April 29, 2009

Macarons!

I finally managed to try baking macarons last night. It takes a bit of advanced preparation, because the egg whites called for in the recipe have to be separated and left in the refrigerator for 24 to 48 hours before they can be used, and of course I never think of doing any baking except on a weekend. I used unblanched almonds, so there are lots lof little brown flecks, but otherwise I think they worked like they are supposed to. I even got little feet on most of them. I used a very basic recipe - I was quite disappointed to find that the luscious color of macarons is actually just powdered food coloring, and not flavour. I think I will try making them with a bit of cassis to see if I can't get them to make the same with a bit more flavour. I also tried putting them on a silpat, and that was a disaster. They didn't cook, and they stuck. The ones on parchment paper worked perfectly and slid off without any effort.

The recipe seemed small, and my weigh scale doesn't measure in such small amounts, so I doubled the recipe. I ended up with 8 or 9 sheets of cookies! I got bored with all the piping and started making them bigger and then made some heart shaped ones as well. This would be really pretty in pink or purple sandwiched with some purple jam.




2 comments:

creative side said...

I love macaroons! However, we make them from coconut instead. I'm allergic to nuts, so the almond thing wouldn't work. Yours look delicious. When you are interested look for Daniel Smith Artist Supplies online. They have created a wonderful watercolor material called "watercolor sticks". They are spendy but worth every cent as they are almost pure pigment mixed with a very little bit of gum arabic. They create such deep vibrant watercolor with little effort. And...they are not as wimpy as watercolor pencils and blend much better with more precise control. I can't say enough about them.

Amber Dawn Inventive Soul said...

Macarons and macaroons are actaully different "creative side"

Susan, I just tasted my first macaron a few weeks ago at a new French bakery that opened locally.
WOW!!!
I was also thinking of making some myself because thy are so expensive.
After reading your entry, I can undertand why they cost so much per piece. Time and labor!

I think they are lovely with the almond skin flecks!