The trials and tribulations of baking French macarons
It’s hard to find fault with a good old chocolate chip cookie, but if I get to choose which kind of cookie to bake, I always pick something that presents a challenge. Cut out cookies with butter cream frosting, sandwich cookies, filled or dipped cookies are more my style. But I met my match the other day with French macarons.
French macarons are persnickety. Period. There are a multitude of things that can go wrong, and no matter how many recipes you read or videos you watch, everyone seems to have a different opinion. When it comes to the almond flour (the main ingredient), some folks sift pre-ground almond flour, and there are those who only start with whole or sliced almonds and make their own. Other arguments include measuring vs. weighing, and whether or not a convection oven is better than a standard. I even read strong opinions about superfine vs. granulated sugar. Everyone agrees it’s important to know just how long to fold the meringue into the almond batter, but to what consistency?
I’m not quite there yet, but I’m very pleased with these pretty macarons. I nailed the color, and texture is perfect. The “feet” aren’t quite there, and I realize those cracks aren’t ideal, but I’m happy and they are delicious!
Once I land on a technique that I am happy to pass along here, I’ll post it. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the photo.
