Lemon Macarons with Cream Cheese Filling Draft

Name: Lemon Macarons with Cream Cheese Filling
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 2 h 37 min
Yield: 30 1-inch sandwich cookies
Ingredients: 3 aged egg whites, at room temperature (100 g); ¼ cup sugar, preferably superfine (1/4 cup); 2 cups powdered sugar (about 2 cups); 1 cup almond flour (1 cup); 1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest; 3 drops natural food coloring; 8 oz full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature (1 tub); 1 lemon (juice and grated zest) (you can halve the juice, or add it gradually to taste); ⅓ cup powdered sugar (1/3 cup)

Small lemon-zest macarons sandwiched with a lemony cream cheese filling, which I fill an hour or two before serving.

Prep45 min
Cook12 min
Rest1 hr 40 min
Total2 hr 37 min
Makes30 1-inch sandwich cookies
KashrutDairy

What you need

Amount:30

Cookies

3 aged egg whites, at room temperature, 100 g
¼ cup sugar, preferably superfine, 1/4 cup
2 cups powdered sugar, about 2 cups
1 cup almond flour, 1 cup
1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
3 drops natural food coloring (optional)

Filling

8 oz full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature, 1 tub
1 lemon (juice and grated zest), you can halve the juice, or add it gradually to taste
⅓ cup powdered sugar, 1/3 cup

How I make it

Cookies

Weigh all the cookie ingredients.
Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar into a bowl, add the lemon zest and mix well.
Whip the egg whites with the superfine sugar to a firm meringue. Near the end, add the food coloring, if using, and keep whipping until blended in.
Add the almond mixture to the meringue in three additions, folding with a spatula after each one until the batter is even.
After the last addition, make sure no dry patches remain. As soon as the batter looks even, stop folding.
Transfer the batter to a piping bag with a plain ⅜-inch (1 cm) tip, or snip the bag to an opening that size.
Trace 1-inch (2.5 cm) circles on parchment paper using a template, then flip the paper onto the baking sheet so the drawing faces down but still shows through.
Pipe rounds of batter over the traced circles.
Let dry at room temperature for about 40 minutes.
Bake for 10-12 minutes in an oven preheated to 300°F (150°C).
Cool completely before peeling the cookies off the parchment.

Filling and assembly

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese with the lemon juice and zest until smooth and lump-free.
Sift in the powdered sugar and beat until incorporated.
Pipe or spoon about ½ tsp filling onto half the cookies and top each with a second cookie.
Wait 1-2 hours before serving.

What I've learned

Once filled, they keep in the fridge for a day or two at most.
Unfilled, the shells keep a long time in an airtight box, so I fill only what I need.

Source: ChefEf (chefef.com)