Sunday, May 13, 2012

Happy Momaron's Day!

I know some of you have been waiting on baited breath to see if I could turn out a perfect macaron for my Mom by Mother's Day.

Standard almond shell tinted pink with orange cream cheese buttercream filling.
Well, they are a little bit like me.  They aren't perfect.  But they taste divine, they're decent looking, and they're the best try to date.  I think Mom will love them for all their flaws (still hollow.)

I'll keep trying.  When I get it right I'll share the news and we can all have a second Mother's Day celebration!

My little Sweetie treated me like a queen this morning, providing endless education for her Mama:

The book I've been eyeing for months and a card full o' love.


I hope that all the Moms out there have a joyous day surrounded by those who love them!

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Mom's Macarons a.k.a. The Beat Goes On

Dear Mom,

Second attempt.  Vast improvement.  Shiny, footed, smooth...and hollow.


Left: oven shot, looking great!  Right: cooled and hollow.  Sigh.
I think I have a much better feeling for macaronage this time around.  I need to find the sweet spot with baking time and oven temp. 

Dangerously close to Mother's Day.  Can I do it in time?  Stay tuned!  (Don't you love a cliffhanger?)

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Momarons aka Macarons for Mom

Mother's Day is rapidly approaching, and nothing makes it feel like it's coming like a freight train than trying to make your first successful batch of macarons.

For me, this is the gauntlet of desserts.  I honestly didn't think I could ever do it well with so much mystery and so little consistency of variables.  The kind that even people who make macarons for a living sometimes get wrong.

I decided to do it, for my Mom.  Because in raising me, she must have been up against a million things she thought she couldn't achieve.  She kept trying.  Thanks to her, I'm potty trained, I eat vegetables, and I'm a semi-productive member of society.  Along with a million other things.  So,

I'm going to keep trying to make a successful batch of macarons, even if it takes a million tries.  I might not achieve this by Mother's Day.  Especially if it takes that many tries.  I might need to get a job working in an almond flour factory to support this effort.  Whatever it takes, Mom!

Being a Mom is hard, but you can't just give up.  Some people make it look easier than others.  Some people are lucky.  But since I tend to learn the hard way...
Shineless, footless, bumpy, hollow, blueberry failarons.

I failed at my first batch. 

With that out of the way, now I'm onto trying again.  I think I know what I did wrong.  Which is a start.

For batch # 2 I plan to be listening to the soundtrack of the movie Chocolat.  Because that can't hurt.  And if I turn out a successful batch I can write some crazy post about that being a requirement.

I promised to be honest on this blog.  Perhaps my admission of failure will give someone else the courage to make their first batch and make them perfectly, building your self esteem whilst I struggle.  You're welcome!

Stay tuned!

You still have until midnight (as of this post) to enter the giveaway...so if you haven't already, the odds are pretty good of winning!  Better than making a successful first batch of macarons!