Macarons. Those amazing pastries we all know and love. They're beautiful, mysterious, and tantalizing. They are also a pain in the butt to make. Fortunately, Michael's carries a line of goodies specifically for those of us with enough bravery to give these babies a shot ourselves. Mastrad Paris offers a nifty silicon baking sheet with templates and guides for piping your meringue, and a cookbook with incredibly detailed instructions.
When we were challenged with creating something Parisian themed this month, our minds immediately snapped to macarons. We are fortunate enough to have sever french patisseries nearby in Pittsburgh with unbelievably divine macarons, but, of course, they are quite costly. Why not try to get the goodness on our own?
I won't be posting a recipe here because, honestly, it's entirely too complex and you really do need the entire book to help you. I used cocoa powder to flavor the meringues and a Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Sauce for the filling. It was heavenly! I took a few photos of the process... which take a lot of patience and a lot of focus.
My macarons did not turn out perfect by any means, but at least my meringues didn't crack! I did a little happy dance when I opened the oven and saw these tiny little beautiful pastries. I definitely recommend giving these products a shot. But, beware, practice makes perfect! You most likely will not get it totally right on the first try. Hang in there, though. When you do get it right, it feels SO good!
Now it’s your turn! That’s right, you can enter to win the trip of a lifetime to Paris too. How? By creating your own Parisian-inspired art, floral, baking or paper crafting project and uploading a photo to https://paris.michaels.com/ through March 31. You can also share your project on social using #SpringtimeInParis #Contest.
What do you win? A four-night trip for two to Paris, 1,000 euros, a VIP tour of the Louvre, private classes including sketching, floral arranging, baking and more!
If you need a little Paris inspiration to get you started, take a look at some of the Springtime in Paris projects on Michaels.com.
Good luck!!
I've been wanting to make macarons for awhile now - I'll give these a try! Fingers crossed mine will turn out just as tasty! :)
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