Heart-Shaped Raspberry S’more Macarons!

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheets with Silpat or parchment
• Using a fine sieve, sift and weigh dry ingredients
• Place freeze dried raspberries in the food processor and grind until very fine
• Using a fine sieve, sift in almond flour, and confectionerʼs sugar to the raspberries.
• In a bowl of an electric mixer, weigh out separated egg whites
• With the mixer on medium, begin whipping egg whites with a whisk attachment
• After about 2 minutes, gradually add in cream of tartar and granulated sugar
• Turn mixer to high, and whip until stiff peaks, about 6 minutes. During the last minute, add the vanilla extract and pink food gel (one drop at a time).
• Remove bowl from mixer and sprinkle about half of the almond flour mixture. Using a rubber spatula, fold in dry into egg whites. This might seem and look impossible, but this “macronage” process is very important. As you fold, do not be afraid to apply a little pressure to push the mixture against the sides of the bowl to deflate the egg whites.
• After about 15 strokes/folds, add in the remaining almond mixture. Continue folding, counting your strokes and scraping from the bottom. Stop after about 25 strokes to assess- your batter should ultimately be “lava-like.” To test, lift a blob with the spatula, and let it fall back into the bowl. The “blob” should eventually blend back into the bowl. If it remains on top, keep mixing. This process should take about 30-40 strokes. **Be careful not to under or over mix by testing after every 5 stokes. Be sure to stop mixing before the batter gets too runny.
• Fill pastry bag, fitted with a round tip. Pipe 2 conjoining “tear-drops” to create heartshaped shells. You can do so by varying your pressure, lightening at the end, and then lifting towards the tip. If youʼd prefer, you can always pipe the batter into round shells.
• Using a bit of strength, rap the pan of piped macarons against a counter or hard surface. Do this 2-3 times to release any air bubbles.
• Let piped macarons rest about 15-20 minutes before baking. You will want the tops to dry out a bit, so the shells will have a nice “foot.”
• Reduce oven temperature to 325 and bake macarons for about 10- 15 minutes.
• Test at least one macaron before removing from the oven. Slightly pull up on the top of the shell. If the shell detaches from the foot, continue to bake. Re-test and remove once the shell has baked thoroughly. **Feel free to crack on open to be sure- you will want to make sure the inside is dry, but not hollow. Over baked is better than under baked, but keep a close eye on them until you learn your oven.
• Once baked, remove from oven. Let rest about 2 minutes before lifting the shells from the baking pan. Remove using a spatula and finishing cooling on wire rack
• Once cooled, color the tops of the shells with luster dust and a clean paint brush. I used a few different colors to make variant shades of shimmery, pretty pink shells.
• Match shells with a top and bottom. Put marshmallow cream and chocolate ganache in separate piping bags. Pipe a boarder of chocolate ganache and fill in the centers with marshmallow cream. Enjoy!
• ***Note: If shells are slightly dry or over baked, let macarons “mature” in the refrigerator over night. The filling will help soften the shells.

For The S'more Filling:

• Place chopped chocolate in a heat-safe bowl and set aside. In a saucepan over medium heat, gradually bring cream to a boil. Pour the cream over the chopped chocolate and let sit for a minute or two. With a rubber spatula or whisk, stir chocolate until smooth and creamy. Place in the refrigerator until ganache cools to a pipe-able consistency, stirring every 5 minutes or so.