There are times I crave an Oreo. I mean, seriously there is nothing like an Oreo. Now snuggle a piece of that favorite cookie down into a blanket of oreo buttercream between two crisp but chewy delicious macarons and I’m telling you it’s divine. I spent the better part of a week working on my recipe. Made some with cocoa inside, some with spirls, non swirls, some without a piece of cookie inside….you get the idea. Last week I went a little manic macaron nuts and became obsessed-baking off tons of shells playing around with some new colors I bought and although these little morsels are colored grey I did have to play around even with the amount of black I added until I was happy with that shade of grey. Fifty shades of grey indeed. I realized what elevates these to another level is to break off a piece of cookie and snug it down into the filling before topping if off. The surprise inside bite of that cookie and cream is delish. The Husband proclaimed “Hey, these are a keeper!” He usually loves everything I make but when he hollers back that statement after the first bite I know he really loves the recipe. He yelled that from the other room the other night after I casually dropped one in his hand while passing through the kitchen.

Oreo Macarons

Oreo Macaron Shells

124 g confectioners sugar

140 g almond flour

108 g fresh egg whites (I don’t age mine)

110 g granulated sugar

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

In a food processor place the almond flour and confectioners sugar and run for 30 seconds. Stop and scrape down the sides so the mixture settles into the processor bowl. Repeat this 2 more times, then sift mixture through a strainer (it doesn’t have to be fine) over a large bowl (I use a 5 quart size stainless steel bowl). Preheat the oven to 300° F convection, 325° F for non convection setting. Prepare two baking sheets with Silpat mats. I use these mats by Velesco (you can get 2 for 13 dollars on Amazon).
In the bowl of a stand mixer place the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar and whisk by hand to combine. Place over a ban marie and stir gently for about 5 minutes until the mixture reaches about 130 F or when you touch the mixture with your index and thumb fingers you don’t feel any sugar crystals. Remove from the heat and place on the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and start the meringue by running mixer on power level 4 (Kitchen Aide) and run for about 3 minutes. Stop once to scrape the sides of the bowl to push down the mixture that appears on the sides.
Increase mixer then to power level 6 and run for 3 minutes.
Increase mixer to power level 8 and run for 3 minutes.
Stop mixer and with a bamboo skewer or toothpick add in a bit of black gel food color (I use Americolor).
Increase mixer to power level high (10) and run for 1-3 minutes or until the meringue is stiff peaks and it has started leaving tracks in the meringue and a good portion has collected inside the whisk . A sign that meringue is ready is there will be a good amount collected within the whisk and if you turn the bowl upside down the meringue will not slip or move. If you stop the mixer and tap the whisk gently on the side of the mixer bowl it will look like a bird beak; the meringue is stiff but it has a slight hooked curve when holding the whisk horizontally. If the color does not appear to be mixer to your liking at this point I add in any color and mix gently by; being careful not to overmix.
Add one half of almond flour/sugar mix and start folding with a rubber spatula until mixture starts to look cohesive. Add in the remaining half and continue to gently fold, stopping occasionally to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. The batter is perfect when you lift up the spatula and tip the pointed end of the spatula down and ribbons of batter fall smoothly back into the bowl. I like to gauge its ready when I can count 6-7 ribbons falling without breaking and I can “draw” a figure 8 with the batter when lifting the spatula and letting it fall into the bowl. Fill your pastry bag by using a heavy tall cup or mason jar to hold your pastry bag with the top folded over the glass. When preparing your bag after you drop in your round tip (I use Ateco 804), twist the bag right above the larger end of the tip and push it down into tip. Fold the top 4 inches of the bag over the jar or glass.
Let the batter fall right into the bottom of the bag and continue filling to ensure you don’t get air bubbles. When ready to pipe and all of the batter is in the bag, twist the top of the bag and when ready to pipe, push down with your dominant hand to force the bottom of the tip to open.
Pipe the batter onto prepared baking sheet with 30 macarons per sheet. Six across the long side, and five rows perpendicular. Take the sheet pan and let it drop onto the counter about 5-7 times, then look for any visible air bubbles and pop with a toothpick or bamboo skewer. Bake the first tray right away (no resting), in a preheated (convection oven if you have at 300° F , 325° F for NON convection oven*) for about 16-18 minutes or until the cookie does not wiggle when attempting to check by carefully grabbing both sides of a cookie and gently testing. Let the tray rest on a wire rack and then bake the second tray. After the cookies have cooled about 8-10 minutes turn them upside down and let the cool on the tray until completely cooled. (I find this helps prevent hollow shells). Cool the cookies completely and pipe the buttercream between two cookies and sandwich together.

*A word about oven temperatures: EVERY one’s oven is different and after painstaking doing several batches of macarons I determined that in MY oven 300° F low convection setting is best for me. Check your oven temperature against a thermometer placed in the middle of your oven. Some people bake there’s at 285, 290, 310 etc. unfortunately it’s something that you have to play around with and determine what is best for you and your oven.

Cookies and Cream Filling

60 g softened unsalted butter

150 g confectioners sugar

2 Tablespoons heavy cream

3 Tablespoons finely crushed Oreo cookie crumbs (discard filling)

extra Oreos broken into small pieces (with filling)

In a medium bowl cream together the butter and confectioners sugar with a rubber spatula. Add in the heavy cream and stir vigorously to combine. Stir in the cookie crumbs. Keep chilled until ready to use then stir gently and place into a pastry bag with a large open tip.

Fill and sandwich two cookies together with the buttercream and before topping with the second cookie place a small piece of oreo into the buttercream. If desired, roll the sides into crushed cookie crumbs. Let assembled macarons chill in a covered container in the fridge for one day for ideal texture. Serve a room temperature.

Here are some of my other batches where I swirled the batter with extra black color.