Directions

To Make the Ganache 🍯

1. Place the cream into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat.

2. If needed, chop the chocolate into small pieces. Once the cream is boiling, remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Allow it to sit for 1 minute, then whisk until smooth. Whisk in the peppermint extract to taste.

3. Transfer to a container and set aside in a cool place to firm up. If your kitchen is warm, set in the fridge for 15-20 minutes to accelerate chilling.

To Make the Macaron Shells 🥯

1. Preheat your oven to 325F

2. In a medium mixing bowl, sift 2 cups of powdered sugar. Whisk in the almond meal.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, begin beating the egg whites until they start to get foamy.

4. Once a foam starts to form, sprinkle in the sugar and cream of tartar and turn the speed to high.

5. Continue whipping until stiff peaks are formed.

6. Fold ⅓ of the almond mixture into the meringue.

7. Continue adding the almond mixture, ⅓ at a time, until it’s completely incorporated. Continue mixing until the mixture falls in ribbons and fades back into itself after 10 seconds.

8. Using a toothpick, brush little stripes of red food coloring onto the inside of a piping bag. Leave some blank spaces between each stripe. This will give the candy cane pattern.

9. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a round tip.

10. Pipe onto a parchment-lined sheet tray in even rounds. Use the provided stencil below for guidance. Add additional food dye to the bag as needed.

11. Bake until the tops are set and jiggle just slightly when moved, 8-12 minutes.

12. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

To Assemble 🧁

1. Remove the macarons from the paper and match them for even filling.

2. Transfer the ganache to a piping bag and pipe a dollop of ganache over the center of a macaron.

3. Stack a second macaron on top and squeeze to push the filling to the edges.

4. Enjoy as is, or to decorate, melt the extra dark and white chocolate and crush a few candy canes. Dip the macaron half way in dark chocolate. Place on a sheet tray and chill until the chocolate has set. Drizzle with some white chocolate and sprinkle with the chopped candy canes to decorate.

5. Enjoy!!!