Cow Macarons with Brown Sugar Milk Tea Filling 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 small-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: 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. 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.
5. Using a toothpick, knife, or cookie scribe, swipe in a very small amount of purple food coloring. This will offset the yellow tint of the almond flour, yielding white macarons.
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. Pipe about 24 round shells onto your silicone mats/parchment paper, using the macaron template as a guide. Make sure there is leftover batter for the cows' ears and horns 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. Popping the air bubbles helps stop them from cracking when being baked.
10. Use the remaining batter for the horns and ears on half of the shells. You can use a toothpick or cookie scribe to move the batter around if needed.
11. 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.
12. Preheat the oven to 325F. Place an empty baking sheet upside-down on the middle rack.
13. Place the baking sheet with the macarons on top of the upside-down baking sheet. The upside-down sheet will help the macarons bake more evenly, decreasing the chances of cracking. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate and drop the temp to 310F. This will help prevent browning. Bake for another 5-10 minutes. 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.
14. Remove the macarons and place them on a wire rack. Bake any remaining macaron shells.
15. Allow macarons to fully cool before peeling them off the parchment paper or silicone mats.
For the brown sugar milk tea filling:
1. In a small microwave-safe bowl, heat heavy cream until it just begins to bubble, about 20-30 seconds.
2. Add in loose tea leaves into heavy cream. If using tea bags, cut them open and add all of the tea into the heavy cream. Stir until combined, then let steep for about 10 minutes.
3. Strain the heavy cream into another small bowl to get rid of the tea leaves. Place in fridge for about 10 minutes, or until the heavy cream is chilled and no longer warm.
4. In a medium bowl, whip the softened cream cheese until smooth.
5. Add in the chilled black tea infused heavy cream. Whip until mixture is smooth, light, and a bit fluffy.
6. Mix in brown sugar until just combined. Try not to over mix, or the cream cheese filling will become loose. If that is the case, add in a splash of heavy cream and whip until thick again.
7. Transfer filling to a piping bag and snip a medium tip.
8. Optional: make instant boba according to package instructions and set aside. **Boba hardens once chilled in the fridge after 24 hr, losing its chewy texture. I recommend only adding boba if you plan on eating the macarons within 24 hr.
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. Add pink oil-based food coloring to 3/4 of your melted white chocolate. If you don't have oil-based coloring, your chocolate will seize and become lumpy. To counter this, add in a tsp of neutral oil (canola, vegetable), and mix until it comes back together. Use this for the noses, ears, and blush.
4. Use melted milk or dark chocolate for the spots, eyes, and nostrils.
5. Use the remaining 1/4 of melted white chocolate for the whites of the eyes.
6. Pipe a ring of brown sugar filling on the bottom shell, leaving the middle empty if adding boba. If adding boba, spoon in 2-3 tapioca pearls in the middle. Top macaron with matching shell.
7. Leave macarons in an airtight container in the fridge for at least 2 hours before eating. This allows them to mature, making them softer, chewier, and more flavorful. Eat at room temperature.
8. Store the macarons in an airtight container. If you didn't add boba: They can last in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can also freeze them for up to one month! Eat at room temperature. If you added boba: They can last in the fridge for up to 24 hr, otherwise the boba becomes hard. I recommend eating them within this time frame.