Happy Birthday, Mickey! Enjoy Ear-esistible Macarons to Celebrate

A chic celebration snack!
A chic celebration snack!

It's Mickey Mouse's 85th birthday! He's entertained generations of fans, and today is a great time to celebrate the world's most popular mouse. These delicate macarons bear a famous silhouette, and are perfect for marking the occasion.

Ingredients

FOR THE ALMOND COOKIES:
2 large eggs
1 cup sifted almond flour or meal (found in the baking section of some supermarkets or at natural food stores)
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
BUTTERCREAM
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 cup fresh raspberries

Related: Be our guest! 45 Disney character cupcakes you need to try

Directions

1. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set them aside. Tip: Use a dab of water, oil, or butter to secure the paper to the pans.

2. Over a small bowl, separate the egg whites from the yolks. If any yolk slips into the bowl, scoop it out with an eggshell half so that the whites will beat properly. Discard the yolks. Let the whites sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

3. Sift together the almond flour or meal and the confectioners' sugar into a medium-size mixing bowl. In a second bowl, using an electric mixer set on medium speed, beat together the egg whites and the salt until foamy, about 2 minutes. Increase the mixer's speed to high and gradually add the sugar. Continue to beat until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 1 minute more.

4. To make the meringue, gently fold the egg whites into the almond mixture with a rubber spatula, being careful not to deflate them.

5. Place some of the meringue in a pastry bag fit with a 3/8-inch round tip, or a ziplock plastic bag with a corner snipped. Beginning at the corner of one cookie sheet and holding the bag perpendicular to the sheet's surface, squeeze out enough meringue to make a 1-inch disk. Pull the tip away from the disk with a quick circular motion to avoid making a peak (a misshapen cookie can be gently molded with a wet finger). Continue piping the cookies, spacing them 2 inches apart and refilling the bag as needed, until all the meringue is used.

6. Gently tap the bottom of each cookie sheet against the counter top to further flatten the cookies (they should be about 1/4-inch thick), then allow them to sit at room temperature until dry to the touch, about 1 1/2 hours.

7. Heat the oven to 325˚. Bake the cookies, one pan at a time, in the center of the oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Allow each pan to cool on a wire rack.

8. Press 1 cup of raspberries through a fine mesh sieve to extract 4 tablespoons of juice. Whip a 1/2 cup of unsalted butter until pale and fluffy. Slowly add the confectioners sugar until combined. Add the raspberry juice and continue to blend until combined. Put the buttercream into a pastry bag or zip lock sandwich bag to pipe out the buttercream onto the cookies.

9. Pair similar-size cookies.

- By Kelly Delanty

For 45 Disney cookies that bring the Magic Kingdom home, visit Spoonful!

Spoonful | Make. Everyday.
Spoonful | Make. Everyday.

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