Flamingo Musings

Cooking, Canning, Baking - It's All Kosher

Mac Attack!

Lured in by @Vindee, @lifesafeast, and @ShelleyBakes, – new friends of mine on Twitter – I accepted the challenge to bloggers and Twitterers all over the world to attempt to make that delicate filled sandwich cookie, the French macaron.

Not to be confused with the macaroon, the French macaron is an airy cookie made of meringue and ground nuts. Sandwich a yummy creamy filling between two of them and you have the macaron.

Making macarons is not as easy as it sounds, and in the end, I must admit defeat. As in de feet. A proper macaron has a smooth, crispy outer shell, a chewy interior, and a rough”foot” from which it rises a bit. Well, two out of three ain’t bad.

I ain’t got no feet. But they are delicious!

Pistachio Macarons with Chocolate Almond Butter Cream – 3rd attempt


Hazelnut Macarons with Coffee Cream – 4th attempt

And you know what? I’m good with that. My second attempt (failed for other reasons) was a recipe for chocolate macarons out of A Passion For Chocolate by Maurice and Jean-Jacques Bernachon (adapted by Rose Levy Bernabaum for the American kitchen). In a photo illustrating their macarons – guess what? – no feet! But as MJ said when I gave him one to taste: “They don’t need feet to get ’em to my mouth.” 😀 I love him. Anyways…

So, whether to blame the humidity, oven temperature(s), or any of the other minute variables, I can’t tell. And under the circumstances, I’m not going to share these particular recipes. But do visit Jamie at Life’s A Feast and see how she and other food bloggers (in whose company I am most humble) who took up the Mac Attack challenge, did!

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Comments

  1. Darling – those are gorgeous – mine look like something the cat might have regurgitated.I WILL TRY AGAIN. 🙂

  2. I think they are lovely and they look too yummy! They look very light and airy! Godd for you! Thanks for joining us, and I am so glad to have met you on twitter. L'Shana Tova!