Homemade Mint Chocolate Chip Macarons

By the way, guess what I just discovered. If I wait a few weeks after I take my photos to edit them, I get way less emotional about it. It's kind of ridiculous, but I take like a hundred photos every time I photograph something. Then every time I delete one, trying to narrow it down the the few I'm actually going to show you guys, I just get so emotional about it. I'm practically in tears, apologizing to each photo as I send it to the trash.

Yesterday I was trying to edit a batch of photos of some chicken I made to post for you (I won't spoil the surprise of what exactly this chicken is, but suffice it to say that lots of cheese is involved), but I just couldn't. I was too emotionally attached to them.

Anyway, I decided to work on editing a few of the hundreds of pictures I have in the reserves instead, and I ended up finishing all of them. ALL OF THEM. I mean I probably went through 500 photos in the amount of time I would have taken to go through two of those chicken ones.

Anyway, this is all a complete distraction. The point is, I found these macarons in the reserves. They're really awesome and delicious and you will love them. They aren't too difficult either, so don't be scared. Just make them. I'll give you that chicken soon though, so stay tuned. Good day.

• Homemade Mint Chocolate Chip Macarons
• (adapted from The Proper Pinwheel)
• About a cup of almonds (or 2/3 cup almond meal)
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 large egg whites
• 5 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon mint extract
• a few drops of green food coloring
• 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
• (Filling recipe below)
• Preheat the panggangan to 280ºF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Grind the almonds in the food processor until coarse. Measure the ground almonds so that you have 2/3 cup. Add the powdered sugar to the 2/3 cup ground almonds and continue processing until fine. Sift through a fine mesh sieve.
• Beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the granulated sugar 1 tablespoon at a time until fully incorporated. Continue to beat the egg white mixture until glossy and stiff peaks form when you lift the beaters. Gently stir in the mint extract and food coloring.
• Add half of the sifted almond mixture, and gently fold it into the meringue using a flexible silicone spatula. And the remaining almond mixture and continue gently folding. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
• Pour batter into a pastry bag fitted with a 0.4-inch tip or a plastic baggie with a corner snipped off. On your prepared baking sheets, pipe out about 1-inch circles.
• Holding the cookie sheet with both hands, smack it against your countertop a few times to help the batter settle and even out. This also helps get the elusive “feet”.
• Let the piped macarons sit out for at least fifteen minutes to help build a slight film over the top. After 15-20 minutes, check the batter by lightly tapping your finger on the top of a macaron. Your finger should bounce off the top without anything sticking to it. If they’re still sticky, allow to sit out for up to an hour.
• Place both baking sheets in the panggangan and bake for 15-18 minutes.The macarons are done when they are baked all the way through and the shells are hard. Take care to not underbake (insides will still be mushy) or overbake (tops will begin to brown). Allow to cool before filling.
• Mint Chocolate Ganache Filling:
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon mint extract
• Melt the chocolate chips, butter, and extract in the microwave on 50% power or in a bowl set over a steaming pot of water.
• Spread a little onto the bottom of one macaron and sandwich another on top. Repeat for all macarons.