Bon Appetit, January, p. 102, and Me.

Have you ever had a macaroon? I'm not talking about supersweet piles of coconut dipped in chocolate. Instead, I'm referring to a "chewy, crunchy, creamy" and light sandwich of almond meringue cookies filled with flavored buttercream...oh my. Here's a brief history of French Macaroon- or Macaron, if you prefer.
So I was flipping innocently through my new Bon Appetit, when I saw this:

A French Macaroon. It was suggested that the Macaroon may be "the new cupcake." I'm a fan of any cake, and I've heard of macaroons, but, even after several trips to France, I've never tried one. The coconut ones had scared me away. But this looks different, and coconut wasn't in the ingredient list, so I jumped in.

Well, that was a disaster. Burnt frosted flake gigantic wafer, anyone?
These are the times that culinary school would have been so helpful. So I went back through the recipe and directions with a fine tooth comb. It occurred to me that 16 oz of powdered sugar and 2 c. of powdered sugar are not the same thing. It is in volume measurements that a cup= 8 oz, not in powdered sugar measurements. So, I measured exactly; I sifted thoroughly; I folded in carefully; and I piped precious little circles onto my parchment-lined baking sheets. You won't believe what happened!



It worked! Look at those little shells of time-consuming goodness!



I was so excited, but there was more work to come. I'm not good at things that take a lot of time. So I looked at the recipe for the filling, and decided to go a different route. Hello, next Disaster. I didn't even take a photo. So, back to page 102. I got out every pot and pan, mixer and spoon I had, or so it seemed, and made the correct filling. Fabulous! Really good! And I made little cookie sandwiches:

And it was not bad. Then, I realized they were supposed to chill overnight. Shoot. In the cooler they went. But, since I'm impatient sometimes and eventually put everything on ciabatta anyway:

We did get a little treat last night. :)

This morning, I couldn't wait to get to work and try the finshed French Macaroon with Raspberry-Rose Buttercream! It was worth the wait. I hope we sell some because I'm almost finished with this post, and that means I will be back in the kitchen with them soon. And I really want more...a lot more.

Winter is a perfect time to make these due to our slow season here in the Smoky Mountains. I do hope you try them, and give me lots of feedback. If they go over well, I will make more. I couldn't find anywhere nearby that makes these. Do you know of one? Let me know! I think they would be perfect for an auntie and niece lunch date.





And we do love our nieces here! :D
Have a great weekend,
Summer