The Cookie Cutter Hack That Leads To Beautifully Stamped Macarons
Macarons are a delicious sugar-filled treat known as a quintessentially French dessert. Made with egg whites, sugar, and almond meal, these tiny meringue-based cookies are sweet and elegant. While the ingredients may sound simple enough, this naturally gluten-free dessert can be intimidating and time-consuming to make. The French method of baking these disks involves properly whisking egg whites and then folding in the sifted dry ingredients while keeping just the right amount of air in the mixture. Once piped onto a sheet and baked, macarons have a unique texture, with a light but crunchy outer layer and a chewy, moist inside.
Attempting to make macarons at home is an impressive endeavor on its own, but whether you want to wow your guests or up your baking game, there's a simple way to elevate your macarons even further with a cookie cutter. Once your macaron batter is piped into circles, let it rest on your baking sheet for a few minutes. Then, choose a cookie cutter shape that's smaller than your macarons, dip it into luster dust (a metallic-looking edible powder), and lightly stamp the top of each circle. Once baked, your macarons will have a beautiful design that makes it look like they came straight out of a French bakery.
Size matters for this simple technique
A cookie cutter surprisingly has many uses in baking and can also be a great kitchen tool for outlining icing on sugar cookies. However, when it comes to decorating your macarons, the simplicity of this cookie cutter hack has left some novice bakers skeptical. A pastry chef on Instagram who shared this hack with her followers said that "the internet exploded because nobody believed it worked," and added that she "didn't realize other people weren't already doing this technique."
Many commenters were desperate to see the finished product, and it's safe to say the hack worked beautifully. "They look so perfect, such a cute idea," one commenter wrote. Another user said it was a "Beautiful and easy technique," while others simply referred to the sandwiched macarons as "stunning!"
There's a good chance you already own a few cookie cutters; however, it is important to note that the size does matter for this technique. Macarons are naturally quite small in size, traditionally around two inches in diameter. Therefore, the shapes and designs you hope to stamp on your pre-baked macarons will have to be smaller than that. Luckily, cookie cutters and luster dust can easily be found at many online and brick-and-mortar retailers. Of course, if you try this hack, be prepared for your stamped macarons to be almost too pretty to eat.