Easy Jam Macaroons Recipes

FIRST-PLACE COCONUT MACAROONS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the coconut, sugar, flour and salt. Add egg whites and vanilla; mix well., Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 325° for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

PEANUT BUTTER-JAM MACARONS

Steps:

• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a small cookie cutter or drinking glass to trace thirty 1 1/2 -inch circles in rows on the paper, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Flip the paper over (you'll still be able to see the marks through the paper). Finely grind the peanuts in a food processor. Add the almond flour and confectioners' sugar and pulse to make a fine powder. Sift twice through a fine sieve; discard any chunks. Beat the egg whites in a bowl with a mixer on high speed until foamy. Gradually add the granulated sugar and beat until soft peaks form. Add the vanilla and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold in half of the peanut mixture with a rubber spatula. Repeat with the remaining peanut mixture. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag with a 1/4 -inch round tip. Holding the bag perpendicular to the baking sheet, pipe mounds of batter into the traced circles on the parchment paper. Tap the baking sheets against the counter to help the batter settle. Let sit at room temperature until the tops are slightly crusty, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the macarons until slightly crisp, 13 to 15 minutes. Slide the parchment paper with the macarons onto a rack to cool. Carefully remove the macarons from the parchment paper. Spread 1 teaspoon jam on the flat side of a macaron; top with another macaron, flat side down. Repeat with the remaining macarons and jam. (These are best eaten within 1 day.)

JAM-FILLED ALMOND MACARONS

Steps:

• A camera-ready macaron has a smooth top and the coveted "foot": a lacy ring around the bottom. But macarons are tres temperamental. These detailed directions - and practice - will guide you to macaron success. If your first batch is less than perfect, savor your macarons in all their crispy chewy glory, and try again.
• Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a small glass or cookie cutter (1 1/4- to 1 1/2-inch wide), trace 15 circles on each piece of parchment, leaving about 2 inches between each round. Flip the parchment over; the lines will be visible through the paper but you will not have to pipe directly onto the ink. Fit a pastry bag with a round tip about 1/4 inch wide.
• Sift the confectioners' sugar and ground almonds into a bowl and discard any larger nut chunks. (If you have more than a tablespoon of bigger chunks, grind those until powdery and then resift.) Combine the egg whites and salt in a large bowl and whip on medium-low speed with an electric mixer until frothy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the granulated sugar, increase the speed to medium-high and whip until very soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the almond extract and a few drops of food coloring (if using); a little goes a long way so add with caution. Whip until stiff peaks form, 3 to 5 minutes. Fold about one-third of the sugar-nut mixture into the egg whites until blended, and then carefully fold in the remaining two-thirds. The batter should be a bit fluid but not runny. It should slowly drip off the spatula and sit on top of the batter in the bowl for a bit before eventually oozing back into it. If it seems a bit stiff at this point, fold once or twice more until it relaxes, although be careful not to over-fold. This correct texture is the key to the macaron and it is better to have a stiffer batter than a looser one.
• Transfer the batter to the prepared pastry bag. Holding the bag perpendicular over the baking sheet, squeeze until the batter fills a circle drawn on the paper. Release the pressure on the bag and pull towards you to prevent a pointy tip on the center of the cookie. Repeat with the remaining circles. Gently flatten any points on the cookies with a damp fingertip.
• Firmly rap the baking sheets against the counter to release any air bubbles and let stand at room temperature until the tops of the cookies no longer feel wet, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Bake, one sheet at a time, until the macarons are slightly crisp, about 15 minutes. Rotate the sheet halfway through for even baking. Cool the cookies on the sheets 5 minutes, and then peel them off the paper and cool completely on a rack. To assemble the cookies, spread a thin layer of the preserves on the bottoms of half of the cookies, about 1/4 teaspoon per cookie. Top with a second cookie, gently pressing to squeeze the preserves to the rims.
• From Food Network Kitchen