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French Macarons

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The Luscious Macaron

Beautiful to look at, delightful to eat, I've recently become completely enchanted with french macarons. They absolutely are something out of fairy tales. This lens is my digital scrapbook for the mouthwatering confections. Here I'm gathering recipes and images and my own personal macaron adventures.

I've known about them since my fascination with French cooking from childhood, but I never really got it until seeing them pop up more and more on the Interwebs. I first saw some macaron art a few months ago and thought, wow, that's cute, but really? Are they that special?

Then I found that they could be ordered from different bakeries on Etsy when I was researching trendy food gifts for another Christmas gift lens. The flavor choices blew my mind! Very exotic! And not cheap!

Six months after I found them on Etsy I finally got to taste my first macarons. I was visiting La Bonne Bouchee in Creve Coeur, Missouri (St. Louis County) and there they were! They were expensive but my aunt indulged me. And they were so worth it! Have you ever eaten something that reminded you of some favorite childhood food and yet is not like anything you've ever eaten before? These macarons were like that for me. Eggier than I expected - like custard - and so sweet melt-in-your-mouth with a hint of mysterious flavors. It has only fueled my fire to learn more about these confections.

"Colorful" by ShironekoEuro on Flickr. Commercial Use Creative Commons License.

Macarons are not...

the same as macaroons.

So What Is a French Macaron?

Have you ever had a meringue shell? A meringue shell is made by baking whipped and sweetened egg whites at a slow temperature until hard on the outside and soft in the middle. That's different than the kind of meringue you get on lemon meringue pie. A french macaron is two of the dry kind of meringues put together with something soft and gooey in the middle.

A macaroon is a kind of cookie made with eggs and coconut. They are soft, chewy and very coconutty.

Favorite Food of Marie Antoinette?

I loved the styling of Sofia Coppola's movie, "Marie Antoinette". The colors throughout were exactly the same as a box of macarons. In the movie Marie was often eating them. I wondered if that was historically accurate. Apparently not.
Marie Antoinette and Macarons
I was going to write an article similar to this for this page but the "Marchioness" has already done it for me.

Pick Your Favorite Flavor

Macaron Trio by Bryan Ochalla on Flickr. Commercial Use Creative Commons License
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Macarons Delivered to Your Door

So many flavors, so little time...

48 Assorted Regular French Macarons - Perfect for tea time | Price: $50

Who doesn't like french macarons? They are one of the most popular sweets in the world! How am I going to describe them!? It's such a fabulous... (full description)

12 Assorted Regular French Macarons - Perfect for tea time | Price: $17

Who doesn't like french macarons? They are one of the most popular sweets in the world! How am I going to describe them!? It's such a fabulous... (full description)

24 Assorted Regular French Macarons - Perfect for tea time | Price: $0

Who doesn't like french macarons? They are one of the most popular sweets in the world! How am I going to describe them!? It's such a fabulous... (full description)

Handmade Paper Banner Macaron Favor (S) - Set of 30 | Price: $60

Isn't it great to have french macarons in your special events? It has a little crispness of the shell initially gave way to a soft, melt in your m... (full description)

Make Your Own Macarons

Not for the faint of heart

From recipes I've seen so far macarons are temperamental little beauties. The customer reviews of this book say that it makes baking them more likely to be a success than failure.
Macarons

Macarons

by: Bérengère Abraham, Marie-José Jarry

Amazon Price: $7.50 (as of 05/31/2012)Buy Now

Macarons are all the current rage, and this beautiful collection of tried-and-tested recipes allows even first-time macaron makers to try their hand at these luscious delicacies.

This stunning collection of recipes adds a touch of magic to the macaron. From the subtle flavors of the perfect raspberry or lemon macaron to more adventurous combinations of violet and white chocolate or rhubarb and red currant, this book includes 28 recipes for these dainty and delicious treats.

With a set of foolproof step-by-step instructions, accompanied by gorgeous, inspiring photography, this wonderful collection will ensure that even the novice chef can master the perfect macaron for any occasion.

Almond Flour

The key ingredient to French Macarons

I'm thinking about trying to make some myself and where I was going to find almond flour. A quick search on Amazon told me that Bob's Red Mill makes it. Therefore I can probably get it at a local grocery store (or possibly the organic food store). But in case you can't get it and you want to try making some macarons, good old Amazon comes through again.
Bob's Red Mill Almond Meal/Flour

Bob's Red Mill Almond Meal/Flour

Amazon Price: $12.50 (as of 05/31/2012)Buy Now

Old Eggs Are Better

Apparently macaron batter comes out better if you use old egg whites. One recipe I saw has you separate the whites from the yolks five days before making the batter. The first three days the whites rest in the refrigerator. The last two they sit on the counter at room temperature!

Pistachio Butter

Pistachio Paste is another common ingredient for French macaron fillings. It is very expensive! This Pistachio Butter is a luxury but won't break the bank. It may be a slightly different texture (not as fine a grain, perhaps) but I think it would do the job.
Fastachi® Pistachio Butter (1lb Container)

Fastachi® Pistachio Butter (1lb Container)

Amazon Price: $17.99 (as of 05/31/2012)Buy Now

More Macaron Cookbooks

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The Shiny Smoothness

...comes from letting the formed macaron batter sit until it dries out enough to make a skin. Then it is baked.

Technical Information

For the serious baker...

Or, if you're like me, you'll just love the photos.
Macaron 101: Italian Meringue Part One
Honestly the bakery chef lingo made my head swim after about the second paragraph but I LOVE the photos. Food as art.
Macaron 101: italian Meringue Part Two
See above. Maybe after I try making some more of it will make sense to me.
Macaron 101: Italian Meringue Part Three
More of the same.

Lovely Macarons Watercolors

from JoJo La Rue on Etsy

| Price: $0

(full description)

Macarons Watercolor Art Print, 8x10 | Price: $15

Macarons Watercolor Art Print, 8x10

This is a print of my original watercolor painting of a colorful pile of macarons. The original has been sold.... (full description)

Macarons T-shirt

by Floating Lemons (one of my favorite artists)

Macarons T-shirt shirt
Macarons T-shirt by floatinglemons
More Floating lemons T-Shirts

La Bonne Bouchee in Creve Coeur, Missouri (St. Louis)

Where I had my first macarons!

Aren't They Sweet?

Leave your comments here

  • Dickstucki1 May 27, 2012 @ 10:21 pm | delete
    These look great Thanks
  • Dickstucki1 May 27, 2012 @ 10:20 pm | delete
    These look great Thanks
  • KateHon May 2, 2012 @ 8:37 pm | delete
    I share your fascination with macarons - I'm hoping to talk a friend into baking them so I can taste one...or two...or...
  • mowug1776 Dec 29, 2011 @ 7:00 pm | delete
    I just like food, great lens
  • miaponzo Nov 30, 2011 @ 12:56 am | delete
    Here in Kuwait at Avenues Mall we have a coffee shop called Chocolate and Macaron.. and they tons of different macaron flavors.. Yes they are super yummy!!! And very, very light! Blessed!!
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Intuitive

I'm an artist, massage therapist, Reiki Master, crafter, blogger, foodie. I'm also the neighborhood Squid Angel for the Alternative Healing, Spiritual... more »

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Mad About Macarons 

Mad About Macarons!: Make Macarons Like the French

Mad About Macarons!: Make Macarons Like the French

by: Jill Colonna

Amazon Price: $9.38 (as of 05/31/2012)Buy Now

The customer reviews I read have convinced me I need this cookbook. This plus Macarons make me feel like I don't have to be a pastry chef to make a macaron. This book in particular sounds like macarons for Americans instead of Cordon Bleu trained pastry chefs.

The Creative Squid 

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