Believe it or not, I had never made French macarons. Sure, I graduated from culinary school, but that doesn’t mean we made every single dessert in the world. We made more than enough, but one thing we didn’t make were French macarons.
Our last class was working at the Apple Pie Bakery and we had macarons made by the T.A. Why no one ever cared to say, “Hey, I’d love to make those..”is beyond my understanding, but I am going to bet it on the fact that we were in the last 6 weeks of school and couldn’t care less. We were overworked, under slept and free labor as well. (The under slept might be a stretch because we created CIA nap time after class, before dinner to make sure we got enough sleep, hahaha!)
Back to the French macarons. To say they’re a trend is an understatement!
So, I decided to join the maniacs and found the best recipe out there, a no b.s. recipe that told me how, what and why. Meet BraveTart. Stella is a graduate of the CIA and makes macarons every day at her job. So obviously she knows what she’s doing. She’s got an amazing “Ten Commandments” as well as “10 Myths” about macarons that will help any soul in despair! I wrote down her recipe on a note card, brought my laptop with instructions to the kitchen and baked!
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| Stella’s Recipe |
That was the recipe used. My recommendation is that if this is your first time making macarons, make half a batch and see how that goes. I made an entire batch and as you will see below, my macarons had teeny-tiny feet. It kind of sucked to realize I had this huge bowl of macaron batter (that I was NOT throwing out) that I would have to pipe, knowing they’d have tiny feet no matter what. Five trays later, I was done.
I topped a few of the trays with black sesame seeds just for added cuteness! Half the macarons were filled with dulce de leche and the other half was an apple-cranberry curd I had in the fridge. Both were loved by my family, who had no idea why I was disappointed by the tiny feet. Needless to say, they gobbled them up!
After seeing the picture of my meringue and confirming it on Twitter, the reason my French macarons had teeny-tiny feet was that I needed to whip that egg foam more. I’ll definitely do that next time!
I found Stella’s directions great, but I had AMAZING support from Stella, Xialou, Mardi and Barbara. They literally (via Twitter) held my hand, reminded me to turn the pan halfway through and just gave me constant feedback on my macarons. Thank you ladies! Without you, it would’ve been almost impossible!
Your first macs turned out GREAT! Yay feet! I’m sure they’ll just get more beautiful with time and experience. Great job, girl!
Now I do not feel so bad that I have waited this long to try them…I am going to though. I have some egg whites waiting for me in the freezer!
Maybe one day this week if it is not too hot.
Feet or no feet they look delicious! Never met a Macaron I did not love!
As I’ve said before, anything with dulce de leche must be good, and I’m sure your macarons are no exception! I too have never made them before, but am always mesmerized by the beautiful macaron photos I see on blogs. Hopefully I’ll make some soon, but the gluten-free pasta is my challenge for today :-)Love your teeny-tiny feet!
Yours turned out just beautiful! I think I have an oven issue:-p You are awesome!
Hugs, Terra
Excuse me Nellie Bellie they are the purr-fect feet and most adorable macarons. SO you hot the Mac bug too. So proud of you girlie. That explains my peanut ones 1/2 the tray had feet and 1/2 didn’t maybe because I didn’t turn the tray 1/2 way around?! Hmmm could have been many reasons. You did a gorgeous job here!!
Cute! Yeah, I found my first batches didn’t have the right feet but as I beat the batter more, subsequent batches had better feet. Bravetart’s recipe and no-nonsense approach are the best, though! Nice job!
You are way too kind to me but also way too hard on yourself. Any kind of feet on your first try is a bonafide sign of success!
I’ve only made them a couple of times but am sure that your combination with dulce de leche would be a favorite!
LOve this Blog!
Well,, I think you did a great job on these!
Okay, if you’ve done it I have to give it a try.
The closest I’ve come to CIA is a tour and eating in the restaurants but I’m always up for a challenge. I wonder if I dare post about it if mine are a total disaster?
Nelly, you are such an inspiration!
I think these look fantastic for a first time. I will take your advice and make half a batch and see how it goes.