A colorful candy corn macaron with a yellow bottom, a white top, and creamy orange pumpkin spice filling.
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.
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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.
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Candy Corn Macaron
Ingredients
- 110 gm powdered sugar
- 60 gm finely ground almond meal/flour
- 60 gm egg whites of 2 eggs
- 40 gm granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 310 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about ½-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.
Amy (Sing For Your Supper)
Holy. Freaking. Cow. This is the cutest thing I’ve seen in a LONG time!!! You are SO creative!!! That first picture is just perfect!
tiffany ~foodf finery
i can not stand candy corn! 🙂 kennedy loves them and so does my mom… they gobble them all season! ew! i tried the kisses too… guess what else i don’t like? white chocolate. they are cute but… yuck! however- your macs are some of the best yet! awesome idea and they really look super!
Faith
These are really perfect for this time of year! I agree with you, candy corn just feels like fall. 🙂
Anna Johnston
Your candy corn dresses up this picture tremendously. Very festive macarons indeed.
Eliana
I’m right there with you on candy corn, never been a fan of the taste. But it I had these macarons in front of me, I wouldn’t be able to resist them.
Megan
I don’t really like candy corn either but I buy it for the candy dish. I like looking at it, not eating it. Kisses don’t stand a chance of being looked at cause *poof*, their gone. 🙁 But I LOVE macarons! Wonder how they travel. 😉
megan @ whatmegansmaking
Who knew there were so many different types of candy corn! I love it – so sugary and sweet 🙂 Your macarons look delicious as well of course!
Cristina
Barbara: You are always an inspiration. I just adore the beautiful colors you dress your perfectly pied macs in. What a great idea to melt those pumpkin spice kisses – I’ll need to find those to taste ’em, they sound interesting.
Now about candy corns {LOL!} I feel exactly the way you do about them. I want to like them, but cannot. I stood in Target a couple of days ago holding a bag of them, contemplating what to do with them. They’d be adorable adorning a Halloween inspired cupcake or the like…but I won’t eat them. 🙂
JG
Candy Corn is a sure sign of autumn! I never enjoyed that candy, either. The happy orange marshmallow pumpkins are a whole other story. 🙂
Your macarons – Yummy!
Beth
Those are adorable! I love them!
Kathia
I’ve never liked the taste of candy corn, but I do think they are so cute..to see! Your yummy macarons look awesome!
Joy
That looks great.
Blond Duck
I LOVE candy corn! These are so cute!
Joie de vivre
Found this post on Twitter. Don’t you love it? These are SO pretty! They would be perfect at a Halloween/Fall party.
Rachel
I know some people loathe candy corn – as you seem to. I personally love it and can’t wait for it to appear on store shelves in the late weeks of summer. Have you been to Target recently? They have smaller specialty bags of candy corn – far pricier than a traditional bag of candy corn though.
btw the macarons turned out really cute 🙂
Lisa McB
I love these! What a great idea! Makes me wish for fall even more!
Asha@FSK
P.S. I love the first photo with hazed out candy corn in the background.. perfect props!
Asha@FSK
Barbara, are they gorgeous or are they gorgeous!!!! Such vibrant colors!! Love them.. and the FEEET!! WOW! perfect… I am going to try the ottolengi recipe sometime.. maybe it’ll come out nice and hub won’t complain 😀
Becky O.
I am 100% in love with these!
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc
Loving this post today! So clever and creative! And Yum!