Ask A Minnesota Expert: Making The Best Macaroon

The French Macaron is a heavenly dessert, a meringue cookie with a delicately baked crispy thin shell that is moist and chewy inside. Once sandwiched with luscious buttercream or creamy ganache, these little bites of heaven are addicting. Laurie Lin, co-owner of Cocoa & Fig, says, "French Macarons are our most popular selling pastry, especially the salted caramel flavor." Laurie's expertise comes from attending the Culinary Institute of America and working for renowned chef Thomas Keller at his Bouchon Bakery in Yountville, California. Laurie and her team at Cocoa & Fig make macarons in a wide variety of flavors including vanilla bean, raspberry, lemon, pistachio, chocolate, strawberry, hazelnut, coconut, blackberry, coffee, strawberry balsamic, lemon blueberry and, of course, the salted caramel.

Laurie Lin
Cocoa and Fig
Gaviidae Common
Skyway Level
651 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN 55402
(612) 333-1485
www.cocoaandfig.com

Laurie has loved cooking and baking since as far back as she can remember. She studied Psychology at Tufts University and had a brief stint as a preschool teacher before following her passion into the kitchen. That move proved so successful that she now co-owns Cocoa & Fig, a boutique bake shop and dessert catering company, with her husband, Joe Lin. Their original catering kitchen space in Shakopee also supplies two retail outlets, one at Gaviidae Common in downtown Minneapolis and the other at Yorkdale Shoppes in Edina. Here are Laurie's secrets to French Macaron success.

Secret One: Aged Egg Whites Are Better Than Fresh

Laurie and her crew separate the yolks from the whites and let the whites sit in a container in the refrigerator for about five days before using them. This yields a better meringue, which is essential for good macarons. Avoid buying egg whites sold in cartons at the grocery store. These whites have been pasteurized and yield a less fluffy meringue.

Secret Two: Sift, Sift, Sift

We run our almond flour and powdered sugar through the food processor before sifting it for a super fine texture.

Large pieces of almond or lumps in your powdered sugar will result in less than perfect macarons and frustration while piping.

Secret Three: Perfect Your Mixing Technique

Once you have a glossy meringue, take care with mixing in your dry ingredients. Mix too little and your macarons will be lumpy and stiff. Mix too much and your macarons will be misshapen and thin. We mix our batter using a bowl scraper because we find it gives us more control than a rubber spatula. When the mixture is mixed properly, it should flow like lava.

Secret Four: Pipe Perfect Circles

A piping bag fitted with a round tip is essential for making perfectly round macaron shells. To ensure all your shells are the same size, trace circles onto parchment paper and place a second piece of parchment paper over the stencil on your baking sheet. Pipe your batter to just inside the line of the circle, as the batter will spread slightly as it sits. Tap the baking sheet on the counter to encourage any air bubbles trapped in the shell to pop.

Secret Five: Macarons Need Time To Mature.

Once your shells are sandwiched, place them in an airtight container and refrigerate them for at least 48 hours before enjoying. During this maturation, moisture from the buttercream or ganache filling will soften the macaron shell ever so slightly resulting in the characteristically crisp outside yet chewy inside.

Robin Johnson was born in Annandale, Minn. and graduated from Richfield High School and then the University of Minnesota where he studied Political Science, Business and Industrial Relations. A writer for Examiner.com, he also consults with a variety of organizations and individuals helping them develop and grow. His work can be found at Examiner.com.