More Macarons

After being semi-successful on my first venture making macarons, my sister and I decided to make another foray into the expansive and complicated field of French macarons. With this recipe by Annie's Eats in tow, an appetizing combination of hazelnut macarons with Nutella filling, we quickly made our way to the kitchen.

Disaster struck rather early into the process. In fact, the oven hadn't even been turned on yet. While pulsing the nuts in the food processor, I noticed that the almond/hazelnut flour was clumping up. Due to freezing the nuts, they were attracting moisture and forming into little pellets. I decided to put the mixture through the sieve, and while some dry flour made it through, most of it stayed clumped up in the sieve. My sister likened it to cleaning the litter box (ummm, ew). Thus, the process was further delayed while I set out the moist mixture in a flat glass bowl to dry out.

Finally, we got the mixture to be even, and it was relatively smooth sailing from there on out. We made the shells broader and thinner, and let them sit out for a whole two hours. I think that's what made all the difference. A firm coat was able to form on the shells, which allowed for feet to form. Yes, they had feet! I've never been so proud.

Let's compare the two batches.

Needless to say I'm rather embarrassed of my first attempt. I'm so glad I was able to redeem myself. Lesson learned: broader and thinner shells, and DO NOT pulse the nuts while still frozen. Recipe for disaster. And almond flour dust everywhere. 

Maybe next time will offer an even more varied flavor profile? I'm thinking something with fruit.