Strawberry Macaron with Pink Moscato Buttercream
These delicate little Strawberry Macaron with Pink Moscato Buttercream pack a delicious flavor from the strawberries in the shells and the pink Moscato in the buttercream. Perfect for any special occasion.
Confession.
I’ve never had Pink Moscato before making these Strawberry Macaron with Pink Moscato Buttercream. When I found out that Gallo Family Vineyards was sponsoring an event for National Moscato Day, I thought I’d see what all the craze was about and bought a bottle.
WOW! I didn’t think it would be as good as it tasted! It’s a sweet, sparkling wine that is light and crisp. I thoroughly enjoyed trying it and will be integrating it into my wine “cellar” which consists of a bakers rack with some slots for wine bottles, but it works!
After tasting the moscato, I knew it was perfect for baking! And perfect for buttercream! I initially was going to make sangria cupcakes with Pink Moscato buttercream, but they haven’t been produced yet. Yup. I’m a bit lazy on the weekends especially with S is ill like he was recently.
I already made the strawberry macaron and just needed the perfect filling for them. Voila! The sweet strawberries in the shell would compliment the sweet moscato flavor perfectly!! Actually, the sangria that’s marinating in the fridge smells amazing, too! I can’t wait to make those cupcakes. *drool*
This is where “practice makes perfect” isn’t a hindrance AT ALL! I mean, to master macaron you do need practice. LOTS of it! And my co-workers don’t seem to mind eating the less than perfect cookies. What a hard life they lead. I took these in to work and I think by the time I left there were 4 left and they were gone by the next morning when I came in. I didn’t even have to send emails out.
I did save some for L and E as they weren’t here on Monday when I made the cookies and they are my second biggest fans when it comes to those babies. J is my biggest fan on those. S, not so much. He just doesn’t get all excited when I whip up a batch. I haven’t found a flavor he loves or even a cookie other than chocolate that he goes crazy over.
I have to practice, too! Mom gave me strict instructions that I have to bake her a batch as a thank you for giving me the fee to take the course for my birthday. She loves them just as much as I do, and I want her batch to be PERFECT! Not that these don’t look pretty, but they needed to spread just a bit more so they weren’t hollow in the center. I needed to mix the batter just a scosh (scoch?) more for it to spread perfectly. These are delicious, don’t get me wrong. There hasn’t really been a horrible tasting batch of macaron, just horrible looking. *snicker*
Strawberry Macaron with Pink Moscato Buttercream
These delicate little Strawberry Macaron with Pink Moscato Buttercream for #NationalMoscatoDay pack a delicious flavor from the strawberries in the shells and the pink Moscato in the buttercream. Perfect for any special occasion.
Ingredients
- 7 ounces powdered sugar
- 4 ounces almond meal or flour
- 2 tablespoons freeze-dried strawberries, finely ground to a powder
- 4 ounces egg whites, room temperature
- Pinch cream of tartar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 1/2 ounces granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons Pink Moscato
- 2 - 2 drops red gel food coloring
Instructions
- Remove 4 tablespoons of the powdered sugar and return to your container or bag. Pulse 1/3 of the powdered sugar, 1/3 of the almond flour, and the strawberry powdered together in a food processor to form a fine powder. Sift into a large mixing bowl. Repeat process 2 times more or until all of the powdered sugar and almond meal has been sifted together. Sift two times more and set aside.
- Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle the cream of tartar over the eggs and hand mix the two together with the whisk attachment for the stand mixer. Fasten the whisk attachment and beat the mixture on medium speed until foamy. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Increase the speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form.
- Sift 1/3 of the almond mixture into the bowl with the meringue. Fold the ingredients together with a large spatula until incorporated. Continue sifting and folding until all the almond mixture is incorporated into the meringue and the mixture should drip slowly off the spatula; like lava flowing. (Yeah, I know. I didn't get it either. For me? Think conditioner dripping out of a bottle. Shampoo is too thin, but conditioner has that thick-ish consistency.)
- Transfer the batter to a large piping bag fitted with a 1/2" tip and pipe 1 1/3 inch rounds onto a silpat covered baking sheet. There are several different templates out there here and here are two I like.
- Preheat oven to 350.
- You're going to LOVE this next part! Once all the batter has been piped or your sheets are full, grab the edges of the pan, secure the silpat with your thumbs (or any extra batter) and rap the pans on the counter. This releases any remaining air bubbles in the meringue. Continue rapping the sheets, turning occasionally, until no more air bubbles surface. Allow the macaron to rest on the counter at least 30 minutes.
- Once they've rested and the tops are no longer sticky to the touch, bake at 350 for 10 to 15 minutes, or until they are crisp. If they do not peel easily from the silpat, then lower the heat to 300 and bake an additional 2 to 5 minutes or until they no longer wiggle when the tops are moved from side to side indicating the meringue isn't completely cooked.
- Remove from heat and repeat procedure with second pan.
- Allow to cool completely before filling; and for optimum flavor, allow them to set overnight before filling.
Notes
Recipe adapted from the Sur la Table Macaron Class by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
Your macarons look splendid! Still loving the combo. In fact, you're featured on Five Friday Finds this week! Hope you can stop by and share some more recipes. 🙂
Thanks for featuring them, CJ! I'll be sure to stop by and pick up a featured button.
I must admit that I am a Moscato drinker, but I have not tried the pink version. Could you put regular Moscato in place of the pink? Your cookies look awesome.
Bev
Bev, I don't see why not. Since I've not had white or red moscato, I can only imagine that they're not dissimilar in taste and couldn't be interchangeable.
Moscato is most definitely delicious, and putting it together with strawberries sounds like a splendid plan! Stop on by and share with us on Five Friday Finds if you get a chance!
Thanks, CJ! I'll head over there.
I love macarons, and these look and sounds so delicious!
Thank you, Ginnie. Just wait until I post about the two I made today with Mom! They were DELICIOUS!!
I'm seeing so many strawberry recipes pop up lately and this looks mouthwatering. Found your recipe over at Tuesdays with a Twist and it looks incredible. We just launched a new recipe link-up party, Tickle My TasteBuds, that goes live every Tuesday. I would love for you to link this delicious recipe to our inaugural party. Here is the link —> http://bit.ly/1oNxekf
Strawberries should be coming into season soon, I think. I just had some strawberry powder laying around and wanted to try them. These taste delicious with the moscato. Thanks for the invite and stopping by!
They look so amazing! i`m savin the recipe, I have to try them 🙂
Thanks, Christina! I hope you do.
These look so delicious! Stopping by from the wake up wednesday link up!
Thanks for stopping by, Leilani. They were pretty yummy!
That looks soooo yummy!!! Alex bought me Pink Moscato for my birthday last year and I loved it! (He knew I'd like something pink and bubbly!)
Liz, it was rather tasty. I was pleasantly surprised! I wanted to tag along for Moscato Day with #SundaySupper and boy am I glad I did!
This was an unexpected recipe. So light. That could be a problem. The light the cookie, the less the calories?
Isn't that how it works? Ha! A very clever way to use the wine. Pink is very girly and these cookies are girly, even though it takes a real woman to appreciate wine in her frosting. I am obviously feeling silly. Its not my fault. The cookie recipe made me to it.
Carol, you crack me up!! I can't imagine S and I sitting down to a glass of pink moscato, but it was delicious! I'd highly suggest it for a girls night.