Fall

Candied Peanut Butter Macarons

by:
March 24, 2010
4
3 Ratings
Candied Peanut Butter Macarons
  • Serves 20
Author Notes

This macaron recipe tastes like a grown-up version of Nutter Butters. A tall, cold glass of milk is the perfect accompaniment. —DolcettoConfections

Test Kitchen Notes

The Candied Peanut Butter Macarons are heaven for anyone who loves peanut butter (and I do). I invested in a digital scale so I could properly make these, and was so glad I did. The instructions are perfect and I followed them exactly. Do not skip steps such as aging the egg whites or allowing the macarons to rest before baking -- these are crucial for successful macaron-making. I baked my candied peanut sprinkled "macs" on a silpat over 2 cookie sheets to ensure there would be no burning, and while they took a little longer than 12 minutes to cook (they were done in about 15 minutes), they were as perfect as any macarons I've seen sold commercially (I was so proud!). I was a little heavy handed with spreading the peanut butter, but this went over very well with both my child and adult testers -- great recipe. - WinnieAb —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Candied Peanuts
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup peanuts, unsalted and untoasted
  • Pinch fleur de sel
  • Peanut Butter Macarons
  • 68 grams egg whites, aged at room temperature for 24 hours
  • 34 grams granulated sugar
  • 75 grams blanched almonds
  • 136 grams confectioner's sugar
  • Creamy peanut butter, for filling
Directions
  1. Candied Peanuts
  2. Combine the water, sugar and peanuts in skillet. Place over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until sugar completely dissolves and begins to boil.
  3. Reduce the heat to medium. Stir constantly, until the liquid crystalizes and resembles sand.
  4. As the crystals melt, continue to stir constantly to evenly coat the peanuts with the syrup. Remove from heat when all peants are evenly coated in the syrup.
  5. Pour candied peanuts onto SilPat and sprinkle with fleur de sel. Allow to cool completely.
  6. When candied peanuts are cooled, place in food processor and process until coarsly chopped.
  1. Peanut Butter Macarons
  2. Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk on low-medium speed until frothy. Add the granulated sugar a little bit at a time. Allow the sugar to incorporate fully before making the next addition.
  3. When all of the sugar has been added, increase the speed to medium and allow meringue to form stiff peaks. To test, remove the bowl from the mixer and turn upside down. There should be no movement in the meringue.
  4. Combine the blanched almonds and powdered sugar in a food processor. Process until you cannot distinguish the almonds from the sugar, about 30 seconds.
  5. Add half of the almond-sugar mixture to the meringue. Using a strong spatula, begin combining the two elements. During this first combination, you actually want to combine the two rather vigorously. Do not be gentle – you have to reduce the air in the meringue somewhat or your macarons will be too “puffy”. Continue for about 10 to 15 turns.
  6. Add half of the remaining meringue and incorporate for 15 to 20 turns. Fold in the remaining almond-sugar gently into the meringue. Continue for no more than 10 turns, or until you can no longer distinguish between the two.
  7. Fit a pastry bag with a #806 tip. Pipe about 1”rounds on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a SilPat. Leave plenty of room between the macarons – they will expand! Sprinkle the macarons with the chopped candied peanuts. Allow the macarons to sit 30 minutes to one hour to develop a shell.
  8. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Bake macarons for 10 to 12 minutes, until shells are just slightly golden.
  9. When shells are completely cool, pipe or spread peanut butter on the flat side of one macaron and sandwich with another.
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6 Reviews

Nancy
Nancy January 28, 2015
I've been playing around with adding crushed almond praline powder (very similar to your candied peanuts) to macarons. It's a natural combination so I'll try the candied peanuts next, sprinkled on top. I also think using unsweetened PB would be a great balance to the sweetness of the macarons. Thanks!
 
Ghazzzit
Ghazzzit April 20, 2012
Just made these for a dinner party and the 2nd batch turned out fantastic!

Issues with the 1st batch: I only let the whites age for about 6 hours and I don't believe I whipped them quite long enough before adding the dry ingred's. The flavor was great but they didn't develop feet or a skin that prevented cracking despite letting them rest 40 mins after piping. On the 2nd batch the egg whites were aged on the counter for 25 hrs, I ensured the whites were very stiff after beating, sifted the sugar/almond meal before adding it to the whites and they turned out fantastic.

I used TraderJoe's Valencia peanut butter which has only 2 ingred's:peanuts and sea salt. The unsweetened pb balances perfectly with the sweet macarons. Great recipe - thanks!!
 
mlledaffodil
mlledaffodil August 2, 2010
Lovely. Did you use natural pb or "regular' pb, i.e., Skippy or Jif? The latter contain sugar and fillers, so the texture and flavor is quite different -- I would need to sweeten my natural pb and blend in butter or shortening. Also, I was wondering if you experimented with making the macaron itself more peanut buttery, perhaps grinding up some of the candied peanuts to mix into the batter? Thanks.
 
Food B.
Food B. March 25, 2010
I've never seen pb macarons. What a kid-friendly treat!
 
mrslarkin
mrslarkin March 25, 2010
these sound great!
 
testkitchenette
testkitchenette March 24, 2010
I can't wait to make these for my mother. Thanks for a truly original take on the macaron!