Pistachio macarons with vanilla raspberry and rhubarb jam

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I have my new favorite macarons and they are with pistachios! Not just because they are colorful and very attractive to look at, but I like how beautifully pistachios blend with almond flavor in a chewy cookie.

Now, these are particularly close to my heart as I have been making them just after my mixer broke down (making the batch of Jasmine macarons) and since there was no time to get a new one, these are truly hand made. All I can say is forget weight lifting in gym, if you want to get your arms muscled, just try beating egg whites for macarons a couple of times. I can guarantee you won’t be able to lift your arms for a couple of days and eventually your one arm will star looking double the size of another…

Right, back to the macarons. Though macarons are obviously a treat worth dyeing for in the taste department, it’s actually their look that keeps me making them for parties all the time. The variety of color combinations they can come in, makes them the perfect table decoration. Just add one plate or stand of macarons to the table and you’ll see, how much more sophisticated it will look.

With colors and of course taste in mind, I went for very bright and colorful macarons. Bright red and green for me screams spring, summer and fun! So go to have some fun and make them too.

Difficulty: moderate

Prep time: 30 min

Cook time: 20 min

Rest time: 24 hours

Pistachio macaron shells

Ingredients:

3 egg whites (I’ve measured 90 grams)

pinch of salt

35g granulated sugar

215 g powdered sugar

55g almond flour (after sifting)

60g grounded pistachios

green food coloring (powder)

a few extra pistachios for sprinkling

Process: The day before: separate the egg yolks from the whites, place the egg whites in the airtight container (or cover with foil) and leave on the kitchen counter for 24 hours.

Before making the batter: heat the oven to 100°C, place the almond flour with grounded pistachios on the baking parchment and dry in the oven for about 10-15 minutes. Then mix with the powdered sugar and sift again set aside.

Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites and beat them lightly until they start to foam. Add all the of the granulated sugar and beat t till you have a thick glossy mixture but don’t over beat it.

Add a 4-5 tablespoons of , pistachio, almond flour, powdered sugar mixture together with food coloring, mix with a few strokes to break down the meringue, then add the rest and mix gently with spatula until combined. Try to do this with about 10 strokes. Next, take a dough scraper and use it to mix until the right consistency, which is when the batter falling of the scraper and the formed “ribbons” are dissolving within a minute.

Pour the batter into the piping bag and pipe out rounds about 1.5-2 cm wide, sprinkle some chopped pistachios on top, then let them rest for 30 minutes to an hour for a skin to form. To check if the skin has formed, lightly tap on the macarons and if they no longer stick then they are ready (don’t forget to check the sides as well).

Bake the macarons in 170°C for about 15-18 minutes. Ovens tend to be different, hence the baking time can vary, it’s always good to check after 15 minutes if more time is needed;

Vanilla strawberry and rhubarb jam

2 rhubarbs,

6-8 large strawberries

½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped out (you can also use the whole bean)

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 gelatin leaf (optional)

a pinch of red food coloring (optional)

Process: heat the oven to 200C.

Dice the rhubarb (cut in cube about the size of the nail), cut the strawberries in 4 pieces and add everything to the roasting tray.

Split the vanilla bean, scrape the seeds outs and mix them with sugar, then sprinkle everything on top of rhubarbs and strawberries.

Roast for 15-25 minutes in the oven. It will be ready when the rhubarb will mash easily with a fork.

Then pour everything into a blender and pulse a couple of times till you have a nice jam, or if you like your jam a bit more mushy just mash the rhubarb and strawberries with a fork.

Now, if you are not using the gelatin then you’re jam is ready. I added one for the macarons to hold their shape a little better, so:

Place the gelatin leaf in the ice cold water for about 5 minutes to soften, transfer the jam to a pan or pot and heat up. Remove the gelatin leaf from the water and squeeze the excess water then add to the hot jam and stir till dissolved. Let it cool completely before pipping on the macarons.

I was going for very contrasting colors here so added just a pinch of red food coloring to the jam to make it really red, but this can be skipped.

Once the macarons been sandwiched with the jam, place them in an airtight container in the fridge for at least 24 hours, to develop the texture.

Take them out of the fridge an hour or so before serving and try to be nice to others and not eat them all by yourself! 🙂