Pistachio Macarons

I’ve been having fun playing with new Macaron recipes this week, with varying results I must say!! But I think I am getting closer to perfecting my recipe! I thought I’d share one of the successes with you today!! I’ve adapted several recipes to get the results you see here!! It’s so hard to get the right consistency, so it stays in rounds and still rises!! But I think eventually I’ve got it to work for me, I think I didn’t leave this batch to rest for quite long enough, which would have helped them rise a little more, but I’m still happy with the results xx

Ingredients: Makes 20

• 175g icing sugar
• 125g ground almonds
• 3 large egg whites
• 75g cup caster sugar
• 2 tbsp unsalted pistachios, finely chopped
• Green food dye

For the filling:

• 200ml cream
• 1 tbsp icing sugar
• few drops of vanilla extract

Method:

1. Grind the icing sugar and ground almonds in a food processor until the mixture is very fine.
2. Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, then gradually whisk in the caster sugar until thick and glossy. Fold in the almond and icing sugar mixture until it is smooth.
3. Add the pistachios and green dye  to the bowl.
4. Spoon or pipe 40 small rounds onto a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Leave the trays to stand for 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle a little chopped pistachios in the centre of each round.
5. Heat the oven to 160○C (140○C fan assisted). Bake the macarons for 15 minutes until firm. Cool on the baking tray for a few minutes, then place on wire rack to cool completely.
6. For the filling, whisk the cream, icing sugar and vanilla extract until stiff. Sandwich the cooled macarons with the cream filling.