Macarons and Me

Why do I love these crazy little French cookies SO MUCH???

Macarons, light almond-y sandwiches not to be confused with the American coconut blobs, macarOOns. Not a big fan.

MACARONS…the colors, the flavors, THE TEXTURE. The way they look nestled in a box. No wonder they are the banner of this ol blog.

My friend and co-worker Erica just returned from France…and graced us with a beautiful box of them!

Beautiful packaging

There’s caramel and chocolate and vanilla, lavender/Cassis, chestnut and more. I have been circling them like a shark all day. Ok and have done more than circle (hint: I’ve EATEN some)

Now, back in December, with my trusty Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy by my side, I actually attempted to make these!! They require $1,000 almond meal (ok it’s only $11 but still, SERIOUSLY??), egg whites, almond extract and powdered sugar.

Mid-way through nervously “folding” the ingredients together. I also put in (NOT NEARLY ENOUGH) food coloring.

I skipped the pastry bag and spooned them onto the parchment lined baking sheets.

TO MY SURPRISE THEY ACTUALLY WORKED!!!! I couldn’t believe it! Macaron after macaron at my fingertips with no $1.75 a piece price tag! Now granted they didn’t exactly come out pink…more of a flesh color but…oh well, next time.

I excitedly spread raspberry jam in the middle.

Taste verdict: mini jam sandwich. on almond bread…Ok now I don’t think I did anything wrong. I just think I needed way more extract or flavoring of some kind, and the jam just was NOT DOIN IT.