Can you believe I made these? I don’t know exactly when I fell in love with macarons, but it has been quite the love affair, and I finally decided that it’s time to make them at home! I’ve been baking some tasty treats lately, but I’m particularly proud of these macarons, especially considering these were my first ever attempt!
I looked at many recipes to find one that would be the simplest, but I quickly found that making macarons would not be an easy endeavor. I finally found this recipe from Tasty: How To Make Macarons, because it not only included the written recipe, but a step-by-step video along with tips to ensure you make the best possible ones. And although I followed the recipe exactly as written, I discovered a few things about the process that I will be sure to improve:
- Follow the directions in the recipe absolutely to the letter. Do not skip any steps, including tapping the cookie sheet to release the air bubbles and allowing the cookies to rest prior to baking. I let the macarons sit for only 30 minutes after piping them and tapping them. In the future, I will let them sit for an hour before baking them.
- Make all the macarons all at once. I made them in two separate sessions, which allowed the batter to sit for more than 30 minutes for the second batch. I will purchase an additional cookie sheet so that I can pipe them all at once, bake and cool them at the same time. I think this will allow them to rise better to create better “feet”. My second batch was not as well risen as the first batch.
- Decrease the sugar in the buttercream filling. I followed the recipe and used 3 cups of sugar. I will confess that I ran out of powdered sugar, and only used 2 cups, but then I added another cup of granulated sugar to make up for it. I think I will only use 2 cups as the filling was too sweet.
- Really let the macarons “bloom” for 24 hours…seriously! I had eaten a macaron not long after assembling them and it had a chewiness to it that I know is not a part of the macaron experience. I then tried the ones that I kept in an airtight container the following day, and they were absolutely amazing!
All in all, it was an amazing experience, and after I make one more basic batch following this Tasty recipe, I will get more creative and make more flavor combinations! If anyone tries this recipe, let me know. Happy baking, cheers!
