So the other day while looking at my sad pantry, I found a brand new bag of raw almonds. I held the bag in my hands for a little bit. Weighed it. Shook it. Tossed it in the air and then looked at the time.
It was 8pm.
Clearly that’s early enough to do the most awesome and dumbest thing ever on a friday night.
Yeah, I was being a lazy girl on a Friday night…I decided to hit up an old post and attempt some french macarons. Only this time, I would be working alone. In my mind, it was the truest test to see if I could manage on my own.
I am alive to tell the tale! (the recipe is in full detail here)
I first ground and measured 58 grams of almonds. Now known as my almond flour.
Then I sifted the almond flour with some powdered sugar.
Twice.
Did I mention I do not have a sifter? I had to use a hand held mesh strainer. That along took 30 minutes and two dishes.
I set the flour aside and whipped 3 egg whites which were at room temperature and beat them with my mixer on high until they were frothy and then I slowly added the flour and sugar mixture. It got nice and glossy. I stopped when it formed stiff peaks.
The next part had me cursing why I thought I could do this alone so late at night. The macaronage. The folding of the batter. Aerating it. Making it the perfect consistency.
I piped cute little disks onto cookie sheets. slapped the cookie sheets against the counter to make sure there were no bubbles. Then let them dry for 15 minutes.
Once they formed a skin on them, I popped them in the oven.
The end resulted in 2 dozen nearly perfect macaron cookies.
When the cookies cooled, I melted some dark chocolate with a little butter and vanilla and piped them to make the cutest little macaron sandwiches. Overall, the end resulted in a pretty impressive macaron, considering I did these on a whim on a random Friday night. The recipients were so happy… but then again, wouldn’t you be happy if someone handed you 2 dozen french macarons for free?
I would be too.
