French Macarons at Home
After failed attempt #1, I reviewed recipes online and decided to try again. This time, I figured I'd do pistachio macarons (pistachio was my favorite flavor, I thought it would give me motivation).
So, armed with a better recipe (or so I hoped) I set about making the new batch of macarons.
As you can see, my piping improved, although notice some of the crazy blobs! I could tell immediately that I was working with a better recipe. The batter was behaving the way I thought it should. Also note the green color even though at this point I was not using food coloring. Adding ground pistachios to the almonds was giving the macs the hue naturally. It was quite pretty in real life although they look a little gray in the photos. Maybe that's what caused me to be artsy and sprinkle the top with pistachios.
I didn't know it then, but I had overmixed my batter. And then came the real test, the actual baking!
As you can see, these puppies literally burst and fell in the oven. Problems of using too high a temperature. I still had a way to go but after experiment number 2 I knew I had a better recipe, but my macronage technique was still lacking and I didn't understand my oven at all. Time to try again!
Labels: Cookies, Macarons, Sweets
