Matcha Green Tea Macarons with Mung Bean Filling

What? Well.. some of them where filled with a mixture of standard vanilla buttercream with sweetened mung bean paste. I wanted to try something interesting, something new, something no one has ever done before. It's Chinese New Years on Sunday. My mom has been cooking all week. She makes a lot of desserts with a sweetened mung bean paste she makes herself, so I decided to take some and fill my macarons with them. I thought.. green tea goes well with red beans... so... why not these yellow-y beans? I only filled 3 macarons with the bean filling. Haven't found it yet... it got mixed up with all the others. It should be an interesting surprise for the lucky person who eats it. I made 3 batches of macarons in one day. Crazy. My mom was baking a lot and used only the egg yolks to glaze her bean buns, she ended up using 3 egg yolks.. so yea... I had 3 egg whites! YAY! I wanted to be unique for once. During my interview, I was asked if I thought I was creative. I said yes.. then I started to ramble.... I think I am, but then I was sitting there and thought about it for a short second... wait.. am I really creative? OR am I just a copier? I see so many things out in the internet world and it really does basically put ideas in my head. I think I am creative with this one though.. though I don't really know if it's going to taste good. : ) I want to try to be more creative. More.. "out of the box." So many things have been done over and over and over again, and really don't need to be reinvented. Macarons are so versitaile ... I can add almost anything and make it interesting. So here it is... my second attempt at green tea macarons... I really think I have mastered this dessert...*knocks on wood* 67% success rate today.. haha.. yep. one batch was a failure.... but these green tea ones are my last batch of the day... so I definitely improved as the day went on!... and.. the foot is back!... and.. it's super green..... I just wanted a colorful macaron like they have in Europe... but this green was a tad.. grassy for me.. it was really vibrant... depending on how much lighting there was...

Basic French Almond Macaron Recipe - The Base of Your Creativity :-D
Makes 8-10 Sandwiches

1 egg white, room temperature
1 pinch meringue powder if you are using Large ( no XL) eggs
4 tsp white sugar

50 grams powdered sugar
1/4 cup almond meal ( I use Trader Joe's Just Almond Meal)

Optional coloring: Just a drop or two of gel based food coloring, powder is preferred though difficult to find.

Optional Flavoring: 3/4 tsp matcha green tea powder

1. In a food processor, combine the almond meal, powdered sugar, and flavorings. Pulse, stopping frequently, for about 1 minute. Alternate from chop and grind, you just want to get everything as lump free as possible, as well as completely combined. Sift if needed.
2. Beat egg whites+ a small pinch of meringue powder to a soft peak, add sugar, (and optional gel coloring) and beat until it is nice and glossy, and is stiff.
3. Fold in the dry to the whites. Be gentle. You don't want to deflate all your egg whites. Just fold until almost all combined, and load it into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip (Wilton #12 or larger.)
4. Pipe to desired size. I had mine almost 2 inches in diameter. Rap the tray on the ground many times to remove the bubbles and make it more flat. Let dry for 15 minutes-30 minutes, longer if you want it to be shinier.
5. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake for 11-12 minutes, turning the tray around half way through baking. When you touch the center of each macaron it should be hard and dry. When you try to wiggle the cookie, it should give just a little, not be really loose.
6. Let cool slightly on the tray, then remove to a rack. Fill with buttercream, ganache, or whatever you like.

Hm... I seem to not squeeze out the same amount each time...


hey foot-y...I think this batch had nice feet.. not as small as my earl greys ... and definitely not as big as my pistachio macarons..


Ready for its filling!

French Macarons.. the new... cupcake? I sure hope someone can find a way to make them less sweet! It's definitely a delicate dessert to be savored, not devoured.... like I see everyone do with their cupcakes.... I am guilty of that as well hehe I will just mix it up next time I go to a potluck or party.. cupcakes with macarons placed on top! Hooray!