Peppermint Macaroons

150g egg whites - left at roomtemperature for 48 hours (No worries, as eggwhite has natural anti-bacterial properties) - 45g caster sugar - 190g ground almonds - 300g confectioners sugar - 30g finely chopped chocolate chips - a pinch of salt. - Aprox. 40 pieces (20 sandwich-macaroons)


Prepare bakingsheets: Mark circles using a 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter dipped in flour.


Sift confectioners sugar twice and mix with the finely ground almonds. Add the chopped chocolate an mix well.


Mix the eggwhite just foamy and add the caster sugar a little at a time on medium speed. On high speed, mix until the whites reaches a firm peak. With a spatula, fold in the dry ingredients until smooth. Tap the bowl a few times on the kithcen table, to make air-pockets burst. Put mixture in a piping bag.


Pipe the macaroons onto the prepared baking sheets. Leave them for 30-60 minutes for them to form a skin, check; If nothing sticks to your finger when touching, the macaroons are ready to bake.


Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degree celcious for about 12-15 minutes. It´s ok to put several baking sheets in the oven at the same time. When they´re done, slide the macaroons (still on the baking paper) off the baking sheets to cool off on the kitchentable.


Let the macaroons cool of completely before filling - after filling, refridgerate for 20 minutes so they´ll be nice and firm before serving.


Suitable fillings: Any buttercream or chocolate ganache. I used Wilton´s ready-to-use buttercream and added peppermint flavour.


Sprinkels: I chrushed a few christmas-canes and sprinkled on some of the macaroons, before they went into the oven, and that worked quite well.



TIP: Ladurée says to keep the macaroons stored for 2 days before eating, because that´s the time it takes to achieve a perfect balance between texture and flavour.... I´ll try that next time... :)