Maple French Macarons

My latest French macaron creation is maple. The secret to a rich maple flavor is to use B grade pure maple syrup.

When it comes to baking, B grade is always my preferred choice over A grade because of its richer maple flavor and darker color.

I also like that the filling for these maple macarons couldn't be any easier. It's just a package of cream cheese, a bit of unsalted butter and 1/3 cup of the best B grade maple syrup you can find whipped together.

Maple Macarons
180g ground almonds, sifted
270g powdered sugar, sifted
150g egg whites, aged 2 to 4 days in the fridge and then brought to room temperature
100g granulated sugar

Line four heavy baking sheets with good quality parchment paper and set aside. Also, set aside two pastry bags for the piping of the macarons.

Sift together your ground almonds with the powdered sugar and set aside.

Whisk the egg whites (at room temperature) to glossy firm peaks adding the granulated sugar gradually in four parts.

Incorporate the dry ingredients into the beaten egg whites using a large rubber scraper.  Mix well. 
Fold the mixture with the rubber scraper by pulling down the sides and flipping the mixture over. Do this until you have a smooth mixture that falls like a “ribbon” off the scraper.

Transfer the mixture into the two piping bags. Use rubber bands to close the piping bags. Clip the tip of the bags, one at a time, and pipe small quarter sized rounds, leaving 1-inch of space between each because they spread as they set.

Leave to set for about 30 minutes or until the top has formed a crust and is not sticky to the touch.
While they are setting, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. A convection oven is preferable. 

Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for about 12 minutes or until the cookie is firm, matte and doesn't wobble when touched.
Leave on the baking tray until cool then lift them all off the parchment carefully. You may need to use a thin knife to help lift them off.

Sort into pairs and fill with Maple Filling.

Maple Filling
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup B grade pure maple syrup

Whip together cream cheese and butter. Add maple syrup and whip again.
Transfer to a piping bag to fill macarons.