GINGERBREAD MEN MACARONS (gluten free)

I suffer from insomnia and when I can’t sleep all kind of ideas come to me.
One of the last ones was to make a macaron version of the classic gingerbread men cookies.

So I decided to prepare them and it was easier than I thought and the result couldn’t had been prettier.

Ingredients (for 16 macarons)
Shells:
3 small egg whites at room temperature
65 g of granulated sugar (2.3 oz.)
½ teaspoon of molasses
55 g of grounded almonds (2 oz.)
165 g of icing sugar (5.8 oz.)
1 teaspoon of pure cocoa powder
⅛ of teaspoon of ground ginger
⅛ of teaspoon of ground ginger cinnamon
⅛ of teaspoon of ground ginger nutmeg
A pinch of ground black pepper

Filling:
90 g of chopped chocolate (3.2 oz.)
⅓ of cup of heavy cream

Draw on a baking sheet 32 little men of 5-6 cm (6 inches) and turn the sheet (the drawn side must be touching the baking tray) to put it on the tray.

Sift the grounded almonds with the icing sugar, the cocoa and the spices.
Beat the egg whites and when they start to form peaks add the granulated sugar.

When they get white add the molasses.

Keep beating until stiff peaks.

Sift again the grounded almonds, the icing sugar, the cocoa and the spices on the egg whites.
Integrate using a spatula, with encircling movements.

Finally, put it inside a piping bag, with a rounded tip.

Follow the shape you have drawn on the baking sheet.

Let them dry until you can touch them without being sticky. (Time may vary depending on the temperature and humidity)

Preheat the oven at 160ºC (320ºF).

Bake them for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling.
Put the cream and the chocolate in a pot, medium heat and stir.

Take the macarons out from the oven and let them cool down a bit.

Take one shell, put the filling with a piping bag and put the other shell.

With the rest of the filling draw the detail using a fine tip and a piping bag.

Put them in the fridge for a few hours before eating them.