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French macarons in Albuquerque?

Has anyone found a place in Albuquerque that regularly makes French macarons? Any leads are greatly appreciated!

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Nobhill Resident on June 11, 2010 at 5:46am

You are welcome. I like a lemoned pastry creme as a filling.

One thing, I don't recommend is using a silpat or similar silicone liner in the pan, the parchment ( not wax paper ) is important.

The biggest problem with ground almonds are several fold ( no pun intended ). Getting them the correct fineness, the water content and freshness of the almonds themselves, and proper balance of moisture in the egg-whites against the water content of the ground almonds.

I will not claim they are exactly like the classic but they are full proof as long as you don't use too much sugar and measure ( weigh ) the flour. Some have tried mixing cake and all purpose flour to reduce the active structure plain flour gives to match the ground almond texture ... it's a matter of your personal expectations

There is also a coconut macaroon cookie recipe from Gilchrist. The key here is "fresh" coconut rather than the typical packaged coconut ( packaged is a disaster ) and some what larger shreds in the mix. This recipe lacks sugar so the "sweetened" condensed milk is a must! Be sure the edges of the shreds show definite "browning". Greasing the cookie sheet or parchment is essential. The question is what is "grease", it needs to be very neutral, personally I pick unsalted butter ( lightly ) on the parchment paper. The recipe doesn't call for sugar but "sweetened" coconut is common in packages, adding an 1/8 cup of sugar is probably a good idea if you are grating your own coconut.

http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/christmas/cookie-recipes/gilchri...

Permalink Reply by chantal on June 11, 2010 at 7:10am