How to Make Japanese Green Tea (Matcha) Macarons

Directions

1. 1
   Make meringue by beating egg white at low speed for 30 seconds, increase the speed to high gradually while adding sugar and cream of tartar. 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.
2. 2
   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.
3. 3
   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.
4. 4
   Mix until the filling is smooth and slightly fluffy.
5. 5
   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.
6. 6
   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.