Christmas is just around the corner! These super simple Rudolph Macarons with Baileys Chocolate Ganache certainly brings out the festive joy in your kitchen.

Baileys adds an extra touch of luxury to desserts, and these will be fun for Christmas parties with friends or in the office. You can adjust how strong you want the taste of Baileys to be - for me, 2 tablespoon was strong enough but not overwhelming.

Hope you enjoy this recipe! Cheers!

RUDOLPH MACARONS
with Baileys Chocolate Ganache
by Sumopocky

Yield: ~20 macarons

Ingredients
[For Basic Macaron Shells]
Meringue: 70g of Egg whites + 90g of Castor sugar
80g of Almond flour
80g of Powdered/icing sugar
Black food colouring
Red food colouring
Brown food colouring
3/4 tablespoon of Cocoa powder

[For Hot Chocolate Filling]
40g of Dark Couverture Chocolate
20g of White Chocolate Chips
50ml of Heavy Cream
2 tbsp of Baileys

Directions
[For Basic Macaron Shells]
1. Make the meringue. In a bowl, beat the egg whites on low speed using an electric mixer until it is white and frothy (approximately 1 minute). Gradually add the sugar 1/4 at a time. When the first addition of sugar has completely dissolved (approximately 1 minute later), increase the mixer speed to medium and add until all the sugar has been incorporated. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
2. Sift the almond flour and icing sugar to the meringue.
3. Begin macaronage. Using a spatula, start the macaronage process by folding and lightly scraping the top of the batter. Continue until the wet and dry ingredients just start to combine.
4. Scoop out 1.5 teaspoon of batter and add black food colouring. Mix well and transfer to a piping bag with a small tip. Repeat for red and dark brown batter.
5. Sift in cocoa powder to the remaining batter and continue the macaronage process until you get a molten-like mixture and drips down like a ribbon when lifted. Transfer some to a piping bag with a medium round tip.
6. Pipe out batter onto baking tray lined with parchment paper. Please refer to video above for demonstration. TIP: Make equal number of decorated (with face) and non-decorated shells for the front and back of the macaron.
7. Let the shells dry in a non-humid place. You should be able to touch it gently with the tip of your finger without it sticking.
8. Bake in a preheated oven at 150°C for approximately 10 - 13 minutes.
9. Let shells cool before filling.

[For Baileys Chocolate Ganache]
1. Bring heavy cream to a simmer.
2. Pour heavy cream over chocolate. Let it sit for 1 minute and stir with a whisk till all the chocolate has melted.
3. Add Baileys and mix well. Let it cool.
4. Transfer the filling to a piping bag and pipe one one macaron shells.