lemon curd - also fantastic in macarons.

Macarons last about a week in the fridge as long they are sealed up tight - but they are rarely around that long. They are optimal after about two days, when the filling and the meringue melt together and become one. Magnifique!