Name: Butterbeer Macarons
Cook time: P0Y0M0DT1H30M0.000S
Total time: P0Y0M0DT11H0M0.000S
Yield: 40 to 42 macarons
Ingredients: 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar; 6 tablespoons heavy cream; 1 tablespoon unsalted butter; 1/2 teaspoon butter extract; 1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste; 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt; 1 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar; 1 cup superfine almond flour; 3 large egg whites, at room temperature; 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar; Pinch fine sea salt; 1/4 cup superfine sugar; 1 drop brown gel food coloring; 1 drop yellow gel food coloring; 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened; 1 cup confectioners’ sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste; 1/3 cup butterscotch chips, melted and cooled; 1/4 cup butterscotch chips, melted; Edible gold nonpareils or white round flat sprinkles

Directions

Special equipment:

4 silicone baking mats; a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip; a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch star tip; 2 disposable pastry bags without tips

For the caramel: Heat the sugar and 2 tablespoons cold water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Swirl the pan occasionally until the sugar melts and turns dark amber-brown, about 6 minutes. Carefully stir in the cream; it will bubble up vigorously and the caramel will harden. Reduce the heat to low and whisk until all the caramel has dissolved. Whisk in the butter, butter extract, vanilla and salt until the butter has melted and the mixture is smooth. Pour the caramel into a heatproof bowl and set aside to cool completely. When cool, loosely cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature.
For the macaron shells: Line 4 baking sheets with silicone baking mats. Use a pen or black marker to trace twenty-four 1 1/4-inch circles in a 6-by-4 grid on parchment paper leaving about 1 inch between each circle. Place the parchment template underneath the silicone mat on one of the lined baking sheets, making sure you can see the circles through the mat. Set aside.
Measure the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour by spooning them into measuring cups and leveling the top with a knife. Place the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a bowl and whisk to combine. Sift the mixture a little at a time through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing with a rubber spatula to pass through as much as possible. Up to 2 tablespoons of coarse almond flour may be left; save the coarse flour for another use.
Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt with a mixer on medium speed until frothy. Increase the speed to medium high; gradually add the superfine sugar and beat until stiff and shiny, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer the beaten egg whites to the bowl with the sifted almond flour mixture. Fold in the egg whites by drawing a rubber spatula halfway through the mixture, then folding it over and giving the bowl a quarter turn with each fold. Continue until just combined.
Add the brown and yellow gel coloring to the batter. Continue folding and turning, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until the batter is smooth and falls off the spatula in a thin flat ribbon, about 2 minutes; don’t overmix the batter. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip.
Holding the pastry bag vertically with the tip close to the baking sheet, pipe 1 1/4-inch circles of batter using the template as a guide for sizing. Hold opposite corners of the parchment template and silicone mat and carefully pull on the parchment to slide it out from underneath and set it aside. Firmly rap the baking sheet twice against the counter to release any big air bubbles and pop any large bubbles on the surface with a toothpick. Place the parchment template underneath the next silicone-lined baking sheet and repeat the same piping process until all the batter is used.
Let the shells sit at room temperature until the tops are no longer sticky to the touch, 15 minutes to 1 hour depending on the humidity. Meanwhile, position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.
Bake one sheet at a time in the preheated oven until the cookie shells are shiny and rise about 1/8 inch to form “feet” (ruffled edges), about 16 minutes. Another test of doneness it to gently wiggle a cookie; the top shell shouldn’t move; if the top shell still moves, bake for another minute and test again. Transfer the baking sheet to a rack to cool completely. Repeat the same baking process until all the sheets of shells are baked.
Peel the cooled shells off the mats. Pair similar-sized shells to each other, placing one flat-side up and the other flat-side down in rows. Set aside.
For the butterscotch buttercream: Beat the butter on medium speed in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Beat in about half of the confectioners’ sugar on low speed until combined. Beat the remaining confectioners’ sugar in, beating until smooth. Add the vanilla paste and melted butterscotch chips. Beat on medium speed until the frosting is light and fluffy. Transfer the buttercream to a pastry bag fitted with 1/4-inch star tip.
For assembling: Transfer the melted butterscotch chips to a disposable pastry bag without a tip and snip a small hole in the bottom. Fill another disposable pastry bag without a tip with the caramel and snip about 1/2 inch from the bottom. Set aside.
Pipe a ring of buttercream near the edge of one of the flat-side up cookies, leaving a 1/2-inch-wide hole in the center. Pipe about 1 teaspoon caramel to fill the center and use scissors to cut the caramel for a cleaner look since the caramel can stretch. Place the top shell over the filling and gently press together to seal. Pipe 2 to 3 lines of the butterscotch over the top shell in a zigzag pattern and lightly sprinkle with gold nonpareils or flat white sprinkles. Repeat with the remaining shells and buttercream.
Refrigerate the macarons uncovered until the buttercream is firm, about 30 minutes. Wrap the macarons in plastic wrap or transfer to an airtight container. For the best texture let the macarons rest at least 8 hours or up to 5 days in the refrigerator. Before serving, leave the macarons uncovered at room temperature until the buttercream has softened, about 1 hour.

Cook’s Note

When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.) If you prefer larger macaroons, trace 1 1/2-inch circles onto your parchment and pipe the batter to fill them. The yield will be about 22 total macaroons.