I got a little carried away at the store today. I had this idea to make candy corn macarons for this month’s MacTweets and I went to the store to buy candy corn to dress up the pictures. When I got there, they had ordinary candy corn of course, but this year Bach’s also had Caramel Candy Corn, and Chocolate Caramel Candy Corn, and Caramel Apple Candy Corn. All of which I decided I should take home and try.
But I didn’t stop there – no of course not. There were also candy cane flavored Dots and candy corn Kisses and I thought I should sampled those as well. (Let’s not talk about the two cute packages of Halloween Lindor Truffles that I bought and have hidden in my closet.)
The reason for my apparent current obsession with candy corn is that I hate them. I think they have a horrible, waxy flavor. My husband and my kids seem to like them, but I think they’re pretty nasty.
But I do sort of think of them fondly. They remind me of this time of year – cooler weather and yummy treats. Candy corn always seemed to be hanging around when you were bobbing for apples or eating pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. They look so cheery and fun and I really do want to like them.
So when I saw the orange pumpkin spice Kisses I thought they would make a perfect filing for a candy corn mac. A candy corn that would be full of fabulous fall flavor, not waxy and bland with an odd smell. Of course, I wanted to make the top white and the bottom yellow. I tried shaping one in the shape of a candy corn, but it looked more like an egg, so I stuck with round candy corn macs instead.
I made the Ottolenghi recipe that works well for me. I used half the batter for white and then added yellow to the other half. If I was making two colors again, I would make half a batch of each because the yellow got over mixed and spread much more than the white ones, making it hard to match them up.
I made the filling by melting about 10 Pumpkin Spice Kisses in the microwave at 50% power for about 1 minutes and adding enough powdered sugar to make a thick filling. This really is a perfect mac flavor for fall and so much better than candy corn candies.
adapted from Ottolenghi – The Cookbook
Ingredients
- 110gm powdered sugar
- 60gm finely ground almond meal/flour
- 60gm egg whites (of 2 eggs)
- 40gm granulated sugar
Directions
- Preheat oven to 310 degrees F
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2-inch, 2 cm) ready. (Setting the pastry bag in a glass while you fill the bag was a great tip I learned during this process.) (Also, I like to double stack the baking sheets.)
- Combine the powdered sugar with the almond powder. (Pulse in a blender or food processor if you don’t have finely ground almond meal. A mini food processor works best for this if you have one.)
- With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape. While whipping, beat in the granulated sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes. (To test to see if egg whites are ready, whip until the tip of the peak doesn’t fold over when you pull the beater out of the meringue.)
- Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag. (You can put a spoonful on a plate to test it. If it slowly flattens out it’s perfect. If it runs, add a bit more almond flour/powdered sugar. If it just stays in a blob, give it a few more folds.)
- Pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1-inch (3 cm) circles (about 1 tablespoon each of batter), evenly spaced one-inch (3 cm) apart.
- Rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons. Leave out, uncovered for 15 minutes, then bake them for 15-20 minutes. Give the macs a gentle little shake with the tip of your finger to see if they’re done. You want them set but not firm. It’s better to undercook them.
- Let cool completely then remove from baking sheet.
So you may be wondering what I thought of the other flavors of candy corn – waxy and nasty. Somehow the Kisses nailed the strange candy corn flavor in their Candy Corn Kisses, but at least it was smooth and creamy and not waxy. The Dots sort of captured the candy corn flavor but in a gummy sort of way.
Be sure and stop by MacTweets on September 20th to see the roundup of long ago & far away memories of the MacTweeters.
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I love to bake, especially cookies, cakes, and pies. I’ll post my adventures in the kitchen, my favorite new recipes, as well as our family favorites.
I must admit.. i do like candy corn, but after I eat a bag of them I am glad they only come out once a year!!!
These are amazingly adorable! I’m so impressed!
Macarons have always struck me as too daunting a challenge to tackle. But, I might just get up the courage to make these beauties. I adore candy corn!
I am totally saving this recipe for next month! They are adorable – how fun!
Your macs are perfect, Barbara, and so festive for the season. I have to admit that I loved candy corn when I was a child and always tried to bit off one color at a time. I guess it didn’t take much to keep me amused.
These came out beautifully! I don’t think I’ve ever tried corn candy but will look out for it next time I’m in the states!
Your macs look great! Love candy corn and this is very creative!
Barbara they are absolutely magnificent. I am in awe – bowing down to you, Mac Queen you! me? I didn’t have so much luck this time around and had to cunningly use them in another dish… Not half as much fun as yours though – well done!
Awesome! I live in the same climate as you (next town over) so I will try your recipe next time and see if it solves my hollowish shell issue that I have gotten with the Tartelette recipe. Amazing macs, as always!
I do not like candy corn but when I see it I instantly think fall and Halloween. These macaroons are perfect and they don’t really have candy corn in them which makes me happy. Although I have never seen the pumpkin spice kisses, I will have to keep an eye out for them.
I like your inspiration for these! I think I’ve seen those sweets either in pictures or maybe in Selfridges but I’ve not eaten them. Fabulous looking macs!
Totally impressed with your creativity. These are awesome.
So very cute Barabara, great macs. I tried candy corn for the first time last year and have to say I got addicted. There’s something abotu the texture and the crazy sugar-coma inducing sweetness I found appealing. I havent’ dared buy any again because I was gobbling it up by the handful, too dangerous!
These are the cutest things I’ve seen in a long, long time!!! My husband is addicted to candy corn… me, not so much. Are the pumpkin-spice kisses already on store shelves? I’ve got to try those this year.
Barbara…you’re starting to seem like an great pro at this. At the rate you’re going…you’ll soon be able to have your own specialized shop ;o)
These were quite original and love the photo.
Ciao for now,
Claudia
They are beautiful!! I Love all the flavors you come up with!
My heavens! You outdo yourself every month! – Nay every post!
Beautiful photo – MUST make these for Halloween this year!
For some reason, I’ve decided I like candy corn these days even though I never used to. Your macs look great! You had a great idea.
I hope you had a great weekend!
Barbara, I normally will not eat candy corn, but the mac version of it is something that I’ll not let it pass…looks awesome, light and perfect
I must confess that I did not create the courage to try to make mac…one of this days…
Macs can be a bit finicky to get them perfect, but really they are not that time consuming or difficult. I hope you give them a try!
Hi Barbara, These are perfectly yummy macs. Love the colors. I’m with you on the candy corn. They are so festive…and yucky!!! I love the idea of melting the kisses…so creative.
Thanks for visiting!
Wow, those look awesome and I love candy corn!
What a great idea! How creative
I’m a big fan of the candy corn. You can never have just one!
I’ve never liked candy corn either, but I’m always drawn to the pretty yellow, orange and white candies. Like you, they ALWAYS remind me of autumn. The macarons are so pretty! Makes me want to try to like candy corn again…
Beautiful macs! I may have to try them myself.
As for the candy corn? Mix a bag with a jar of dry roasted peanuts then try them again! The sweet with the crunchy salt is heaven in a candy dish!
I happen to have some dry roasted peanuts in the pantry. I’ll give it a try. Thanks!
Oh my goodness, how sweet are these? Beautiful job, perfect for Halloween!
I never liked candy corn either, but in mac form, its gotta be good
*kisses* HH
Thanks for the happy b-day wishes!
Oh so cute!! I love the candy corn idea, because like you, I WANT to like them, but really don’t. The “Indian Corn” kind are better than the regular, but still so waxy.
Anyway, I’m becoming more and more obsessed with the ideas of macarons the more adorable ones I see!
I love your candy corn inspired Macs.
Mimi
Cute idea, Barbara. These would be a huge hit with my kids (okay, I might eat a few, too).
these are super cute, and look delicious! Great idea!!
These are adorable! Great photos
these macarons look perfect. i am still looking for the right recipe ..i will definately try this one soon. thank you for sharing.
Barbara, you have out done yourself, these are over the top!!!!!!!
Cool. I love candy corn, so I’m sure these are lip-smacking good! Thanks.
Wow, wow, wow! I LOVE these! Don’t show my husband! LOL!
Great ideas. Trying to perfect my macarons but I have difficulty with keeping them of the same size. Can you share where you got that parchment with pre made circle shape? Is it like a Silpat? Thanks.
Tina it is actually a macaron template that was online that I just print, but I think they’ve taken it down. Fortunately, I saved a copy on my computer. I uploaded it for you. You’ll need to print two and it is recommended that you remove it before baking your macs (although I never do and haven’t had a problem.) http://barbarabakes.com/wp-content/upLoads/2010/10/macarontemplate.pdf
Good luck!
Barbara, thanks so much for sharing these awesome Macarons with us. I happen to love candy corn, I am sure these are as amazing to munch on as they are too gaze upon. Such pretty colors
xo”
Thanks for all the sweet comments! This has been my most popular mac post ever.
Barbara, what an inspiration! Macarons are a challenge at best, then you come up with this great way of featuring them for the holidays! I love this idea. I saw a variation in the movie Kings of Pastry I’ve been wanting to try. Now you’ve set me forward to do it.
Adorable! I am a candy corn fan but I usually go for the chocolate ones. The caramel apple ones are my new favorite though. I bite off the apple bit, the caramel part isn’t very good
These macarons look amazing. It’s perfect for halloween treats. I have a bag of candy corn in my cabinet that I was going to eat them by itself, but I think I’m going to try your recipe. I know I’m going to enjoy this.
Adorable!!!
Oh wow – these have to be the prettiest, most sophisticated Halloween treats I’ve seen!! Thanks so much for linking up to my Halloween blog hop!
This is one of the nicest comments I received! Thanks!
I know it’s kind of late to comment on this post but, I just saw them.
These are just TOO cute!