Blueberry Cheesecake Macaron Recipe (French Meringue Method)

Hello everyone! Time for another recipe. This one is a highly favorited recipe by some of my customers. If you love blueberries and you love cheesecake, this one's the macaron for you! One of my fave macaron flavors, since it's creamy and not too sweet.

Blueberry Cheesecake Macarons (makes about 12 completed macarons or 24 macaron shells)

Ingredients:
-70g almond flour
-10g Graham Crackers
-2 drops Blueberry Flavoring
-50g powdered sugar
-52g egg whites (doesn't need to be aged)
-52g granulated sugar
1 drop blue food coloring
1 drop purple food coloring
pinch of salt
Crushed graham crackers, for topping

Materials:
-Hand mixer/stand mixer
-Piping bags/tips (#12 Wilton)
-Silpat/parchment (I prefer Silpat)
-Aluminum baking half sheets (Nordic Ware/Costco/Smart and Final)
-Rubber spatula
-Bowls

1. Grind your graham crackers, almond flour, salt, and powdered sugar in a food processor. Then sift together into a large bowl. Add the blueberry flavoring. Set aside.
2. Weigh out your egg whites, and put it in a large bowl (either stand mixer or not).
3. Beat your egg whites until frothy, and slowly add in the granulated sugar.
4. Once sugar dissolves, beat at medium high speed until thick and glossy. It should look a bit droopy but that's fine because when you turn the bowl over, it doesn't come out.
5. Add in 1/3 of your almond powdered sugar mixture and mix until just combined. Add in the rest in small additions and then fold like you normally would (shown in my videos) until thick but still flowing in consistency (like magma). Add in the drops of food coloring at the last second before you put it in the piping bag so it makes a swirl effect.
6. Put it in a piping bag and pipe out 1-1.75 inch circles on a baking sheet lined with parchment or Silpat. Then rap the trays on the table until they are flattened to get rid of air bubbles. If you let them dry too long, they get lopsided.
7. Now is a good time to preheat your oven to 300 F (150 C).
8. Let the macarons dry (with a fan or not) for about 15-20 minutes. When it's almost time to bake them, you can pipe out your next tray.
9. Bake the macarons in the middle rack of your oven for 15 minutes.
10. Let cool for about 10 minutes.

Blueberry Cheesecake Buttercream (makes enough for 1 dozen, plus a little extra)

Ingredients:

-1 stick butter, softened
-1/3 stick cream cheese, softened
-1/4 cup freeze-dried blueberries, ground
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1/3 cup powdered sugar

1. Beat the butter in your hand/stand mixer for 3-5 minutes, til it is light and fluffy. Then add the powdered sugar.
2. Add in the cream cheese and beat until combined.
3. Add in the ground freeze-dried blueberries until it is a pretty purple color.
4. Sandwich two similar-sized shells together and store in the fridge until ready to eat. :)

I like using freeze-dried fruits in my buttercreams because it doesn't add moisture to the butter and it is so much more concentrated than fresh fruit. People often think contrary, but this is really the best way to get the most flavor.

Enjoy this recipe! <3