The road to the perfect macaron was a bit of a struggle. I had read so many blogs about them and everything you should or should not know and figured out very quickly that these were one finicky cookie. But oh, are the worth it! They are one of the most fun desserts to eat! The cookie part is crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside and whatever filling you decide to use fills the rest of your mouth with flavor.
I've been using this recipe from Your Homebased Mom as it was easy to follow and came with a great video as well. I haven't had to modify it much but for some of the flavors I needed to add and subtract a few things to make sure there wasn't too much dry ingredients. So let's take a walk down my macaron journey as I realize how to do better with each batch.
First Attempt - Raspberry
I thought I did everything like I was supposed to. I sifted the almond flour and powdered sugar and I got stiff-peaked egg whites. I thought the batter looked sort of like lava, but my hopes were cut short when they barely held their shape on the tray. I continued though and left them out for 30 minutes before baking. They didn't get those classic feet though! Let me tell you, when you are making macarons, the feet are where it's at! My issue here is that I did not stir the batter long enough. I learned later that the point of mixing the batter is to DEFLATE the egg whites. You do not want to be gentle with them. Smash your spatula against the side of the bowl as you fold in the dry mixture. And stop mixing just when everything looks smooth and shiny.
Second Attempt - Too Gooey Chocolate
I didn't even take a picture because these were such a huge fail. It was late and I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do them right and get the feet! I couldn't even get them piped! I felt like I had stirred enough but it was so runny. I proceeded to have a macaron meltdown in the kitchen as I created a giant macaron puddle on the cookie sheet. I realized I didn't get stiff enough egg whites and would have to try again.
Third Attempt - Chocolate with Vanilla Buttercream
Time for some chocolate macarons. My inspiration for these were classic whoopie pies. I made these the night before I flew out to California to go to Vegas with my mom. I stayed up until 11 because I'm crazy and had to challenge myself. I remember being on the phone with my mom while Jeff was asleep in the other room getting so excited about the macarons having feet! At the time, my mom didn't understand what that meant...but she does now! Ok, I finally have feet going, I did something right. But there were cracks in the tops of them which meant I wasn't patient enough in letting them dry. They tasted great though, but still not perfect.
Fourth Attempt - Pistachio
Feet...check. Smooth top...check. Amazingly delicious...check! The pistachio macarons were perfect! I did everything right and they came out great. I actually ground up some pistachios and put it in the batter in place of some almond flour so even the cookie had strong pistachio flavor. They were just amazing. They held their shape when I piped them out better than the others before and got amazing feet. They were smooth as glass on top and created the perfect cookie.
Fifth Attempt - Pink Lemonade
I'm not sure if these are attempts anymore. I feel pretty confident in myself now but there is definitely room for improvement. I need to find powdered food coloring as the gel dye I'm using now is not made for baking and is thus turing the color of my beautiful, bright macarons to a dingy brown. However, for this attempt I really noticed that it was a much thicker batter. I had a fair amount of batter left after I piped two sheets out so in a small brownie pan I decided to try and make tiny macarons to see how they would hold the flavor. I didn't realize I was creating one of the best bite-sized confections known to man! I call them Mini Macs and they are amazing! It's easy to eat a handful but really have to watch myself as I am currently writing this at the end of a long sugar coma filled weekend.
Jeff and I are excited for the future and are looking forward to getting our first orders. We are still perfecting our craft and once we do, we'll be ready for customers (aka our awesome family and friends!) Stay tuned for more information about our bake shop. For now, it's something we're planning on doing on the side, but who knows what could happen!
Tips and Tricks for French Macarons
- When you fold in the dry ingredients, don't be gentle with the egg whites. You want to deflate them so there is as little as air in the batter as possible. Smear the batter along the side of the bowl each time you fold.
- Bang your cookie sheet flat against a table a few times after you've piped the macarons. This will help any extra air bubble escape.
- Use powdered food coloring instead of gel. It won't brown and the color will be more vibrant. Also, if you find a store that sells these instead of online, please share that with me.
Good luck to any of you trying macarons for the first time. Don't be too intimidated. Even though my first attempt didn't look great, they tasted amazing and were the right texture when all said and done. Enjoy your mistakes and move on to make them even better the next time!
