It's pumpkin season, and here's the version of the pumpkin spice latte that's easy to fall in love with. Some people find the original too sweet to drink. In a macaron, it's just right.
Pumpkin purée, warm spices, and a dash of espresso powder are folded into a white chocolate ganache that pipes beautifully once it sets. Sandwiched between two cookies, you get chewy, crispy, and soft in every bite.
Macarons are a very technical cookie that takes practice, but each practice run yields tasty snacks, and you'll see improvements with every bake. We have an entire class devoted to macarons. For this seasonal cookie, we build them in two parts:
1. The cookies: almond meal, powdered sugar, egg whites, and sugar and water for the Italian meringue, plus orange and red food coloring
2. The ganache: heavy cream, pumpkin purée, white chocolate, pumpkin pie spice, and salt, with optional glucose and espresso powder
You'll need a piping bag, a stand mixer, a candy thermometer, some patience, and room in your fridge. Make the ganache first and chill it for at least 2 hours. Let the piped cookies dry before baking. Once filled, the macarons chill for at least 8 hours before serving.
To become the macaron master, head to chefsteps.com to unlock this, or any other recipe or guide of your choice, for free.