I can’t believe I perfected this. Is perfect too strong of a word? I think I can say that when I’ve worked and tested a recipe multiple times to get the right recipe down to share. And EUREKA! I’ve done it. It’s all pumpkin errrythang season and I’ve made pumpkin bread and will be making pumpkin creme brûlées for thanksgiving.
Pumpkin spices. Did you know you could just make your own? With stuff you probably already have in your spice cabinet?
The pumpkin spice shells were a no brainer. Making a worthy filling was the hard part. Ganache will always be the right consistency. I promise. This will be the base for all my macarons now. Sorry if you don’t like chocolate!
Pumpkin Spice Macarons
Ingredients
For Filling:
5 1/4 oz of baker’s white chocolate
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1/4 cup cold heavy cream
1/3 cup Libby’s pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the shells:
110gm sliced blanched almonds
200gm powdered sugar (then subtract 2 TBSP)
1 TBSP ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
3 egg whites (approximately 90 gms) aged at room temperature for 24 hours
25gm granulated sugar
Directions:
Melt and stir chocolate and butter over a double boiler until completely mixed. Should be warm to the touch. Transfer to a tall plastic container that would be good for an immersion blender.
Warm corn syrup in the microwave for 10 seconds. Add to the chocolate mixture. Blend with immersion blender for a minute or so. While still blending stream in cold cream. Misture should become shiny and smooth.
Add the pumpkin puree, cinnamon and salt. Blend until well mixed. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
For Shells
In a food processor, grind almonds and powdered sugar until the almonds are a fine powder. Add the spices. Pulse until well mixed. Pour the dry mix through a fine mesh sieve and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip eggs until frothy. Then slowly add sugar while the eggs are still whipping. Whip until stiff peaks form. Do not over beat. Gently add the dry ingredients to the egg whites. Fold the dry ingredients in approximately 50 strokes. Batter should flow like lava. Do not over mix.
Put the batter into a piping bag, and pipe one inch circles on a silpat/parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Tap the pan a couple times to help level the tops. Let rest for 30-45 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 300F. Bake the shells for 10-15 minutes (check so it doesn’t burn!) with the door of the oven propped with a wooden spoon.
Allow to cool completely before trying to take it off the mat/paper. When cool, match up the shells by size.
Take the ganache out the refrigerator and spoon into a piping bag. Pipe on one shell and top with the other. Voila!
