Baking FAIL

Macarons (not Macaroons) are all the rage right now. They're everywhere: bridal parties, weddings, afternoon tea salons and even baby showers (although frankly, the thought of two-year old's shoving these delicacies in their mouths without any appreciation is quite upsetting)!

They are also all the rage in France, where they are from. They come in every color and flavor: vanilla, chocolate, lemon, rose, pistachio, almond, cherry, etc, etc, etc... Matt and I visited La Duree in Paris over Thanksgiving and you couldn't hardly get in the door there was such a crowd--line out the door!

Even in NYC they aren't any cheaper: $2.70 a cookie but oh so worth it.

My student once brought me a macaron, out of the blue. It's her favorite cookie and she just thought of her French teacher. I documented it:

 See how beautiful they are? This one was raspberry: perfectly round and fluffy.

When you bite into it, it's so delicate that it just crumbles and melts in your mouth.

Naturally, on this long weekend (no school Sat + Mon!), I had to try. I bought all of the ingredients and followed this recipe. Here's what happened: they came out brown (even with a whole bottle of gel coloring), flat (I over-mixed) and crunchy.

When they were cooling, a mouse came and took two and replaced them with an Oreo.
I pushed through the pain and I filled them anyway with jam. They didn't look any prettier.

The taste isn't bad... it just has the texture of a pumice stone.

Tomorrow, we're going to have friends over for a Superbowl party. These were going to be dessert, but I think I'll replace them with madeleines. Much safer.