Yesterday, I found a new recipe in our local Lebanese newspaper for a light version of fried macarons. I decided to give it a try and wanted to share it with you. These beauties are not like their French counterparts as they vary in every detail.
The French macs are made of almond flour, egg whites, sugar, and they are baked; while the Lebanese ones are made of farina or semolina, yeast, anise, mahlab then dipped in sugar syrup that makes them so delicious. They are usually served for religious holidays, or any other day.
The size of these beauties depends on you, whether you like them small or big. I tend to go for the small size and eat them in moderation!
Please note that you have to prepare the sugar syrup and boil the anise seeds prior to combining the recipe. If you don’t like frying and prefer baking instead, you sure can bake these rolled cookies in a 325 degrees F for 15 minutes or until golden brown then dip them in syrup, and drain them in a colander. Another version is by skipping the syrup all together and dusting the macarons with powdered sugar once fried.
Ingredients:
- 3 c farina
- 1 c All-purpose-flour
- 1 tablespoon yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons melted ghee
- 1 tablespoon anise seeds boiled in 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon mahlab (aromatic spice that can be found in Middle Eastern stores)
- Dash of salt
Sugar Syrup:
- Boil 3 cups of sugar in 1 1/2 cups of water, stirring occasionally.
- Boil for 15 minutes until the syrup gets a little thick.
- Add a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice and a tablespoon of rose water. Turn off the heat and set aside.
- Keep warm until you use it in the macaroon.
Method:
- Boil the anise seeds in 1 1/2 cups water for 5 minutes.
- Cover and let steep for 10 minutes until the flavor is infused. Set aside.
- Place the farina and the flour in a mixer bowl; add the baking powder, mahlab, salt, anise powder and yeast. Mix well until well combined then add the oil, and melted ghee.
- Strain the anise seeds and add the flavored anise water to the mixture, start by adding one cup first, add more if needed.
- Adjust the flour and water as necessary if the dough is too hard or soft. It should be moist and easy to manage.
- Cover the dough and let it rest in a warm place for half an hour.
- To form the macarons, pinch a piece of dough into the palm of your hand, roll it into a long shape then against a grater or back of a plastic colander.
- When all the dough is shaped, deep fry the macarons until they turn golden in color.
- Remove them from the oil and drop them straight into the sugar syrup.
- Let the macarons sit in the syrup for a bit before placing them in a colander to strain the excess syrup.
- Continue this process until all the dough has been fried and dipped in the syrup.