Categories: not tried

Ingredients

• 55g pistachios
• 55g ground almonds
• 200g icing sugar
• 90g egg whites (about 3)
• 20g caster sugar
• For the buttercream
• 55g pistachios
• 250g icing sugar
• 125g unsalted butter, softened

Directions

1. I like to set my piping bag up in a tall glass so that I can easily transfer the macaroon mixture into the bag. (You’ll need to fit it with a 1cm plain nozzle.)

2. Line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper. (I use my re-usable baking sheet that I got from the pound shop)

3. Grind the pistachios in a food processor to a fine powder then add the ground almonds and icing sugar and continue to blend until the nuts and icing sugar are completely blended. (The smoother this mixture, the smoother your macaroons will look). Sieve after blending. Don’t wash up the blender as you’ll need to grind more pistachios for the buttercream below.

4. Whisk the egg whites in a large, clean bowl to soft peaks. Slowly whisk in the caster sugar until stiff peaks form and the egg whites are glossy.

5. Now for the ‘macronage’: fold the nut and icing sugar powder into the egg whites until well combined. You’ll end up with quite a thick paste. Be careful not to overmix!

6. Spoon the mixture into the piping bag and pipe 3cm circles, about 2cm apart onto the baking tray. Rather than pipe in a circlular motion, you need to squeeze the mixture out then whip the nozzle away. The macaroons should flatten out, however, if you’re left with little ‘peaks’, flatten them with a wet finger.

7. Pick the trays up and carefully drop them onto the counter – this helps the macaroons develop characteristic ‘feet’.

8. Leave the macaroon shells to dry out for at least 30 minutes. (They’re ready when they’re no longer sticky to the touch).

9. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 170C.

10. Bake the macaroons for 15-20 minutes.

11. Remove from the oven and let them cool completely before you try to remove them. If they are really sticky and look hollow underneath, try baking them for 5 more minutes.

12. For the buttercream, blend the pistachios to a fine powder, then blend again with the icing sugar until you have a pale green powder.

13. Beat the butter until soft and fluffy then beat in the pistachio icing sugar. If you’re using an electric whisk, I would beat the buttercream for a few minutes to make it really light and fluffy.

14. You can either spread the buttercream onto the macaroons using a knife or pipe it on for a clean finish.

15. The macaroons will keep really well for a few days in the fridge – this makes them particularly squidgy, or you can freeze them for up a month.

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