Macarons, Redux

A long, long time ago, I attempted making French Macarons. The holy grail for many home bakers. The delicate, finicky, almost-impossible-to-get-right trendy little cookies. A long, long time ago, I failed. But this time? This time, I got it right.



I did a few things differently. First of all, and I think most importantly, I didn't plan ahead. I had some egg whites left over and decided to make these on the spur of the moment. So I didn't spend anxious hours plotting, reading, re-reading, and preparing. I just went for it. I also baked them longer and didn't use any food coloring (I had used gel in the past), both of which I'm sure helped my cause. Also, in the past I used store-bought almond flour, and this time I ground my own.

At first, I didn't see what all the fuss was about, but now I understand. When done properly, they're divine. I filled half with nutella and half with homemade blackberry jam. The jam-filled ones were the unanimous favorite.

I used a mishmash of macaron maven Helen (of Tartelette)'s macaron recipes, all of which you can find here.