Macarons. Totally Last Year (But Still Delicious)

Well I think I can safely say that the french macaron trend will stay on for bit longer. I like them.

I jumped on this bandwagon (as Joy would Say). Unlike cupcakes, which I haven't even made yet. Not that I have been planning on making them anytime soon. Im not sure why, but I have never caught on to the cupcake frenzy. Perhaps it's that fact that the sight of a full-out cake makes me drool as opposed to a bunch of mini cakes or maybe it's the annoyingly, copious amount of cupcake shows on TV(although... I'll still watch them if there is nothing else on). But enough of that! Let me tell you how I got my macaron on.

So apparently I am too lazy to take my hand held mixer out of the drawer, but not too lazy to beat egg whites by hand. I don't understand it, but it works for me. Beat them egg whites until they are frothy McFrotherson.

Add some sugar, and continue beating till you get a glossy and ribbony consistency.

At this stage you can choose to add or omit food coloring. I had some burgundy on hand and added little bits at a time. (Wanted to past the stage of it looking like Pepto Bismol)

Now this might be where it screwed things up a bit. See those chunky bits? My almond flour, was still like ground almonds than actual flour consistency. The heaviness of the almonds might of deflated my egg whites a bit which might of been why some of the cookies sunk when I took them out. So go ahead buy some almond flour from any grocery. But you can also try to make some yourself by putting a cup of whole raw almonds in a food processor and pulsing until you have small crumb. 

Pipe 'em! No piping bag? Use a sandwich bag and cut a tiny bit off one end. Voila! 

What is interesting about the process, is that you need to let the piped batter sit for about 15-20 minutes to form a skin before baking.

No, they were not as uniform or clean cut as the ones you see in a bakery. But not bad for a first try I think.

 Oh yeah, and I attempted to make homemade almond joys. But I'll share once they've been perfected.

Look at my pretties! Be warned this recipe makes A LOT. But then again, you're going to want to eat A LOT. I was in the kitchen from 10am to 6pm making food (and nibbling on chocolate chips and ganache). But I cannot think of a better way to end the year than to bake my heart out and make a delicious meal for my family when they come home from work.

The possibilities are endless with these. Any color, flavor, and filling will work. I filled mine with ganache and grape jelly. Then I ate them. A lot of them.

Then said goodbye to 2011

Macarons
from Food Network

Click here to get the recipe!