Adventure #82

About a week ago Matt and I decided to give making macarons a try. I was intimidated since I have read macarons are extremely hard to make. The directions have to be followed down to the letter. Of course Matt was not worried. We went to Sunflower Market to buy almond flour, eggs, granulated sugar, and food coloring. We also needed some equipment, including a pastry bag and a number 8 tip. We carefully read the directions in his new cook book. There are hints on every ingredient for how to make macarons turn out just right. For example the almond flour cannot be moist, so it should be stored in the refrigerator or cooked at a low heat before use to get the moisture out. (Thankfully we live in a desert.) Only egg whites are used to make macarons and the yolk should be separated 2 to 3 days before baking. The egg whites should also be at room temperature. The food coloring to make macarons should not be liquid or the shells will crack. How does anyone make macarons turn out right? Thankfully I had somewhere I had to be when Matt decided to make macarons for the first time. However, I have read the directions for baking, which includes steps such as making circle templates on parchment paper so the macarons are all the same size, letting the batter sit on the baking sheet for 15 minutes before cooking, and opening the oven 5 minutes into baking to let the steam out. To my absolute surprise Matt made an excellent batch of macarons. I should have known better. He also said it was not hard and he did not follow all the steps precisely. He continues to amaze me. He did not color the shells of our first go, to create less problems. He also made a simple butter cream frosting for the filling. Here are the results. They are delicious.