Sometimes an idea will come to me and I will feel compelled to make it right away. Today’s cookie project is one of those: Strawberry Macarons. Classic macarons are adorable but why make them in the same shape, regardless of the flavor? Could you imagine a world where butter cookies were only made round? Sounds odd, right? Then why should macarons be round? So let’s raise our glass of milk and toast to breaking the mold and trying new things. Delicious, sweet new things. Here is how to make Strawberry Macarons:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.
Over a large bowl, sift together almond flour and powdered sugar:

Add 2 egg whites and mix to form a paste. Set aside:

Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, whip 2 egg whites on medium speed to soft peaks.

In the meantime, in a small saucepan, cook 200g of sugar and 50g of water on medium heat and set a candy thermometer:

 Cook until the syrup reaches 245 degrees F:

With the mixer on medium speed, slowly pour in the syrup over your egg whites:

Then crank up to high speed and mix until the meringue turns super white and glossy, about 4 minutes:

Add red food coloring and mix to combine:

Spoon a quarter of the meringue over the almond paste mixture and stir to combine. Don’t worry about deflating any egg whites here. You are only loosening up the paste so it’s easier to mix with the rest of the meringue:

Once the mixture is uniform, add the rest of your meringue and fold until combined:

Spoon macaron batter into a piping bag fitted with a plain round tip, about 3/4″ wide. Pipe your macarons in the shape of strawberries on parchment-lined baking sheets:

I know, it doesn’t look like much at this stage. I tried piping a few different ways: in a triangle pattern, piping more on top and less for the bottom, etc. It didn’t make a huge difference. Do what feels right to you. Once piped, tap your baking sheet on your counter a couple of times to get rid of any air bubbles.

To turn these blobs into strawberries, add sesame seeds to half of your shells:

See? big difference already, right?

Bake for 15 minutes. The macarons should come off the parchment paper easily. Let them cool on the baking sheet:

Now for the final detail that will make all the difference. Pipe tiny little green leaves:

To assemble, spoon 1 tsp of jam between 2 macaron shells:

Refrigerate overnight so the 2 shells can merge with the jam.

Enjoy!!!