Last fall when I thought I was going to be staying home for a while I decided to start baking what I wanted to go with my lunch. Yes, I shouldn't really have dessert with my meals but I honestly can't remember a time when I didn't have something sweet to finish my lunch (well, on a regular basis. And when I eat alone). So for the first time in a long time (if not ever), I made something for me.
Several of the recipes I made asked for only egg yolks. But rather than toss the whites like I usually do (i.e. my famous pepperoni pinwheels) I started saving them. My intention was to make a macaron recipe for someone for Christmas. When that plan changed, I decided to make that recipe for me.
As most of you know, my history with macarons has been hit and miss. One of the main things I've struggled with is size: as soon as the batter hits the cookie sheet, it starts to spread. No idea if this was because the batter wasn't mixed enough or I just made them too big to begin with. Which is why I bought some macaron mats at the Culinary Apple last summer while in Chelan. Didn't entirely help but the shells were better than before, so win?
The recipe itself was easy to find: a while ago I bought a book called Mad About Macarons! by Jill Colonna. She's a bit of an expert on these little French treats, having lived in Paris since the 90s. I followed her instructions, even using metric measurements instead of the usual measuring cup/spoon that I'm used to. It was a longer process than I was expecting (which is why I didn't get to making the filling until almost a week later) but totally worth it.
