You won't be able to resist this violet macaron — the creamy vanilla-violet filling is dreamy!

There’s something very special about a French macaron—that delicate almond meringue sandwich cookie that was created at Ladurée in Paris. We’ve tasted macarons in almost every flavor combination, but we think that this violet macaron with a creamy vanilla-violet filling is dreamy.

Ingredients

Violet macaron cookie:

• 1⁄2 cup blanched whole almonds
• 1-3⁄4 cups powdered sugar, divided
• 3 large egg whites, room temperature
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons superfine sugar
• 1 teaspoon violet extract
• 1 or 2 scant drops violet food coloring

Vanilla-violet buttercream filling: 

• 1⁄2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• A few drops of violet extract
• A few drops of violet food coloring
• 1 to 2 tablespoons milk or half-and-half

Directions

Violet Macaron Cookies:
1 Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2 Pulse the almonds with 1 cup powdered sugar in a food processor until finely ground. Add remaining powdered sugar and pulse until well blended.

3 In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add salt and beat on medium-high until soft peaks form. Add the superfine sugar, about a tablespoon at a time, and beat on high just until stiff peaks form. Add violet extract and food coloring and beat again for a few seconds to incorporate. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the almond mixture.

4 Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip. Pipe out 48 mounds, 1 inch in diameter, about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, for 6–8 minutes, until the tops are cracked and appear dry but the macarons are still slightly soft to the touch.

5 Transfer the cookies, still on the parchment paper, to barely dampened kitchen towels and let cool for 5 minutes. Carefully peel the paper off the macarons and transfer to wire racks to completely cool.

Vanilla-Violet buttercream Filling:
1 With an electric mixer, beat butter until fluffy then slowly add powdered sugar, beating until incorporated.

2 Add vanilla and violet extracts and a few drops of food coloring, and beat again.

3 Add a drizzle of milk until consistency is stiff, but creamy.

To Assemble Macarons:
1 Fill a pastry bag with the buttercream filling.

2 Turn macarons so their flat bottoms face up. On half of them, pipe about 1 teaspoon filling. Sandwich these with the remaining macarons, flat side down, pressing slightly to spread the filling to the edges.

3 Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Makes 24

BUY THIS BOOK
Excerpted from Meringue by by Linda K. Jackson & Jennifer Evans Gardner. Copyright © 2012. Photography by Alexandra Defurio. Excerpted with permission from Gibbs Smith. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.