Making Macarons
27 Mar 2013
One of my March goals was to finally make macarons. Totally intimidating? Why, yes!
But my sweet brother and his wife gave us a little mix for Christmas, so that made it much more approachable. They went to a macaron making class in New York for her birthday, so they must be old pros by now. Me, I was grateful for the mix and directions. Still, I was saving it for a day when I had lots of focus. And that day was Saturday!
The mix has everything separated for you, so all you have to do is whip the egg whites and then gradually add these things in. I consider it a colossal success that I managed not to destroy the meringue, as I think that is my natural proclivity.
Since I’m a rebel, and I only have so many Silpats (one) and had only one tiny piece of parchment paper left (ack!), I totally did not leave two inches between each cookie. But I still call this a piping success.
The cookies bake up very quickly, and I was about to high five myself when I remembered this: egg whites are the holy grail of stickiness. And so a bunch of them got cracked as I was trying to get them off the Silpat. But you can’t tell that from their pretty undersides!
Here are the bottom sides, all prettily covered with ganache, which I piped on with, I’m not joking, a turkey baster. It worked perfectly! I am just waiting for my Iron Chef trophy to come in the mail.
Even though I had a good long laugh about how a bunch of these turned out (…unique-looking!), they were just insanely delicious. I wish I’d taken a picture of Eric’s face when he bit into his first one. It was awesome. I wasn’t planning to share them here on the blog, but Eric kept saving the beauty queens among them in case they warranted a post, and I’m glad he did. This triumph must go down in my baking history! Since I used this lovely mix, I don’t have a recipe for you, but here is Martha Stewart’s, because she’d never let us down. Happy baking!
Mar 27, 2013 @ 06:03:17
Wow those really do look good!
Mar 27, 2013 @ 21:53:23
They are almost gone now!
Mar 27, 2013 @ 06:49:37
After our conversation on Sunday, I didn’t expect to see these on the blog. They look really yummy!
Mar 27, 2013 @ 21:54:17
I know! Sometimes an outside perspective can convince you that you’ve got more to show than you thought:) They were delicious, just the right blend of chewy and crunchy. And, of course, full of chocolate!
Mar 27, 2013 @ 08:27:19
Your Iron chef trophy has arrived! Mix or no mix, I am definitely impressed!! 🙂
Mar 27, 2013 @ 21:54:33
Aww, thank you! You impress me all the time!
Mar 27, 2013 @ 10:19:41
Whoa. Nice work! I would have been too afraid to try!
Mar 27, 2013 @ 21:54:54
I was too! But I’m glad I did it! Maybe next time I can try without the mix;)
Mar 27, 2013 @ 12:31:59
I think they look beautiful! When I’ve made macarons, the tops never turn out as glossy and smooth as yours, and in fact only a few of them end up looking right. I’ve found so many conflicting instructions on this tricky matter, so who’s to say what the right outcome is? And I am super impressed that you used a turkey baster to pipe the filling — that’s brilliant!
Mar 27, 2013 @ 21:59:47
Thank you so much! That definitely means a lot coming from you! I feel like they didn’t rise as much as macarons seem to usually, but there’s always next time! I will definitely be keeping that turkey baster trick up my sleeve–necessity is the mother of invention. 🙂
Mar 27, 2013 @ 21:20:31
These look so yummy, & fun to make! Its always awesome when you stall with a recipe cuz it seems scary, then it comes out great:)
Mar 27, 2013 @ 22:00:36
Thank you! I totally agree! It would be fun to make these from scratch because you get to grind almonds to a pulp…a delicious, delicious pulp!
Mar 28, 2013 @ 14:39:36
For next time, you can also pipe with a rectangle of parchment paper (or waxed paper, though not as durable) rolled into a “v” and then snip the end off. Also a small zip-type bag with a corner snipped off works well. I was thrilled to see these make the post (nice saving, Eric!!) because I think they look beautiful!! Congrats!
Mar 28, 2013 @ 23:21:26
Oh, thanks for the tips! I did pipe the cookies with a big ziploc bag, and it came in very handy! I need to get some new parchment paper–it is the most useful invention! Eric is so great:) I would tell you how wonderful he is, but I have a hunch you may already know!:)
Apr 03, 2013 @ 15:21:08
It’s really grand fun to see him again through your eyes. . . .
Apr 03, 2013 @ 22:56:13
And it’s really grand fun for me to see him through your eyes too! And, pretty great to just see him every day. He’s my favorite!
Mar 29, 2013 @ 05:47:08
I love that you and Eric and Martin and Anna all had the same experience! I would love to eat the macarons but don’t think I’ll attempt them. because they at tempt me too much for my own good!
Mar 31, 2013 @ 20:58:43
I totally understand! They were gone in a flash! I forgot to tell Martin when I was on the phone with him today. Ah well. I told him he should start calling me on his 10pm cab rides;)
May 15, 2013 @ 11:36:47
How’s the big Macaron experiment coming along?
May 16, 2013 @ 21:28:47
Ha! I quit, at least for now! I think I’ll let EuroPane make them for me for a while:)