We can’t all afford Blair Waldorf’s fabulous clothes. But you CAN make some of her favorite French macarons (if you are patient enough).

These are different than (yummy) coconut blob macaroons. In fact, I am not entirely sure I had ever tasted one of this kind before. But they turned out surprisingly good, thanks to Tartelette, who is French and a macaron expert. (She has tons of different kinds of macarons on her blog, if these types don’t interest you)

The first thing you need to do is separate some eggs, stick them in the fridge and allow the egg whites to mature enough to handle the responsibility of becoming macarons. This will take 3-5 days. I did four large eggs and that was almost exactly enough for the shell part. You may want to do five, just in case. You need egg whites for the filling anyway. You can use the egg yolks for jam thumbprints or a Key lime pie.

Because these measurements are in grams, you will need a food scale for this recipe. The amount of egg whites is less than 1/2 cup, as you can see above. You should also allow them to come to room temperature before you start.

For those who don’t remember high school science: Turn on the scale and put the empty measuring vessel on it before any numbers appear. The scale should come to 0 with the cup sitting on it. Then add the egg whites, almonds or whatever a little at a time until you come to the right measurement. Make sure you use a container larger than 1 cup for the powdered sugar. And don’t combine the sugars. (I told you this required patience!)

I also recommend using a full-sized food processor for grinding/combining the almonds and powdered sugar. It is a little too much for the small one that come with the Ninja, so I got MORE powdered sugar everywhere. Sigh.

I attempted to use a pastry bag to pipe these… but either the tip I used was too small or I am just challenged, because that didn’t work at all. I ended up transferring all the batter to a large Ziploc bag and cut a hole in the bottom corner. So, it was about this time that I became quite certain that these were not going to turn out. But then…

they magically grew feet in the oven. That’s the part at the bottom that looks like a little ruffled skirt. I can’t even tell you how excited I was.

Yay! But… I still had to make the filling. Womp womp.

I may or may not have started a small fire while trying to simultaneously heat and whisk the egg whites (sorry, no photos of that). So I don’t think I heated/whisked the egg whites long enough, and the filling ended up a little runny. It did taste good, though.

I used small Ziploc bags to pipe the filling onto the cookie part. Also, a note from Tartelette: Don’t try to mix the candy cane pieces into the almond/meringue batter or sprinkle them over the cookies before baking. It will be very, very bad.

This recipe makes two types of macarons: Toby and I preferred the candy cane ones, but some of the people I work with preferred the eggnog. If you are partial to one, go ahead and make them all the same. Joyeux Noël!

Candy cane macarons and eggnog macarons
(Recipe by Tartelette)
Shells
90 grams egg whites (use remember to age them for 3 to 5 days in the fridge)
25 grams granulated sugar
200 grams powdered sugar
110 grams almonds (I used sliced, but you can use whatever kind you want)

Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whip the egg whites until foamy. Gradually add the sugar until you have a glossy meringue (it will look like shaving cream). Don’t overbeat the meringue.

Pulse the powdered sugar and almonds in a food processor until the nuts are finely ground. Add the nut mixture to the meringue and carefully fold the mixture together until you have, as Tartelette says, “a batter that falls back on itself after counting to 10.” Don’t over-mix it. Test a little on a plate – the top should flatten on its own. If it leaves a little point, fold that batter a little more.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Put the batter in a pastry bag with a plain (large) tip or a large Ziploc bag with a hole cut in one of the bottom corners, pipe little rounds (1- to 1.5-inches across) onto the lined baking sheets. Let the macarons sit for 30 minutes to an hour to allow the shells to harden a little.

Heat the oven to 280 degrees and bake the shells for 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool for a while, but remove them from the baking sheet while still a little warm (they’ll get soggy if you let them sit too long). If they are sticking, try picking the silicone mat up and bending it to get them to pop off. Or, if you used parchment paper, put a few drops of water under the paper while the sheet is still warm.

Filling
1/2 cup sugar
2 large egg whites
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Red food coloring
1/4 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
finely crushed candy canes (put them in a sturdy bag and crush them with a hammer)

Place the sugar and egg whites in a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (use the biggest bowl you can). Whisk constantly, keeping the mixture on the heat, until it feels hot to the touch – about 3 minutes. The sugar will be dissolved and the mixture will look like marshmallow fluff.

Pour it into a stand mixer or bowl and use the whisk attachment or an electric mixer to beat the mixture on medium speed until it cools and forms a thicky, shiny meringue (about 5 minutes). If using a stand mixer, switch to the paddle attachment and add the butter a tablespoon at a time, beating until smooth. Then beat the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and smooth, 6 to 10 minutes (I probably didn’t beat it long enough).

Divide the buttercream into two portions. Add a drop or two of red food coloring to one half and the cinnamon and nutmeg to the other.

Assemble the macarons: Lay the shells out on a plate. Pipe the pink buttercream onto 1/4 of the shells and eggnog-flavored buttercream onto another 1/4. Top the filled shells with empty shells. Roll the macaroons filled with pink buttercream in the crushed candy canes.