Attempting the Great French Macaron

This is it. Right here. One of the scariest things to face in dessert land. For the longest time I've wanted to conquer one of these bad boys, but I never had: a. the patience or b. the time. Back in February, I had a break from school with nothing to do, so I decided to accept the challenge. I have to admit, I was honestly prepared for the worst. The thing about french macaroons that make them hard is the fact that they are insanely precise. If you are off with your measurements, it makes a huge difference, even if you're off only by a little bit. Also there are so many different factors that contribute to the quality of the macaroon.

First before I go into anything else I would just like to clarify:

Macaroon= the round cookie composed of shredded coconut (usually chewy)

Macaron= (pronounced: Mah-kah-ROHN) composed of two meringue cookies with a jelly filling typically in-between 

Yes, from making these I found out that there is a difference, between the two.

After a whole day of research for recipes, I decided to go with one from Martha Stewart, because seriously how can you go wrong with Martha. (RECIPE --> here)

With this being my first time making these I didn't want to go overboard with all the different flavors, so I just did a standard cookie recipe. But then came the filling.... everything was going so well with the cookie I was so surprised, but then the filling..... oh the filling....

While doing my research I made the decision to go with a swiss meringue buttercream for the inside. Well I found out that I simply cannot make a swiss meringue buttercream if my life depended on it. I did make it one time before this, for a cake, but it failed horribly. For the macarons I figured I could try it again. But no. 

I don't know what's wrong with me, but every time I make it, it falls and becomes too thin:( 

After the second time of it not coming out, I gave up and tried to attempt to fix it. In the end it came out ehh, not great but it still tasted good with the macaron. I added a little bit of raspberry jam to it for taste as well, which helped. 

If I were to make these again, I would try and go for a more jelly filling (but that's just my opinion).
Despite the filling not turning out fantastic, I was overall overjoyed with the results. The cookie was firm, yet chewy, how a good macaroon should be.

So don't be afraid!! If you have been itching to make french macaroons, but have been too intimidated, just go for it! Seriously I am horrible with exact measurements and if I can do it, you can too!

Here are some videos that helped me with the technique:
-Rose Water Macarons
-How to Make Macarons
-How to Make Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Go forth and make some amazing french macarons!

xo
Lauren