what to do with 150 “leftover” macaron shells

So I completed my MacAttack challenge using the recipe I have had the most success with, but as Jamie pointed out in her lovely comments to me, yes, I had a tonne of leftover macaron shells.  I’m not sure just how big they make their macarons – maybe the size of a hamburger – because the recipe says it makes *20* sandwich cookies – I got 90.  That’s right, 180 shells in total.  Well, seeing as I was testing out a new flavour, I only made 1 cup of Saffron Buttercream, which isn’t really enough to fill that many cookies.  So I came home and brainstormed with hubby and he came up with an absolutely brilliant idea… the boozy macaron!  

Ganache can be used in a multitude of ways, one of them being macaron filling, another being truffles, which are often flavoured with various liqueurs.  It makes so much sense, I can’t believe it didn’t occur to me before.  I did not, however, head for the liquor cabinet.  Instead, I ran to my fridge for the wonderful little present my friend SZ brought me from London; Fortnum & Mason’s Cognac Butter.  It’s intended for good, english Christmas puddings like the carrot pudding my dear sweet Grandpa used to make each Christmas, but I did not make such a pudding this year, so I still had more than enough left to whip up a batch of Cognac Butter Ganache and fill all those orphaned mac shells.

So that’s what I did and packed them up for hubby to take to work (a great bunch of folks who comprise a good chunk of my taste-testers, and who save me from weighing 800 lbs if I had to eat all this stuff myself).   My husband reported back that the initial responses were “oh my god”, “holy sh*t” and a small crowd of people following him to his desk.  OK – I think we have a hit here.  The few leftover Saffron Buttercream macs were all getting good reviews, especially from the other foodies he works with, but not quite the same food-gasmic reactions as the cognac.  Now I just need to see if that friend of mine would mind zipping on over to London and picking me up some more of that cognac butter.  After all, it’s only a 9 hour flight and I’m sure finding Christmas pudding hard sauce in March shouldn’t be much of a problem…. I’m sure she won’t mind.


Cognac Butter Ganache

1 1/2 Cups (300 ml) heavy cream

350 g dark chocolate (I use Callebaut Dark Callets – after all, I have 10 kilos of the damn things)

4 Tbsp  (60 g) Fortnum & Mason Cognac Butter

Place  butter and chocolate into a heat-proof bowl.  Heat, but don’t boil, the cream in a small saucepan.  Pour cream over the chocolate and let sit for a few minutes.  Gently whisk or stir until mixture is well combined, thick and glossy.  Cool to room temperature before piping between macaron shells.  Devour with wild abandon.  When no one’s looking, lick the bowl and spoon clean, check face in mirror for any chocolate marks on face, forehead, chin, etc.  Resume composure and carry on with your day.