Macaron's! How Hard Can They Be?

2014 is around the corner and one of my goals is to try new baking techniques. My friend mentioned she wanted to take a macaron class from Sur La Table and I immediately asked her if she wanted to try making some with me. I showed my friend my book from Creative Juice, Gourmet French Macarons and my friend wanted to give them a try. So the Saturday after Christmas, she came over and we tried making macarons for the first time. 

Available at Amazon

The first thing we discovered when making macarons for the first time is that two of the essential ingredients are hard to find in our area and are spendy.  I had to go to 4 stores to find the almond flour and vanilla paste. Both items were not in one store.  The vanilla paste and almond flour were $26. If we make macarons again we'll know where to find the ingredients. 

The first step went smoothly. Sifting the almond flour and powdered sugar three  times. I have two different sifters and we tried both. At first we didn't like how slowly they sifted.  By the third sifting we had it down. We squeezed and taped the side of the sifters and the flour and powder flowed right out. 

Next step, whip the egg whites till stiff peaks form.  I think we got some pretty good peaks.

Final step, sift the almond flour and powdered sugar in with the meringue. We thought ours matched the consistency the book described and began thinking, making macarons isn't so hard.

Since my friend wants to make making macarons her thing I had her pipe them. We didn't use a template because we wanted to just get the technique down first.  As you can see they are different sizes and whoops, one has a tail. It was at this stage that we realized we forgot to add vanilla paste to the batter. We were making vanilla bean shells, or so we planned. Since we forgot the vanilla paste we made almond shells instead.

We let the macarons rest and baked them as directed. We were all excited about how well it was all going until we pulled them out of the oven.  A few cracked.

Most of them turned out beautiful.

We mixed up the vanilla bean filling, very tasty, and assembled our cookies.

Our foot doesn't look the way it should and I think they look a little brown on the inside.  How do they taste?  The shell was a little chewy and flaky at the same time. The vanilla filling was rich and creamy.  Our cookies didn't have the same texture as a macaron should but were still tasty. I know with more practice we can achieve the correct texture.

For our first attempt we were pretty pleased.  We have some improving to do but it was a fun way to spend an afternoon with a friend. 

**Update** This post is part of a linky party on A Pretty Life

Breakfast for Santa

Forget milk and cookies for Santa. Leave the jolly man some donuts for breakfast. Santa has a lot of houses to stop at. Sure he hits most of them at night but you know he's making some stops in the wee hours of the morning.  Santa needs to refuel for his trip back to the North Pole. 



Add some festiveness with tulle poms from Fizzy Party. 

What will you be leaving Santa on Christmas Eve?

Elf Christmas Party

Glad you came back. This post features the work of some fabulously talented people. Their products add that extra POP to a party.

Loved how Ten 23 Designs words looked against my red wall.  It really set the back drop for the party.  Print & Cut Your Printables added that extra touch of sweetness with candy. The backdrop is simple yet visually pops and sets the theme of the party.

Gingerbread Trifle made using Jell-O's seasonal gingerbread flavor topped with gingerbread Twix candy.

Kima's Konfections did an amazing job with the chocolate covered Oreo's. While I've never liked Oreo's, my guests enjoyed them immensely. Especially the kids.

My guests couldn't stop talking about the amazing detail in these cupcake toppers made by Fancy Cakes. This is just a small sampling. To see the other fabulous toppers, check my FB and Twitter pages.

Once again Mr. Cheesy Snowman's backside was eaten but not his face. I've made this cheesy snowman from Betty Crocker 3 times now. And every time my guests think he's too cute to eat.

I love nutcrackers so this was the perfect spot for the nuts.

Printables by Cupcake with Character and nut cups from The Pretty Party Shoppe.

To go containers courtesy of Dollar Tree. My guests were happy to fill them up :)

How many movie references did you get this time?
Leave me a comment and let me know.

Vendors
Ten23 Designs-Vinyl word saying as backdrop
Print & Cut Your Printables- Candy in backdrop
Kima's Konfections- Chocolate covered Oreo's
Fancy Cakes- Cupcake toppers
Fizzy Party- Snowballs
The Pretty Party Shoppe- Nut cups
Cupcake with Character- Printables

Elf Party Treats

Welcome Back!

Lots of pictures to see from the party. So grab a fun Christmas straw from The Pretty Party Shoppe, get yourself a drink, sit back and enjoy  the party. 

Christmas Punch or Coke

Welcome to the party.  The wonderful backdrop was made possible by Ten23Designs and Print & Cut Your Printables.

There's a lot of references from the movie on the table and I'm tempted to give them away, but I want to know how many you can see.

Snowballs made by Fizzy Party.

Printables by Cupcake with Character



Homemade peanut butter chocolates by Fizzy Party. I could make them all pretty and colourful but my family and friends eat them so fast, I don't see the point :) hee hee



How many references from the movie did you see? 
Leave me a comment and let me know.

Vendors
The Pretty Party Shoppe- paper straws
Ten 23 Designs- vinyl saying on the wall
Print & Cut Your Printables- candy on the wall
Fizzy Party-Snowballs
Cupcake with Character-Printables

Elf Christmas Open House

Buddy the Elf was the inspiration for this Christmas Open House. It's such a FUN movie and  there's so much to play off of for a party.

I took so many pictures that I'll be sharing the party all week.  Through out the week see how many movie references you can spot.

Invitation by Cupcake with Character  

Welcome to the party!

Ho Ho Ho! come on in and enjoy the fun

If you follow me on Facebook you know I had a BRILLIANT idea hit me 3 days before the party. I had SO much to do but I simply HAD to do this idea.
Gum drops! The biting wind wouldn't let me get a very good picture. Did you get the movie reference?

How great are these gum drops :)  They glittered in the sun beautifully.

Welcome in. Can I take your coat?

Candy Cane forest created by Ten 23 design.  The candy canes covered both sides of the entry way. I love these and will have to order them again next year.

Oh we're you wondering where the party table was? You'll have to come back Wednesday to see it. Trust me, you'll want to come back. It's worth the wait.

Secret Santa

Secret Baker 

We've all heard of Secret Santa, but have you heard of Secret Baker?  I belong to a baking group and we recently decided to do a Secret Santa exchange.  The items had to be all baking related, so we called it Secret Baker.  We set a date for when the gifts had to be mailed so we all knew which week our packages would arrive.  We all looked forward to checking our mail that week. 

I was like a kid at Christmas when my box arrived for two reasons. 1. I was curious who received my name and 2. I wanted to know what fabulous baking supplies the person picked for me. 

LOVE this card.  My subconscious has a thing for snowmen. Astonishing Cakes LLC got my name. All of her cookies, cake pops, cakes and cupcakes are stunning. You have GOT to see her penguin cake pops. They are my FAV! So stinkin cute. 

Astonishing Cakes LLC  can be my Secret Baker any time. Look at all these  fabulous baking goods. I swear I almost bought that very cake plate but something told me not to. 

Fun little baking cups, a STACK of mini cupcake liners which I put to good use, and snowflake sprinkles handmade by Astonishing Cakes LLC. 

A nice BIG flour sifter, a great little measuring cup for small amounts, so helpful, a whisk in a fun colour and some great treat box's. 

Who did I get?  I got Dolce Designs .  She does party styling and custom dessert tables. I sent her all kinds of fun stuff.  

We all had so much fun with the Secret Baker that we're going to do it again next year. If you belong to a baking or cooking group I highly recommend doing a Secret Baker.