A Macaron Mishap

Yesterday afternoon I took it upon myself to make my first batch of French macarons. I've always heard about how difficult the technique is to achieve, and I must say that I agree with that sentiment. They turned out delicious, but not at all in the right shape. My almond cookie flavored macarons with white chocolate vanilla ganache resembled a dirty snowball more than anything else.

The macaron shells were too small and fat, while the ganache was entirely too thin and ran completely out of each miniature sandwich. We ended up taking the shells apart and just dipping them in the leftover ganache (shhh, don't tell). Still, my family ate them all up, and the batch of about 34 mini macarons is nearly gone. Sweets are a treasured (yet still probably all too common) treat around here. 

I used Epicurean Mom's recipe (here), and must have done something completely off. Hers look absolutely stunning! And I know it's not just from that nice little snowflake adornment. Most of my mistakes were probably in the dispensing of the batter from the (handmade) pastry bag. 

Despite my disappointment with their un-glorified appearance, I plan on doing a little bit of studying up on technique to try my hand again at macaron-making in the future. They are so light, so delicious, perfect for so many occasions, and I love how there are so many fun and interesting flavor profiles out there to make and to try. 

So tell me. Is there something I missed? Have you ever made macarons from scratch before?