Nut Free Golden Snitch Macarons are decorated with gold luster dust and gold wings to resemble the Golden Snitches in Harry Potter. They are butterscotch flavored to represent the butterbeer from Harry Potter.
Place a macaron mat on each of 2 upside-down baking sheets. You can also use parchment paper with 1-inch circles drawn on underneath. Set these aside.
Place a medium round tip, like a #12, in a disposable piping bag secured with a plastic tip coupler. Twist the bag above the piping tip and clip it closed with a small binder clip. Fold over the top of the bag and place it in a tall glass or in a piping bag holder. Set aside.
Sift together the oat flour and the powdered sugar in a medium-sized bowl, then whisk to combine them completely. Set this bowl aside.
126 grams oat flour, 126 grams powdered sugar
Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on medium-high until frothy.
100 grams egg whites
Add the cream of tartar, then slowly add the granulated sugar, one spoonful at a time, with the mixer still running.
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar, 90 grams granulated sugar
Add the vanilla extract and gold food coloring gel. Keep in mind that the color of the batter will deepen after the dry ingredients are incorporated. Continue to beat the mixture until the meringue forms stiff peaks. Remove the bowl from the mixer.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, gold food coloring gel
Using a silicone spatula, carefully fold ⅓ of the flour/powdered sugar mixture into the meringue. Then add the remaining ⅔ of the flour mixture and continue folding until just before you reach the figure 8 stage. See note.
Once the batter is the proper consistency, transfer it to the prepared piping bag.
Pipe 1-inch circles of batter onto the first macaron mat. Slam the tray down hard on the counter or a table several times to force any air bubbles to the surface. If desired, take a toothpick and pop large bubbles then smooth over the hole left after the bubble pops.
Pipe the batter onto the second macaron mat. You will not fill the entire mat. Repeat the process of slamming the tray and popping bubbles.
Allow the batter to dry at room temperature for 40 minutes, or until the surface of the batter does not stick to your finger when lightly pressed. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300°F.
Bake the Shells:
Bake the macaron shells for 12-14 minutes, rotating the pan once about 7 minutes into the bake. Only bake one pan at at time.
Allow the shells to cool completely on the mats before removing them.
To remove the shells, push up on the mat from underneath to help them pop off. If you have trouble with them sticking, that may mean they are underbaked. Some of the shells in the center of the tray may have a little bit of sticking. Very carefully use a stiff metal spatula to pry them off the mat, taking care not to rip the shell.
After your macaron shells have completely cooled, you can paint them with a gold luster dust suspension immediately or store the shells in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator to paint later. If storing for more than 1-2 days, freeze them.
Paint the Shells:
Add some gold luster dust to the well of a food-dedicated paint palette.
Pour some Everclear, vodka or clear extract into a small bowl. Use a plastic transfer pipette to add a few drops of alcohol to the well with the gold dust. Stir it around with a food grade paintbrush to make the gold suspension. You may need to add more luster dust or more alcohol depending on the consistency of the suspension.
Dip the paintbrush into the liquid gold, and then quickly brush it across the surface and sides of the macaron shells. Paint the underneath (flat) side of the shells as well, or at least the perimeter that may not be covered with filling.
As you use the suspension on the macaron shells, you will need to remake more in the same well. The alcohol evaporates quickly, so if you don't use it right away, you will need to add another drop or two of alcohol to get the suspension back to the original consistency.
Assemble the Macarons:
Place Butterscotch Buttercream in a disposable piping bag fitted with a large round tip.
Pipe a large mound of butterscotch buttercream in the center of the flat side of each bottom pair. Alternatively, pipe a border and then fill it in with buttercream.
Carefully pick up the top shell by the edges and place the flat side on top of the buttercream, pressing down slightly to adhere.
Sprinkle the sides of the macarons with edible gold glitter so it covers the buttercream and rub it into the top and bottom shells to give extra sparkle.
Fold the gold glitter cardstock wings in the center to create a v-shape.
Melt the chocolate chips at 50% power in the microwave in 30-second increments until just melted. Transfer the melted chocolate to a sandwich bag and push the chocolate into a bottom corner of the bag.
¼ cup chocolate chips
Cut a small opening in the corner. Add a dot of melted chocolate on top of a macaron in the center.
Place a set of gold wings, white side facing down, on the dot of chocolate. Hold the wings in place for about 30 seconds to allow the chocolate to begin to set so the wings stick. Repeat with the remaining cookies.
Notes
Butterscotch Buttercream recipe HERE I highly suggest weighing the ingredients listed in grams. French macarons are notoriously finicky and require precise measurements.I recommend using cracked whole eggs, not store bought egg whites.100 grams of egg whites is the equivalent of the whites from about 3 ⅓ large eggs.Macaronage: The process of incorporating the dry ingredients into the meringue is called macaronage. I recommend reading about this at America's Test Kitchen and Le Cordon Bleu to familiarize yourself with how the batter should look. This step is critical for the shells forming "feet" properly. For almond flour macarons, you want the batter to flow off the spatula like a ribbon, and when you draw a figure 8 with the batter that flows off, you want it to slowly go back into the batter still in the bowl but not too quickly. For oat flour macarons, you want to stop mixing just before the batter reaches this step.Storage: Store the assembled cookies in a single layer in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to several days. Allow the cookies to come to room temperature before serving to soften the buttercream. Nutritional information is only an estimate and will vary based on your ingredients and substitutions. The values for this recipe represent the shells only and does not include the filling in the calculation.You're Gonna Bake It After Allbakeitafterall.com