Chick Macarons with Lemon White Chocolate Ganache Recipe (with Video)

Preparation
1. Put printed macaron templates on baking trays. Place silicone baking mats or parchment paper on top of templates.
2. Set up one large piping bag with a medium round tip. If you do not have a round tip, you can just snip the end of the bag before piping.
For the French macaron shells
1. In a medium bowl, mix the sifted almond flour and powdered sugar.
2. Pour the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer. Set up a stopwatch to time how long to whip the meringue. (These times are listed to help beginner macaron makers. With practice, you can go by eye.)
3. 0:00 – 4:00 minutes: Add in yellow food coloring. Mix on medium-low for 4 minutes (Kitchenaid speed 4).
4. 4:00 – 9:30 minutes: Turn the mixer to medium speed (Kitchenaid speed 6). Add a third of the granulated sugar. After 30 seconds, add another third. After another 30 seconds, add the last of the granulated sugar. Keep mixing at medium speed until you have reached a total of 9:30 minutes.
5. The meringue should be balled up onto the whisk, very thick, glossy, and have stiff peaks. If not, keep mixing at 30-second intervals at Kitchenaid speed 8 until it is.
6. Add all of the powdered sugar, almond flour to the meringue. Gently fold the macaron batter, often scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl. Continue folding, adding more food coloring as needed.
7. Fold the batter until it reaches a thick, glossy consistency and flows off the rubber spatula into ribbons. To test if it is ready, allow the batter to flow off the spatula and into the batter. If the ribbons do not melt into the rest of the batter after 30 seconds, continue folding. Be careful not to over mix. When it passes this test, transfer the batter to your piping bag.
8. First, pipe about 16 round shells onto your silicone mats/parchment paper, using the macaron template as a guide. Make sure there is leftover batter for the chicks' tufts of feathers for half of the shells.
9. Tap the trays against the counter a few times to get rid of air bubbles. If there are bubbles on the surface, you can use a toothpick or cookie scribe to pop them.
10. Use the remaining batter for the tufts of feathers.
11. You can use a toothpick or cookie scribe to move the batter around if needed.
12. Allow the macarons to sit out at room temperature to dry for at least one hour. They will be ready to bake once the surface of the macaron is matte and dry to the touch. If it is a really humid day, it can sometimes take 2 hours for them to dry.
13. Preheat the oven to 325F. Place an empty baking sheet upside-down on the middle rack.
14. Place the baking sheet with the macarons on top of the upside-down baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, rotating halfway through.
15. To test if they are done baking, gently push the side of one shell. If it wiggles on the sheet, they need to be baked longer.
16. Remove the macarons and place them on a wire rack.
17. Bake any remaining macaron shells.
18. Allow macarons to fully cool before peeling them off the parchment paper or silicone mats.
For the lemon ganache
1. Add white chocolate, heavy cream, and lemon juice to a microwave-safe bowl.
2. Microwave for 45 seconds, then mix.
3. If the chocolate is not fully melted, microwave at 10-second intervals and mix until it is smooth.
4. Stir in the lemon zest.
5. Place bowl into the fridge and stir it every 10 minutes until the ganache is cool and thick, about 45-60 minutes.
6. Transfer to a piping bag.
Assembly
1. Match the macaron shells, lining up each pair on your work surface.
2. For the details, you can use a toothpick, cookie scribe, or piping bag.
3. Use melted milk or dark chocolate for the eyes.
4. Add orange oil-based food coloring to 2/3 of your melted white chocolate. Use orange white chocolate for the beaks.
5. Add pink oil-based food coloring to the remaining white chocolate. Use this for the blush.
6. Pipe the lemon white chocolate ganache on the bottom shell, then add the matching shell on top.
7. Leave macarons in an airtight container in the fridge for at least 24 hours before eating.
8. Eat at room temperature.