French Macaron

I have always fantasized about baking these but was too scared to even try it. It was always on my must bake list but somehow I managed to push it to my ongoing list of procrastination. Baking these classic french macaron is all very virgin territory to me and I was dying to try it. So, after doing various research online on recipes and how to and what not to do, it got to a point where it can get really overwhelming and very frustrating. And I haven’t even started baking yet; just by reading and visualizing the technique and possibility – disaster.

I have had a 2 pound bag of ground almond, aged egg whites and a new pipping tip just sitting on my counter looking at me wondering why I’m being such a wuss. That was 3 days ago.

Yesterday I finally did it. It took me the whole day in the kitchen of fussing over these delicate shell, and nearly pulling out my thin hair out of frustration. So needless to say that my first time isn’t exactly how I wanted it to go. The first batch was totally ruin. I was on the phone with my mom just talking and trying to distract myself from looking at the sloppy glob of what I would like to call macaron. I wanted so badly to just throw it out but after tasting it, I was like, OMG! These are so yummy!! So what if it doesn’t look pretty, it doesn’t matter right? Wrong. So wrong. It is supposed to look pretty. It is supposed to have the perfect feet and a smooth top. That was batch#1

And now, batch#2.  This time I tried using a lower heat after reading different tips and suggestions online. 5 minutes later after being in the oven, I was already jumping in excitement!! It had feet! Yes those pretty little feet! I was so happy I just wanted to shake someone!

I guess that whole celebration was a little premature because after letting the macaron shells cool on my baking tray I notice that the top was not as smooth as it was supposed to be. It look like it had little bumps on it and the feet could look a little better. Arrgh! I can’t seem to catch a break! But, it was after all my first attempt and I am going to try it again. I am going to get this right no matter what. I already have another mixture ready to go and hopefully this time it would look nice and smooth and not like it’s on puberty.

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