My husband has a bizarre fascination with macarons. I think it all started back when we watched an episode from last season’s Master Chef, and the contestants were challenged with making perfectly colorful and ultra beautiful macarons for the three judges to dissect.
So, since last summer when that episode aired, he’s been talking about and fantasizing about macarons. He hadn’t even tasted them until last weekend when we went to the new Whole Foods at The Domain, where we got one of each of their flavors. The obsession grew, and before I knew it, I was collecting recipes on Foodie.com for these delightfully light and airy French sandwich cookies.
Yesterday, I decided to take the plunge, and try making some Red Velvet macarons!
They came out DELICIOUS, but not as pretty as I’d hoped. The shells cracked a little bit, and I think I made them way too big. It’s HARD to pipe the batter out into perfect circles without tips, you guys. I don’t know if it’d be any easier with a piping bag, but it’s near impossible with a Ziplock.
So, for the month of March, I’m going to keep challenging myself, and continue working on my macaron-making skills. I think I’ll take on some Minty Macarons to help celebrate St. Patty’s Day. And I’ll implement some of the things I learned along the way this time.
Almond meal is irreplaceable when it comes to making macarons. You can search HEB’s baking isle as much as you’d like, but you’d be better to find yourself on the bulk foods section. The stuff is expensive, you guys, so be careful with how much you get!
The most important thing I learned: I need to use “aged eggs,” which result in runnier whites, and therefore a better whip, and higher froth. To age eggs, you just leave them in a bowl covered in plastic wrap. To age your egg whites, you put them in a bowl, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap, then leave the bowl out on the counter for about 24 hours. At room temperature, eggs age one day per hour compared to how they’d age in a refrigerator.
So stick around for another adventure in macaron-making coming up!
