French Almond Macaron recipe?

[baknit]

I am looking for a French almond macaron recipe. Like the kind from Laduree.
How do they make the different flavors? I can understand adding cocoa/chocolate for chocolate macaron, but how about lemon or raspberry? Are they artificially colored and flavored?

[Mezzaluna]

I don't know how Laduree does it, but here's a recipe I used recently with delicious results. I used almond meal, which used unblanched almonds, but I've made it before with the blanched ones. I made some changes to the method for finishing them, though.

1 cup whole almonds (preferably blanched)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg white
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (or vanilla extract
Pinch salt


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly butter a baking sheet.


In a food processor pulse 1 cup almonds with granulated sugar until ground fine. Add egg white, almond extract, and a pinch salt and pulse until combined; or mix with a spoon. The "batter" will be a thick paste. Roll mixture into 16 balls, about 1 inch in diameter, and arrange about 2 inches apart on baking sheet lined with parchment paper..

Bake macaroons in middle of oven 10 minutes, or until pale golden. Allow to stand a minute or two, then transfer macaroons to a rack and cool completely. Macaroons keep 4 days in an airtight container at room temperature.

Note: Excellent and very easy! I used almond meal I had on hand and baker’s sugar.

When I used Splenda, I got a yield of 15 cookies. Be sure to press the balls down because they'll stay like little balls and not melt. (I'm working on how to get them to be more tender.)

[Anneke]

To flavour macarons, you have to use intense flavourings that won't weight down the mixture OR nothing at all. The idea is that the filling should be intensly flavoured to compensate when flavour cannot be incorporated in the cookie.

Coco powder for chocolate

Green colouring only for pistashio

Yellow colouring plus finely chopped zest for lemon.

Liquid coffee extract

Rose water and pink colouring for rose.

Etc.

[psyco6stringer]

Not too big on the pastry sides but have dabbled a bit . How about what you would use with candies ..not the extracts but the oils for flavors .as with the colors listen to Ann ..If I am wrong on the oils plz let me know still trying to wrestle pastry under the belt 1 mess up at a time lol.

[baknit]

Thanks to all of you who responded. I just came across a recipe in the Wednesday April 16th edition of the NY Times.

It calls for ground almonds and potato starch. can I substiture cornstarch for the potato starch?

[pepper]

at passover i substitute matzo cake meal for flour and it they turn out great. it's only 3 tablespoons flour though. how much potato starch do you need?