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You could have 2 different problems when your butter is breaking through your croissant dough.
Butter is too warm
Butter is too cold
When making your croissants, bring the butter you want for laminating completely to room temperature. I usually just leave it on the counter while I’m waiting for the first long rest of my dough (4 hours).
Once your butter is at room temperature, you’ll want to get out your stand mixer. Mix your butter for a couple of minutes until fluffy and light. This adds air into the butter which will make it much easier to work with in your croissant dough. Add a couple of tablespoons of flour to your fluffy butter. Mix them together for another 30 seconds.
When your dough is coming up on it’s long rest, place the butter in the fridge 30 min before you need to laminate it.
To get the butter perfectly to your required measurements, transfer the butter to a silicone mat. Use a spatula to gently move the butter into its shape for your specific measurements you need for your dough.
Place the butter/silicone mat on a baking sheet and put it in the fridge for 30 min.
Placing the butter in the fridge for only 30 min will let it be still malleable, but not too hard or too soft.
Remove your dough from the fridge after your long rest (4 hours) and your butter layer that has been chilling for 30 min.
Place the butter on the dough and fold it like an envelope. I usually put the butter at a diagonal to the dough, and then enclose it by gently pressing the dough seams. Now you’re ready to roll your dough into a rectangle, and begin folding it like a letter. This begins the lamination process. Learn why using a marble rolling pin is ideal for rolling out croissant dough.
If your butter is too hard, it will poke through the dough. You’ll be able to feel it easily if it’s too hard. Leave your dough out for 5 min, and try again. See if your dough and butter are more pliable and able to be rolled out.
If your butter is too soft it will ooze out of the dough and be covering your pastry edges. If your butter is too soft in your dough, place it in the fridge for 30 min until your next turn. Then your dough will be chilled enough to turn and roll again.
How many layers for croissant dough are there?
There are a total of 81 layers.
How are there 81 layers in croissant dough?
The first letter fold you create 3 distinct layers of butter.
In the next turn you roll out those layers, and then double the layers by folding it. 3×3 = 9
The next turn you double the layers again, 9×9 =81 layers of butter.
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Eating croissants usually involve making a mess. Croissants are a flaky food to eat, so there will always be some sort of mess to clean up. However, there are a couple of things you can do to avoid the mess they make.
Wrap the croissant: Wrap your croissant in a napkin, or plastic wrap and eat it from the end first. Lower the napkin as needed to expose more of the croissant. The napkin will gather all of the flaked pieces that fall from it. This will also avoid getting your fingers greasy. Since croissants are made with butter laminated throughout the pastry, they tend to make your fingers greasy if you touch them.
Tear the croissant into bite sized pieces: Use your fingers to pull apart pieces of the croissant. All of the mess from the flaked bits of croissant will gather on your plate.
Use a fork and knife: Use a sharp knife to cut through the layers of the croissant and cut them into bite sized pieces. This is still an elegant way to eat a croissant without the mess.
The first is a mojito ganache, made by adding rum bakery emulsion flavoring, lime oil, fresh lime juice, chopped up fresh mint leaves to a white chocolate ganache base.
The second filling is a lime center made of sweetened condensed milk, fresh lime juice, and lime zest.
The ganache is piped in a ring around the edge of the macaron shell, while the sweet lime center is piped in the middle of the macaron shell.
Lemon Macarons
Lemon macarons are made by adding 1/4 tsp of lemon extract to the macaron shell batter.
The filling of the lemon macarons are made by adding lemon zest and lemon juice to a buttercream base frosting.
Lemon macarons are tart, tangy, with a little sweetness from the frosting.
Pineapple Macarons
Pineapple macarons are made by adding a bit of yellow food coloring to the macaron shell batter.
The center filling is made by creating a puree using pineapple chunks.
The pureed pineapple is mixed with rice flour and coconut flour over the stove for a few minutes until it thickens.
Once it’s cooled down, it’ll ready to be piped onto the macaron shells.
Banana Cream Macarons
Banana cream macarons are made by creating the shells of the macarons first.
The filling of the banana cream macarons is vanilla custard, and a slice of banana. The bananas have a bit of lemon juice squirted on them to prevent them from turning brown.
The banana cream macarons have a small bit of meringue piped on top of them, that are torched to cook the meringue.
Mango Macarons
Mango macarons are made by creating the macaron shells, and adding a bit of yellow or orange food coloring to the macaron batter.
The filling of the mango macarons is made by adding mango puree to a buttercream base frosting.
Coconut Key Lime Macarons
Coconut key lime macarons are made by adding shredded coconut, coconut extract, toasted coconut, and green food coloring to macaron batter.
Coconut key lime macarons are filled with key lime buttercream frosting. Key lime buttercream frosting can be made by adding fresh lime juice, and lime zest to the base of buttercream icing.
Passionfruit Macarons
Passionfruit macarons are made by adding a bit of purple food coloring to the macaron batter.
You can add a bit of freeze dried raspberries to the tops of the macaron shells if desired.
The filling of the macarons is made by adding passionfruit curd, passionfruit juice, and melted chocolate together.
The filling needs to be chilled for a few hours prior to piping onto the macaron shells.
Piña Colada Macarons
Piña colada macarons are made by adding a little coconut flour to the macaron batter.
After the macarons have been piped, a sprinkle of shredded coconut is added to the tops of the macaron shells.
The filling of the piña colada macarons is made by adding rum extract, pineapple juice, and coconut cream to a buttercream frosting.
The grapefruit filling for macarons is made by adding grapefruit zest and grapefruit juice to a buttercream base frosting.
Cherry Macarons
Cherry macarons are made by adding red or pink food coloring to the macaron batter.
Finely chopped cherries are added to a buttercream base frosting for the cherry macaron filling.
Kiwi Macarons
Kiwi macarons are made by adding green food coloring to macaron batter.
Kiwi macarons are filled by making your own kiwi jam using fresh kiwi, lime juice, a sugar syrup, and gelatin to thicken it up.
Peach Macarons
Peach macarons are made by adding a bit of orange food coloring to the macaron shell batter.
Peach macarons are filled with peach jam.
To create the look of a real peach, paint the outside of the macarons using milk and orange coloring, and another container with milk and red food coloring.
Immediately after painting the outside of the macaron, dip the shells into sugar to coat it. Add 2 mint leaves and stick them into the jam.
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Pros
Cons
Even heat distribution
Hand wash only
Conducts heat well
Reacts with acidic foods - (not usable for tomatoes, rhubarb)
Resists warping
Replace when damaged - risk of aluminum being absorbed into food
Withstands temperatures up to 580 degrees F
Use a Silicone mat to ensure safe use of aluminum pan
Are aluminum baking pans safe to use?
Aluminum baking pans are safe to use. When you use an aluminum baking pan, you could consume up to 1-2 mg of aluminum. This is a safe amount to consume. The WHO estimates 50 mg/day is acceptable for adults.
If aluminum pans become damaged with scratches or pits, this can cause more aluminum to leach out into your food. The longer your food comes in contact with the aluminum surface, the more aluminum will be absorbed into the food.
You can always use a silicone baking mat as a barrier between your baking pan and your food that you are cooking.
Avoid baking acidic foods on aluminum baking pans. Acidic foods like tomatoes and rhubarb can have a reaction to aluminum and cause the pan to break down, leaching more aluminum into your food.
Aluminum is the best metal at conducting heat over other baking sheets like stainless steel. They resist warping, and are extremely sturdy and durable. Aluminum baking pans conduct heat evenly throughout the pan. Aluminum is a light colored baking sheet; it doesn’t absorb heat like other metals, such as stainless steel. With a lighter colored pan, you can bake your food for a shorter amount of time than if you used a stainless steel pan. Aluminum baking sheets are used in high grade commercial bakeries around the globe.
How do you clean aluminum baking sheets?
To clean your aluminum baking sheets, soak them with soap and water and wash with a cloth until clean. Allow the pan to air dry completely before storage. Do not wash aluminum baking sheets in the dishwasher as this can cause them to oxidize and break down.
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Sugar cookies can be decorated with sprinkles a few different ways:
Flood the sugar cookie with royal icing.
Add sprinkles to the center, or in another area of the cookie. Use only a pinch of sprinkles at a time, and move your fingers together to slowly drop the sprinkles into place
Flood the sugar cookie with royal icing. Let it dry.
Add more royal icing/decorations as needed.
Add sprinkles to the portion you want the sprinkles to be. Make sure to add them before the royal icing dries.
How do you get sprinkles to stick to icing?
To get sprinkles to stick to royal icing or buttercream, add them immediately after piping your icing when it’s still wet. Add sprinkles to your icing before it dries. The icing acts like a glue for the sprinkles to stick to.
How do you make royal icing using eggs for sugar cookies?
Mix 3 pasteurized egg whites/6 tablespoons in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment on medium speed.
Add 1 cup of icing sugar to the stand mixer at a time until you’ve reached a total of 4 cups of icing sugar.
Mix for 4-5 minutes.
Separate the icing and add colors as needed. Add a tiny bit of water to the bowls that you want to use to flood the sugar cookie to thin out the icing.
Pipe royal icing onto sugar cookies.
How to Store Royal Icing?
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple of days.
What is the best sugar cookie size?
It’s best to have a mixture of sugar cookie sizes when serving them to guests. Be sure to cook similar sugar cookie sizes together so smaller cookies do not over-bake in the oven. Try to have anywhere from a 1″ sugar cookie to a 4″ sugar cookie for a big variety of sizes.
How do you stack cookies with icing?
Let all of your cookies dry before stacking cookies. Royal icing takes a couple of hours to dry. Once royal icing is dry, you can stack as many cookies as you like. Buttercream cookies cannot be stacked. The icing doesn’t harden like royal icing does.
Can you leave sugar cookies out overnight?
You can, but they will stale quicker. It’s best to let them cool in about ~20 minutes, then store them in an airtight container. They will last up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.
Do you decorate cookies before or after baking?
Always decorate cookies after baking. This is because icing, sprinkles, and other decorations will melt in the oven.
Do you let cookies cool before decorating?
Yes. Let your cookies cool for about 20 minutes before decorating. Icing will melt off of your cookie if you do not let your cookies cool fully before decorating.
How long do decorated sugar cookies last?
Decorated sugar cookies last 2 weeks at room temperature in an airtight container. Decorated sugar cookies will last up to 6 months in the freezer in an airtight container.
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Obtain your large, clean aluminum baking pans. Make sure there isn’t residue, oil on the baking pan. To make sure it’s free of any oil, pour hot water on the pans.
Place the silicone baking mat onto the aluminum baking pan.
Pipe macarons onto the silicone baking mat. Space them out. Pipe 1.2” macarons.
Bang the bottom of the aluminum pan to get out all of the air bubbles from the macarons.
Let the macarons sit for 30 minutes until a skin has formed.
Bake the macarons for the required time in your recipe.
Let the macarons sit on the silicone mat until completely cooled.
Pop off the macarons by peeling the mat away from them if they are a bit sticky.
Macarons can be baked at 300 degrees F for 13 minutes if baking them on a silicone mat.
How to clean a silicone baking macaron mat?
Hand wash your silicone baking mat and let it air dry
Store in a dry, oil free area
Can you use parchment paper instead of a silicone mat?
Yes. You can use parchment paper instead of a silicone mat. You know it’s clean, therefore there is no risk of having oil droplets on it. It browns the bottom of the macaron, making it crispy. The macarons are easy to fill once they’re baked and cooled.
Parchment paper is difficult to make it perfectly shaped for your pans. Sometimes this can cause macarons on the edge of the pan to be deformed. It’s also difficult to hold the parchment paper in place while banging the pan to get all of the air bubbles out.
Parchment paper is eco friendly. Place it in your green bin when you’re finished using it.
Silicone baking mats (Silpat) are reusable and you can order them perfectly according to your baking sheet size. They come in all different sizes so they will line up when you’re piping. There is no risk of deformed macarons at the edge of the baking sheet. Silicone baking mats have a bit of a grip to them, so they will stay in place when you are bang out the air bubbles of the macarons. Silicone can make macarons a bit sticky, so they can be difficult to remove them from the mat. Silicone mats produce a flatter, rounder macaron cookie than parchment paper.
Why are my macarons sticking to the silicone mat?
Your macarons will stick to the silicone mat if they are undercooked or if they haven’t fully cooled on the silicone mat before trying to remove them. Bake your macarons for 1-2 minutes longer than when using parchment paper.
What is the purpose of the silicone baking mat?
Reusable
Easy to clean
Food safe
Prevents burning on the bottom
Sticky – easier to bang out the macarons to get the air bubbles out
No greasing needed
Easy release
How long do silicone baking mats last?
Silpat baking mats will last you 2000-3000 times of baking macarons.
Do you need to flour a silicone pastry mat?
No. You do not need to flour or grease a silicone pastry mat.
What is the Best Macaron Mat?
The best macaron mat is the Silpat. The Silpat is made to last you 2000-3000 batches of macarons. The mats are made for easy release of macarons. Silpat macaron mats are easy to clean by hand washing them and letting them air dry. Silpat mats allow your macaron to spread out making them flatter and rounder. They are the professional standard for macaron baking shops worldwide.
Macarons Silpat vs Parchment Paper
Silpat
Parchment Paper
Reusable
Eco-friendly
2000-3000 Batches
1 Time Use Only
Spreads the Macaron Flatter and Rounder
More likely to Wrinkle/become Deformed
Easy Release
Comes off Easily
Prevents burning on the bottom of the cookie
Browns the bottom of the macaron
Professional Grade. Mat is made perfectly to size for the baking pan
Difficult to cut the parchment paper to size - some macarons can become deformed close to the edges of the pan
You can make white chocolate ganache macarons by heating heavy cream, and pouring it over white chocolate melting wafers.
Make your chocolate ganache the day before, and let it sit in the fridge overnight, prior to filling your macarons.
Coconut Macarons
Coconut macarons are made by adding shredded coconut to the macaron batter.
After the macarons have been piped, add a few more pieces of shredded coconut to the tops of the macarons.
Coconut macarons are filled with coconut white chocolate ganache. Heavy cream is heated and added to white chocolate melting wafers. Add a little bit of coconut flavoring and mix together to form your macaron filling.
Coconut Key Lime Macarons
Coconut key lime macarons are made by adding shredded coconut, coconut extract and toasted coconut to macaron batter.
Coconut key lime macarons are filled with key lime buttercream frosting. Key lime buttercream frosting can be made by adding fresh lime juice, and lime zest to the base of buttercream icing.
Cookies and Cream Macarons
Cookies and cream macarons are made by adding crushed Oreo’s and cookie crumble to a buttercream base frosting.
You can add a sprinkle of cookie crumble to the tops of the white macarons for a little added decoration, right after you’ve piped the macaron shells.
The center filling is made with a cream cheese buttercream icing. To add a little bit more sweetness, there is a caramel sauce filling to the center filling as well.
Coffee Macarons
Coffee macarons are made by adding a small dusting of coffee grounds to the tops of the macaron shells right after piping them.
Coffee macarons are filled with coffee cream cheese buttercream icing.
You can add in your coffee flavor by adding a small amount of strong coffee, espresso, or using a pack of instant coffee with a bit of hot water.
Add the coffee in slowly to your filling, you don’t want the flavor to be too overpowering, or too thin of an icing to pipe.
Birthday Cake Macarons
Birthday cake macarons are made by sprinkling a few rainbow sprinkles on top of the macarons after piping so they have the beautiful rainbow color on the top of the white macaron shells.
Birthday cake macaron filling is made by adding vanilla cake mix to a vanilla buttercream icing. You can add food coloring to the filling of the macarons if desired.
Earl Grey Macarons
Earl grey macarons are made by adding ground up earl grey tea leaves to macaron batter.
Early grey macarons are filled with earl grey buttercream icing.
Early grey tea leaves are added to a buttercream icing base to create this mesmerizing tea macaron flavor.
Taste test, and add more tea if necessary to have a punch of earl grey flavor.
London Fog Macarons
London fog macarons are made by adding lavender extract to macaron batter. You can also sprinkle a bit of culinary lavender to the tops of the macarons if desired.
Earl grey buttercream icing is the filling for these delicious macarons.
Add vanilla extract, and a full bag of Earl grey tea leaves to the base of a buttercream frosting.
Taste test, you might need to add more tea leaves or vanilla extract to get the taste just right.
S’more Macarons
S’more macarons are made by adding ground up graham crackers to macaron batter.
There are 2 fillings for s’more macarons that you’ll need to make. There will be one layer of milk chocolate ganache.
The other layer is a buttercream frosting made with marshmallow fluff.
The combination of graham cracker flavored shells, marshmallow buttercream, and milk chocolate ganache, makes these macarons irresistible.
Vanilla Bean Macarons
Vanilla bean macaron shells can be flavored with the contents of a vanilla pod into the macaron batter.
The filling is made by adding vanilla bean paste to cream cheese frosting. You can add in vanilla extract if you’re wanting a stronger vanilla flavor.
Cookie Dough Macarons
Cookie dough macarons are made by making edible cookie dough to fill the macarons with.
Edible cookie dough is made without eggs, therefore you can eat it right away. You can use chopped up chocolate chips if you don’t have mini chocolate chips for your edible cookie dough macarons.
Lavender Macarons
Lavender macarons are made by adding ground up dried lavender to macaron batter.
The filling is a honey buttercream frosting.
You can add more ground up dried lavender to the honey buttercream if you want even more lavender flavor in your lavender macarons.
Tiramisu Macarons
Tiramisu macarons are made by adding a dusting of coffee grounds to the tops of the macaron shells after they have been piped.
The filling of the tiramisu macarons is made by adding mascarpone cheese, espresso, and cinnamon to powdered sugar and a bit of heavy cream.
Tiramisu macarons have a ton of flavor!
Peanut Butter Macarons
Peanut butter macarons are made by mixing marshmallow fluff and peanut butter together to create the delicious peanut butter filling.
You could chop up peanut until they are very fine and blot them dry, to add them to the tops of the macaron shells if desired.
Marshmallow Macarons
Marshmallow macarons are made by adding marshmallow fluff to a buttercream base frosting.
Fill your yellow macarons with these mouth watering flavors for beautiful yellow macarons at your next gathering.
Lemon Macarons
Lemon macarons are made by adding 1/4 tsp of lemon extract to the macaron shell batter.
The filling of the lemon macarons are made by adding lemon zest and lemon juice to a buttercream base frosting.
Lemon macarons are tart, tangy, with a little sweetness from the frosting.
Pineapple Macarons
Pineapple macarons are made by adding a bit of yellow food coloring to the macaron shell batter.
The center filling is made by creating a puree using pineapple chunks.
The pureed pineapple is mixed with rice flour and coconut flour over the stove for a few minutes until it thickens.
Once it’s cooled down, it’ll ready to be piped onto the macaron shells.
Banana Cream Macarons
Banana cream macarons are made by creating the shells of the macarons first.
The filling of the banana cream macarons is vanilla custard, and a slice of banana. The bananas have a bit of lemon juice squirted on them to prevent them from turning brown.
The banana cream macarons have a small bit of meringue piped on top of them, that are torched to cook the meringue.
Mango Macarons
Mango macarons are made by creating the macaron shells, and adding a bit of yellow food coloring to the macaron batter.
The filling of the mango macarons is made by adding mango puree to a buttercream base frosting.
Chamomile Macarons
Chamomile macarons are made by adding yellow food coloring to the macaron shells.
The filling of the chamomile macarons is made by adding the contents of a bag of chamomile tea, into a buttercream base frosting. The tea will infuse the chamomile flavor into the buttercream. You can add a little bit of honey to the frosting as well for a sweet chamomile honey flavoring.
You can make white chocolate ganache macarons by heating heavy cream, and pouring it over white chocolate melting wafers.
Make your chocolate ganache the day before, and let it sit in the fridge overnight, prior to filling your macarons.
Coconut Macarons
Coconut macarons are made by adding shredded coconut to the macaron batter.
After the macarons have been piped, add a few more pieces of shredded coconut to the tops of the macarons.
Coconut macarons are filled with coconut white chocolate ganache. Heavy cream is heated and added to white chocolate melting wafers. Add a little bit of coconut flavoring and mix together to form your macaron filling.
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In order for sprinkles to adhere to the macaron batter, you need to sprinkle only a few sprinkles onto the macaron batter just after you’ve piped them.
Pipe 1.5″ macarons
Immediately add sprinkles to piped macarons. Only add a couple of sprinkles. If you add too many, the macarons could potentially not turn out. You can add sprinkles decoratively to an edge, in the center, or in a circle around the edge.
Bake your macarons for the exact time required in your recipe.
Let cool. Fill macarons with filling.
Decorative sprinkles are an added touch to your macarons. It’s a simple decoration to add, yet it brings out so much in a macaron.
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