Strawberry Macarons

I have had the crazy urge to make macarons since my last failed attempt at them. This time, they actually turned out pretty well! Despite having a few cracked and misshapen ones, most of them looked decent. The recipe I used is a Laduree style recipe.

The biggest hints that I have to give for this recipe are:
1. Once you have made the macaron shapes on the baking sheet, let them sit for about 10-15 minutes. This will help keep them from cracking when baked.
2. Use a clip or rubber band on the end of the pastry bag to keep the batter from coming out.
3. Use a silicon baking mat if you have one. It will help keep the macarons from over-baking.
4. Use the middle rack in the oven only.
5. If you use the strawberry recipe, use 1/2 cup of strawberry preserves in the buttercream rather than the 1/3 cup suggested in the recipe. 1/3 cup just doesn't provide enough strawberry flavor.
6. Use slightly more food coloring than you think you need. The pastry will lighten a little as it bakes.

Good luck if you decide to take the macaron plunge!

New Layout

After a long four month hiatus due to educational obligations, I will hopefully have some new posts. I did make a new layout which is macaron themed. Apparently, maracons are my new mini obsession. But how couldn't you get obsessed with them?! They're colorful, fun to photograph, and overall DELICIOUS. The only problem is that they are incredibly difficult to make correctly; however, I am bound and determined to get it right someday. I got my sister an "at-home" macaron maker for Christmas, so hopefully she'll like that and let me get involved in the making of them. She and I have been meaning to have a picnic again and keep putting it off, so hopefully when the weather warms up this spring, we'll get to it and make some lovely macarons to bring along!