The Mandalorian – Blue Macarons

There’s a LOT to love about The Mandalorian. The authentic feel of Star Wars that hearkens back to the original trilogy, the callbacks to other SW stories and characters, not to mention the amazing technology that totally immerses the actors and fans in each setting.

But one thing I love (granted, I am totally biased) is their constant inclusion of food and drink. Whether it’s the bone broth in season one or the blue spotchka that keeps appearing in taverns and cantinas, it’s a recurring detail of the Mandalorian, which is pretty unusual for a serial show.

So, of course, when those crumbly, delicious looking blue macarons popped onto screen in chapter 10, I shrieked with delight. Macarons are one of my very favorite sweet treats (along with dark chocolate sea salt caramels… YUM) and I couldn’t wait to take a crack at these.

And so, with my newfound confidence in my ability to make macarons (thanks to this book), those delectable treats leapt to the top of my list of new recipes. I asked on Twitter for suggestions for flavors, and got a lot of great suggestions. Buuuuuut they were all great ideas for modern sweet macaron flavor pairings, and that didn’t strike me as unusual enough for a recipe set in the Star Wars ‘verse. In the same way that you can’t just add blue dye to milk, and call it Bantha Milk, you know?

Then I got to thinking, what if it’s actually a savory macaron? Like, the mother of that selfish little kid packed him a lunch, and he just tucked into it early. After all, the blue of spotchka comes from those blue krill, so why not this? I have seen a lot of savory macaron variations online, like some with smoked salmon, goat cheese, and even chicken mole. None seemed doable in a way that would still allow for that smooth blue color.

I recently watched a video about macarons made with cricket flour, and you know what? That really clicked for me. After all, a lot of experts consider insects to be the next big food trend, not to mention a much more sustainable source of protein than meat or highly demanding nut trees. It seems to fit perfectly with a future-past space town.

It wasn’t until I was pulling the screen shots for comparison that I realized a couple of things… First off, it’s only half a macaron! There’s no filling, and no sandwich, so right off, this recipe isn’t quite right. Second is the color- I think, given the planet and what we’ve seen of blue food thus far in The Mandalorian, the color probably comes from those blue krill shrimp. Normally, for blue Star Wars food, I use blue butterfly pea flowers (which you might have on hand if you’ve been working through the Galaxy’s Edge cookbook), but there’s no easy way to get that color into the macaron mix. So I finally splurged on some vibrant new food colorings, and that was just the ticket to properly color match the screen food.

In the meantime, I got all excited about making macarons, so I couldn’t just abandon my efforts while I waited for the next delivery. For a variety of reasons (mostly time and current inability to shop for more than the basics) I played it mostly safe with the recipe this time. I did swap the traditional almond flour for some cashew flour that I had in the cupboard, which helped defamiliarize it a little. But I’ve got some cricket on order, and hope to edit this post accordingly soon.

PHEW. That was altogether too much talking on my part, and not enough eating on yours. So consider this a placeholder post, someday to be updated, just as soon as my cricket flour comes in the mail. ;)

Mandalorian Macarons, version 1

Prep: 20 minutes      Resting: 40 minutes       Baking: ~15 minutes

Makes: about 20+ macarons

Base Macarons:

• 70 grams egg whites* (about 2 eggs), room temperature
• 3 Tbs. granulated sugar
• Pinch salt
• Pinch cream of tartar
• 3/4 cup almond or cashew flour
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• Blue food coloring

Begin by beating the egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar for about a minute, until the mixture is frothy. While continuing to beat, add in the granulated sugar in a slow stream. Beat on medium speed for about 5 minutes or so, or until the meringue has formed stiff peaks. Beat in the food coloring until just mixed.

Sift together the nut flour and the powdered sugar into the bowl with the meringue, then use a spoon to beat everything together until smooth and glossy. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a medium round tip. Pipe onto silicone pads or parchment paper over your baking sheets (there are great videos online of this) into little discs about 1” across. Once all the macarons are piped, pick up the baking sheet and repeatedly tap it firmly against your counter several times to work any rogue air bubbles out of the meringue. Set the baking sheets aside and let them dry for around 40 minutes, or until the tops of the macarons are not sticky to the touch. Preheat the oven to 250F.

Once the oven is up to temperature, bake the macarons for around 15-18 minutes. Every oven is different, so you may need to tweak the times a little. Once cool, the macarons should peel easily off the baking sheets. Fill every other half with a dollop of buttercream frosting (lemoncurd is also wonderful!) and sandwich together with an unfilled half.

*For better results, separate your egg whites into a small bowl and set overnight in the fridge to help a little of the extra moisture evaporate from them.