Macarons

Macarons and I have had a tumultuous past. In that one time a few years ago I tried to make them and it was a miserable failure. I believe it was during Snowmaggedon here in DC and I was housebound for a few days. I always thought macarons were so beautiful, (at that point, I don’t think I had ever even tasted one) so I figured it was a worthy project for a snowday. 

Well, macarons are a bit finicky. As it turns out, if you don’t have the right ingredients (i.e. almond flour) and no food processor (to make said almond flour), and trying to make homemade almond flour in a blender (hint: it doesn’t work very well), that things might not go your way.

Also, parchment paper and silpat mats are made for a reason. This is one of those reasons. Use them.

So a few weeks ago, I had a free afternoon so I decided to make another go of it. I’m older, and possibly a little bit wiser, so I figured I give them another shot. Plus, they’re so darn pretty!

Let’s be honest, this is a pretty involved process. Macarons take a while. But once you figure it out, the payoff is totally worth it.  

A few notes:

I used almond flour from Trader Joe’s. It includes the dark brown shells from the almonds. This resulted to my macarons having a slightly flecked appearance. 

I filled these with buttercream because it was convenient, which led the macarons to being a bit on the sweet side. Next time I make them, I’m going to try a chocolate ganache to tone it down a bit.