Matcha Macarons Recipe
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Japanese Green Tea (Matcha) Macarons – a recipe for these delicious, light, and crunchy sweet treats that perfectly blend Western technique with Eastern flavors.
Oh sweet little macarons!
I have been in love with you ever since we met at Pierre Herme in Paris years ago.
Not to confuse with your distant cousins macaroons who always like to dress in coconut, you are the perfect cookie sandwich one is looking for – light and airy with a crunchy texture on the outside and slightly chewy texture on the inside.
Not to mention that you are always stylish and very presentable on occasions of all kind.
Light humor aside, these French pastry cookies are dang good even to someone like me who prefers savory to sweet. ‘
And when these delicacies are flavored with Japanese green tea powder, it’s a like a perfect marriage between East and West.
But making these little precious treats is entirely a different story.
As any experienced baker will tell you, macarons are notoriously finicky to make so don’t expect to get it right the first couple of tries.
However, once you get a hang of it, it’s almost as easy as making regular chocolate cookies, and you get to enjoy unlimited macrons for life 😊
Now I’ve managed your expectation, let’s talk about one of the main ingredients in the recipe – Japanese green tea powder, aka matcha or 抹茶 in Japanese.
Although most of the Japanese green tea has similar health benefits, matcha comes in different grades measured by types of tea, growing method, age of the tea, grinding method, and etc.
Unless you are into traditional Japanese tea ceremony, a good culinary grade should be more than enough (and economical) for all your needs.
In today’s recipe, I’ve used premium culinary grade matcha from Japanese Green Tea Company, the winner of Global Tea Championship 3 years in a row (2017, 2018, and 2019)!
This particular matcha is made from premium Japanese green tea grown in fertile sugar cane sweetened soil that provides distinct flavor and aroma.
When it’s used in macarons, it gives such a pleasant and refreshing taste and smell that you have to try it yourself!
More about Japanese Green Tea Company’s Tea Farm
Japanese Green Tea Company is the only US-based company to source tea directly from Arahataen Green Tea Farms in the Shizuoka prefecture in Japan. Shizuoka has been the center of green tea cultivation in Japan for centuries, and the region’s intense sunlight and intermittent fog gives each batch of tea its distinctive flavor.
If you decide to purchase this premium culinary grade matcha, make sure you use this exclusive Coupon Code: Yi at check out to save 15%!
As I mentioned earlier, macarons are challenging to make and very prone to error. There are just too many variables and even a slight miscalculation can affect the end result.
To make it easier to follow, I’ve made a Youtube video (big thanks to Mrs. YiReservation for demonstrating the entire recipe). Make sure you stay to the end for the bonus recipe!
Youtube Video
Special Notes
To help you avoid some of the common missteps, I have put together a few tips below. It’s best to use these tips in conjunction with the video
Almond Flour
Just good quality almond flour with super fine texture. When I started out, I used almond flour bought from Walmart, while the cookies came out presentable, they had a rougher surface due to inconsistent grind size of the flour. If you have the choice, go with the finer (usually more expensive) option.
Egg White
If you have done some research, you’ll come across macron recipes call for “aged egg white” where egg white is stored in the fridge for 24 hours before used. Personally, I just use freshly separately egg white and have no problem achieving consistent results. I do suggest letting the egg white sit in the room temperate for 20 minutes before use.
Measurement
Like all baking recipes, precise measurement and experiment are the keys. Try to measure ingredients in grams if you are used to using cups and tbsp as the granularity does make a difference when it comes to macaron making.
Flavors
If you make any flavored macarons, try to use quality natural flavors if possible and avoid excessively liquidity flavoring agent as it will dilute the batter and affect the consistency. If your flavoring agent is in powder form such as matcha, add directly to the dry ingredient mix for the best result.
Drying
Do allow the macaron shells to dry completely. This can take a lot longer than the suggested 45 mins depending on the humidity level. If your shells come out with cracks, it’s most likely the surface wasn’t dry enough.
Serving
These cookies are best served after chilling in the fridge overnight. I don’t know the precise science behind it but you get better flavor and a little of that chewy texture after the filling and shells have been in contact for certain amount of time. Before serving, just leave them in the room temp for 30 minutes and you are good to go.
How to Make Japanese Green Tea (Matcha) Macarons
Yield: 24 macarons
Prep Time: 30 minutes + 45 minutes drying
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 95 minutes
Sharing a step by step recipe and youtube video on how to make these light, crunchy, and fragrant Japanese Green Tea (Matcha) Macarons.Ingredients:
- 130g/1cup powdered sugar
- 80g / 0.8 cup quality almond flour
- 2 teaspoons of matcha powder such has the one from Japanese Green Tea Company
- Egg whites from two large eggs or 60 grams of pure egg white
- 33g/0.25 cup powdered sugar
- Half teaspoon of cream of tartar
- 8 oz Cream cheese, room temp/ softened
- Half cup of powdered sugar
- Zest from half of a lemon
- Lemon juice from half of a lemon (you can replace this with yuzu juice too)
Directions:
Beat the egg white mixture in high speed for another 3 minutes or until it forms firm peaks – check from time to time so you don’t over mix. When the meringue is ready, work quickly but carefully in the next few steps.
Combine all the dry ingredients including almond flour, powdered sugar, matcha. And carefully sieve them into the meringue you just made.
Use a large spatula to fold the dry ingredients in one direction until well incorporated and the batter becomes smooth, roughly takes about 30 folds.
When the batter is ready, you should see this smooth, continuous ribbon consistency when you lift up the spatula. Just be mindful to not under mix or over mix the batter will come out either too thick or too watery and impacting the texture of the cookies.
Transfer the batter into a piping bag and connect the bag to a medium size pipping tip. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. I’d also recommend using a template as a guide. You can find the template here (this recipe requires two of this template).
There are different ways to pipe the cookie shells. My preferred method is to pipe from the center and stay there until the batter fills up the template. See video for the piping steps.
When you are done piping, tap all four corners of the baking sheet at least twice against the countertop to remove as many air bubbles from the shells. Before baking these cookie shells, you need to wait until the surface of the shells is dry to touch. this can take anywhere between 45m – 1 hr depending on the humidity level. While you wait for the shells to dry, make the filling and pre-heat the oven to 300F/149c.
To make this simple filling, get zest and juice from half a lemon. In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and zest.
Mix until the filling is smooth and slightly fluffy. Transfer the filling to a pipping bag and chill in the fridge until the cookie shells are ready.
Touch the surface of the cookie shells and if nothing sticks to your finger, bake them at 300F/149c for 18-20 minutes or until the shells turn shinny and smooth with little feet underneath. Let the cookies cool down completely then carefully remove from the parchment paper.
To assemble macrons, pipe 1.5 tsp of filling onto the flat side of the shell then sandwich with another shell. Make sure the filling is evenly spread out. Repeat until you finish all the shells. This recipe yields roughly 48 shells or 24 macarons.
To serve, chill the Macarons in the fridge overnight and leave at room temperature for 30 mintues before serving. Pair them with coffee or tea or other beverage of your choice.Question for You
If you enjoy matcha, please let me know of your favorite dishes in the comments!
