Rum Macarons

August 16: National Rum Day

Ahoy there, macaron mateys! Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! It is National Rum Day and we have filled our macarons with booze (instead of our bodies, as we do not really drink much alcohol). The rum in the buttercream filling tempers the sweetness of the rum-flavored macaron shells. We also dusted them in edible gold glitter for a treasure trove effect to make a pirate proud. Our recipe follows this month’s MacAttack theme of “Kick-It-Up Liquor Macs” for the MacTweets website challenge. Bite into our booze-infused rum macarons and you’ll be hooked! Aye!

Recipes

For the rum macaron shells (Italian meringue method)

• 1 cup almond flour/meal
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 egg whites (fresh, unpasteurized and aged overnight at room temperature)
• ½ cup sugar
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla or coconut extract (we used the latter for a complementary flavor)
• 1 tablespoon rum (we used Bacardi gold rum)

Directions

Sift the almond flour/meal with the powdered sugar. Grind in a food processor in batches to remove any lumps (optional). Whip the egg whites until peaks form. Make a simple syrup to stabilize the egg whites by boiling the sugar and water together until it reaches a temperature of 245 degrees F on a candy thermometer (or until it reaches a soft ball stage).

Pour into the egg whites and whip again until stiff and glossy. Stir in the vanilla or coconut extract and rum. Fold in the almond flour/meal-sugar mix until the consistency “flows like magma.”

Pipe one-inch discs on a parchment paper on top of an insulated baking sheet. Let the discs air dry to develop a thin skin for at least 30 minutes. Bake in a preheated oven at 300 degrees F for about 15 minutes. Watch the “feet” develop, but be careful not to brown or burn the macarons. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Peel off the macarons from the parchment paper. Sort by size and match pairs.  Make the filling.

For the rum buttercream filling

• ¼ cup (½ stick) butter, softened
• pinch of salt
• 3-4 cups powdered sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons rum (we used Bacardi gold rum)
• edible pearl dust (we used Wilton brand gold color to match the gold rum theme)

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter with a pinch of salt until smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar. Thin to a spreadable consistency with rum a few tablespoons at a time. Add more powdered sugar if the filling is too thin. Fill a pastry bag with a large round tip. Pipe in the filling and sandwich the macarons together. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to let the filling set.

Using a dry, food-safe brush, paint both sides of the macaron shells with edible pearl dust to give them a golden luster.

Notes

• Thanks to our matey Lisa L. for the almond flour/meal from Germany. Aaaarrr!
• For more rum recipes on National Rum Day, check out our blog post for Bacardi Rum Cake.
• The technique for these rum macarons are similar to our champagne macarons which we made on December 31 for National Champagne Day.
• Get more alcoholic “kicks” and click on the MacTweets website to see other “lush-ous” liquor-flavored macarons.