Macarons!

Hey guys! So if you follow me on twitter, which is unlikely (I have like 50 followers even though I follow like 200 people...) than you know that last year I went through a crazy macaron phase! I love macarons so much. They are so dainty and they make you look like your really good a baking even though they are super easy to make. So if your feeling like impressing your friends or you just want to look at some macaron food porn than this post is for you amigas!

The Recipe

2/3 cup almond meal

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 large egg whites that have been refrigerated for at least 24 hours

5 teaspoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

I added a picture of the almond meal to this picture of general things I used to make the macarons because its easier to know what your looking for in the grocery store rather than going in not knowing what your looking for. Through my experience I found that Harris Teeter is the only grocery store with Almond Meal.

So I thought that instead of going step by step through the directions with you, I would instead just give you helpful pictures for guide lines and some useful tips below. Also, if you are in need of directions and recipe, here is a link to website that I use to make my macarons, http://www.yumsugar.com/Basic-French-Macaron-Recipe-21651110. 

TIP #1: DO NOT SKIP THE SIFTING STEP. When you skip this step it causes your macaroons to have cracks and to be lumpy. Don't be lazy, you have to start of strong!

TIP #2: Really do refrigerate your egg whites 24 hours before hand. It makes a huge difference in the way your macarons turn out. I don't know why, like I don't know why the earth exists, I just accept it and continue on baking. 

TIP #3: When you begin adding your almond meal/confectioner's sugar mix into your egg whites make you sure you take your time adding it gradually. If your feeling lazy or rushed, just remember you've worked too hard to start being lazy now. 

TIP #4: Here's a link to the circles I printed out to make sure all my macarons were the same size (although any macaron in any shape or size is good too, not everyone macaron is going to be perfect <3), http://www.getcreativejuice.com/2013/08/macarons-basic-printable-template.html. 

TIP #5: Every recipe for macarons has a different cooking time/ preheating recommendation. My favorite one that works for me so far is 280 degrees for around 10 minutes. CONSTANTLY CHECK ON YOUR MACARONS while in the oven. They will burn and that would be really sad because you would have spent all that time making the batter for nothing. Again, don't get lazy now girl, your almost there. 

TIP #6: I didn't take any pictures but I used a basic buttercream icing recipe for the middle. I also dyed the icing so that it slightly matched my macaron color. Here's a recipe for the icing I used, keeping in mind I used regular 2% milk instead of cream, http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/easy-vanilla-buttercream-frosting.

NOW YOUR DONE! NOW TAKE A BUNCH OF FANCY PICS OF YOUR CREATION!

CONGRATULATIONS!  

Giving my macaron some well deserved love

Here are some more pictures of macarons I have made in the past. 

Pictures by Fiona Whittington (Except the ones of myself obviously)

If you haven't noticed I like kissing my macarons when I'm done because I'm cool like that.

I hope you enjoyed this post and inspired you to make some macarons! If this post helped or you'd like to share how your macarons turned out please comment! I have an unhealthy addiction to cute macaron pictures so I would be more than happy to see how yours turned out and hey, if you wanna drop some by my house, I wouldn't mind that either! <3