Matcha Green Tea Macarons

I’ve been keeping almond flour in my freezer for who knows how long. It’s been screaming, “make me into macarons!” for quite a while. A few weeks ago, while attending the Natural Products Expo West, I met representatives from Aiya USA at  who sent me home with a sample of cooking-grade matcha green tea to try out. Naturally, I thought, “green tea, almond… why not?”

So what is matcha? Basically, matcha is a high-quality powdered form of green tea. “Regular” tea leaves need to be steeped in water whereas with matcha, you’re pretty much consuming the whole leaf in powdered form. There have been many reported benefits to drinking steeped green tea. With matcha powder, you’re getting more of the nutrients since you’re not discarding the leaves.

Now on to macarons…

I have to admit, this is probably my best attempt at macarons. The first time was a huge FAIL.

The second time, though much more successful, wasn’t the “traditional” macaron and was shaped like little art palettes for a party. My “feet” weren’t as prominent but it didn’t crack as easily as the ones above.

Third time’s a charm, right?

For this batch, I used Martha Stewart’s recipe as a starting point and added the extra step of letting the macarons harden before putting them in the oven. The complete recipe is at the bottom of the post.

The ingredients are simple: confectioners’ (powdered) sugar, almond flour, egg whites, salt, and matcha green tea powder.

Mix the sugar, almond and matcha

To make even-sized macarons, dip a 1-1/2 inch round cookie cutter in flour and mark your parchment or baking mat. Spacing is not a huge issue.

You can fill these with Swiss meringue buttercream, chocolate ganache, jams… it’s up to you! I used a white chocolate ganache so that the filling wouldn’t overpower the delicate flavor of the matcha.

A PEEK INTO THE LIFE OF A BLOGGER…

So the the whole time I was making these, the kids were harassing me with, “When is done? Can I eat this?” and my answer is “No. don’t eat that. I have to take a picture first.” Then my husband sees the tray laying out and asks to eat some and I say, “You can have one.”

“Just one?”

“I still need to take a picture of the final product and I haven’t sandwiched them.
Well, okay. You can have more… but get the messed up ones. “

“They all look the same.”

“That one… it’s a little lopsided.”

“Sheesh.”

The story of my life for now. My family has to starve for a bit in the name of getting a good photo.

Print

Matcha Green Tea Macarons with White Chocolate Ganache

Almond macarons take on the delicate, verdant flavor of green tea.

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Author Making it Sweet (Melissa Hiatt) http://www.makingitsweet.com

Ingredients

Matcha Macaron Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1 tbsp cooking grade matcha green tea powder I used Aiya USA brand
• 3 large egg whites
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• OPTIONAL - All-purpose flour and a 1 1/2-inch round cutter

White Chocolate Ganache Ingredients

• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 6 oz. white chocolate chips or finely chopped

Instructions

For the macarons

1. Sift confectioners' sugar into a bowl. Whisk in almonds and matcha powder set aside. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpats (or similar baking mats). (Optional- To accurately make even-sized cookies, mark circles on the parchment or baking mat using a 1 1/2-inch cutter dipped in flour. )
2. Put egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed until foamy, then beat in salt. Slowly beat in granulated sugar until medium-soft peaks form.
3. Using a rubber spatula, fold half the almond mixture into the egg white mixture until just incorporated. Fold the res Firmly tap bottom of bowl on counter to eliminate air pockets.

4. Transfer mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip (such as Ateco #806). Pipe mixture into marked circles on prepared baking sheets.

5. Pre-heat oven to 300°F. Allow the unbaked cookies to sit for 30 minutes to harden the tops while pre-heating.

6. Bake 20-25 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through, until macarons are slightly firm and can be gently lifted off parchment (bottoms will be dry). Let cool on sheets 5 minutes. Transfer macarons on parchment to a wire rack; let cool completely.

7. Spread the bottom of one cookie with white chocolate ganache and sandwich with another cookie.

For the ganache

1. Place white chocolate in a heat proof bowl
2. Heat heavy cream until just boiling
3. Immediately pour over chocolate and stir until smooth
4. Allow to cool to your desired consistency before using.

Recipe Notes

You can store the sandwiched macarons refrigerated in an airtight container for up to two weeks. They can also be frozen for longer.

Adapted from Martha Stewart's French Almond Macaron