Rosemary Olive Oil Macarons

I got to spend a wonderful afternoon yesterday baking with my nephew's girlfriend Mac and together we created these deliciously different Rosemary Olive Oil Macarons.

I have to admit, the flavor wasn't my original idea. I actually split a Rosemary Olive Oil macaron with my husband and daughter when we were in New York City a little over a month ago, at a cute shop near Central Park called Macaron Parlor. It was by far, the best tasting macaron we tried during our trip and we tasted quite a few macarons.

Rosemary Olive Oil was a flavor I just knew others would love. I had to try to reproduce it and I knew Mac would be the perfect partner to work alongside—  She is an avid and adventuresome cook and told me that she especially likes floral and earthy macaron flavors like lavender and rose so I knew she'd love Rosemary Olive Oil.

Mac piping the macarons. She is such a wonderful cook and a joy to work alongside.

In addition to creating a new flavor, we also experimented with painting on macarons which is becoming quite popular. We thought a brush stroke of purple would be appropriate since that's the color of the flowers on a rosemary plant.

A painted macaron.

Our flavorful filling was made by infusing first-pressed fruity olive oil with fresh rosemary and then adding the rosemary scented oil to a subtly sweet buttercream along with fresh finely chopped rosemary and a dash of fine sea salt.  These macarons are indescribably good and I hope you give them a try.

A cute package of Rosemary Olive Oil Macarons with a homemade tag made by Mac.

Packages of macarons ready for Mac to deliver to family and friends.

Here's the recipe:

Rosemary Olive Oil 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
green food coloring (I used Wilton Moss Green Gel Coloring)

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.  Towards the end of mixing, add the food coloring.

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.

Macarons resting before baking.

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 paint the tops if desired and fill with Rosemary Olive Oil Buttercream.  


To paint the macarons:
In a small bowl dissolve 1/2 teaspoon of meringue powder with 1 1/2 teaspoons of water. Stir this well to make sure there are no lumps. Tint with purple food coloring.

Dip a small "for food only" paintbrush into the paint, dab off any excess on a paper towel and paint as desired the tops of one macaron in each of the pairs. We added just a simple swipe but you can of course get creative and decorate them however you like. Let the paint dry before filling the macarons. This takes about 15 minutes.

Rosemary Olive Oil Buttercream
1/4 cup first-pressed fruity olive oil
6 sprigs fresh rosemary
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Remove the rosemary leaves from the stems and chop enough of them to yield 2 teaspoons of finely chopped fresh rosemary, set this aside.

Finely chopped rosemary.

Roughly chop the remaining rosemary leaves and place them in the 1/4 cup of olive oil. Let this mixture set aside for at least 30 minutes to infuse the oil with the rosemary. Strain the rosemary from the oil and reserve the oil. 

Infusing the olive oil with fresh rosemary.

In a stand mixer, whip the butter, powdered sugar, sea salt, rosemary infused olive oil and finely chopped rosemary until it is light and creamy. This takes about 5 minutes.

Filling the macarons.