First Attempt: French Macarons

This was by far the most complicated baking I've done to date.  These little delicate desserts are just that! Very time consuming and if each step isn't done right and with the ut-most attention-to-detail, your macaron could be a serious flop.  And in the macaron world....mine would be considered a serious flop.

I love how this lady at Serious Eats gives you the history and run down of a perfect macaron.  Very insightful and enlightening.

I went to Giverslog to find a great tutorial on how to make these mini sandwich cake/cookies.  She seems to have many tips and tricks on getting each step down to perfection.  From leaving your egg whites out for an entire day to get to the perfect "room temperature" to baking on a dry day because humidity is not your friend in this recipe. It also seems as though this tutorial was not her first rodeo.  I guess practice does makes perfect!

After looking at the ingredients, I made a trip to Safeway....they didn't have Almond Flour.  I bought pastry flour not realizing that almond flour is simply finely finely processed almonds.  And so, I used my pastry flour which of course, did not create an actual macaron.  I don't know what I created since a macaron is almond in flavor.  So, a second attempt will have to follow this blog post, but bear with me for the time being.  

I used Martha Stewart's Coconut Swiss Meringue Buttercream recipe as the filling for my macarons.  Let me tell you...this recipe was just as difficult as the macaron itself.   

(Whipping egg whites and sugar for the meringue filling...fun stuff)

I couldn't believe how much butter was involved. 

5 sticks!!! But...I seriously only used a SMALL portion for the macaron filling.  Very small portion...as I probably have two containers left in the fridge to use for another project (maybe that second attempt ;).

Whenever I've seen these cute little dessert sandwiches they are always in the prettiest of pastel colors, so I decided I wanted a butter yellow cookie with a pink filling.  I was quite pleased with my color choices.  

And although my final product looks nothing like a macaron...get ready for the flop.  (Insert the "wah, wah, wah" sound effects)

 It was rather tasty, so I don't count this as a total failure.  

I promise, the second attempt...will be an actual macaron.