Macarons equals epic fail!

I tried making these French Macarons last night for the first time. I need to make some for a bridal shower and wedding this summer. I thought it wouldn’t be too bad, after all I’ve been very successful with plain Jane meringues in the past. HA!!  Taught me to not be so cocky and sure I can succeed with everything I try the first time. (Actually I learned that a long time ago but my family still seems to think when it comes to baking I’m a pro)

They actually taste pretty good but I could see right away that they weren’t going to turn out properly.

First, I had the worst time trying to get the sugar and almond meal processed fine enough.

Second, I forgot to add the food coloring until too late and probably overworked the meringue right from the start. The only reason I even bothered with the color is I really needed to work out the right colors from the start. Bride wants mint and blush. Not to mention Tiffany blue for the shower, so will need to figure out how best to get that color.

Third, after folding in the flour/sugar mixture I worked the batter too long and it got too runny. The batter spread as soon as it hit the parchment.

Fourth, the cookies didn’t bake properly. The tops were starting to turn a bit dark but the middle was still sticky. They didn’t rise nice and pretty because of the over working and the insides, although not gooey, they were still a little sticky and undone I thought. My oven is pretty old and never bakes evenly. I think the next stop is the kitchen store to buy a decent oven thermometer.

Oh and look at those little bubbles on the surface. It’s probably because of the flour mixture not being fine enough and probably because I didn’t rap the pan on the counter a few times to get rid of air bubbles. I was afraid of further spreading of the cookies.

I’m pretty disappointed the cookies didn’t turn out, but at least I know what I’ve done wrong and what I need to work on. Let’s hope the next batch is better.