Guest Post: Kool-Aid Lemonade Macarons With Grape Kool-Aid Buttercream filling

I have a serious baker crush on our next guest poster. She is nuts - like, more so than I am. And I'm totally jealous. Her brain works in weird and mysterious ways. It has to, because some of the bake goods she comes up will are the work of a mad genius. Or a Mad Hausfrau (hur hur see what I did there?).

So, my dear Lora, thank you so much for blessing us with a bit of your sweet craziness. You seriously inspire me with your unique flavour combos, recipes, and disco dust. So much disco dust.

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I am so honored to be guest posting here today at one of my favorite blogs. Courtney is so creative and funny and I am constantly amazed at her edgy and delicious recipes.

When she asked me for a French themed post in honor of her trip to Paris (where I hope she's having a fantastic time) of course I had to mix up a batch of macarons. However, I wanted to create something fun and bit more playful than the average Mac. 

Enter Kool-Aid.

Adding Kool-Aid powder to buttercream was a no brainer but I adding it to the shells did work. I will spare you the ugly picture. The best result came from sprinkling the powder on top of the shells before baking. My propensity for abusing my baked goods with glitter amuses Courtney. So of course I had to sparkle up these babies.

Just. For. Her.

These macarons have great sweet sour flavor and the buttercream rocks. The Sprinkled Kool-Aid lemonade mix sprinkled on the shells unfortunately turned brown when baked. Just think of them as delicious freckles.

Kool-Aid Lemonade Macarons With 

Grape Kool-Aid Buttercream filling

For the Kool-Aid Lemonade Shells:

I used the Tartelette's basic recipe. Use a kitchen scale for precise measurements.

Ingredients:

• 90 grams  egg whites - aged at least 2 days. Let them sit out on the counter uncovered.
• 25 grams of fine granulated sugar
• 200 grams of powdered sugar (minus 2 tablespoons)
• 110 Grams of almond flour*
• Powdered yellow food coloring (Optional)
• 1 packet Kool-Aid lemonade mix

*You can buy almond flour that has been ground with or without the skin. I use the later (blanched). The former looks really nice if you are not coloring the shells. You can also grind your own almond flour by putting whole or sliced almonds in a food processor or blender. If you do, make sure you throw a little of the powdered sugar in to prevent the almonds from forming a paste.

Directions:

• Sift the powdered sugar and almond flour together or pulse them together briefly in a food processor. Make sure there are no large pieces and set aside. 
• Whip the egg whites. When they start to get foamy, slowly add the sugar. Continue whipping until you can turn the bowl upside down and nothing slides out. 
• Add the powdered sugar/almond mixture to the egg white mixture and fold, using quick strokes at first then slow down.  No more than 50 strokes all together. The batter should have a "flowing like lava" consistency. If you like add the yellow food coloring about 3/4 of the way through the folding. 
• Fill a Pastry bag and pipe circles onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or on a Silpat.
• Sprinkle Kool-Aid lemonade powder over the shells.
• Let the macarons dry they harden a bit (about 1/2 hour to 1 hour).
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F
• Bake for 18-20 minutes.
• I keep the oven door propped open with a dish towel or wooden spoon. Try to refrain from obsessive peeping to see if they get feet.
• Let cool completely and then match up the shells into pairs according to size.

For the Grape Kool-Aid Buttercream:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 stick butter room temperature
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 packet of Kool-Aid Grape powder
• 3-4 cups powdered sugar
• Amethyst disco dust (optional)

Directions:

• Beat the butter and milk together with one cup of the powdered sugar.
• Add the Kool-Aid Grape mix
• Add the remaining powdered sugar one cup at a time.
•  Spoon the frosting in to a pastry bag fitted with a round tip.Stand it up in a tall glass and fill the bag.
• Pipe the filling onto one macaron shell and sandwich together with the other.
• If you want to paint the filling with disco dust, dip a small paintbrush into vodka then into the disco dust and paint onto the filling.