Recently I had asked my mother in love to bake these decadent treats that I am so fond of with me. I can't pass a macaron without at least having one or more. If it is in my line of sight, consider my heart dead set on eating one! My mother in love has been that second mom in my life that I had always dreamed of having which just so happens that she is the most talented homemade baker ever. So I couldn't have looked more forward to spending a whole afternoon with her baking a dessert that we both share a love for. Where as most of our quality in the past is usually spent during her usual tea time relishing in her newest German baked recipe.
For many of you who don't know me, my mother in love is one hundred percent German and had moved to the states after romantically meeting and then falling for my father in law while he was active in the service overseas. With sharing no lick of the same language understood by the other but just the love they shared. Not long after meeting each other, they were married and my mother in love found herself in a new country and learning most of our US language from the morning talk shows! Imagine being not only being forced out of your shell, in a completely new country, knowing no English and trying to culturize with how we live our everyday lives. She's a brave woman if you ask me. As you could imagine she was home for long hours of the day that were spent becoming the most amazing stay at home wife and mother. In her spare time or dare I say 'on the daily' she home cooked every meal that were most followed by her German desserts. Even to this day. In every way imaginable, this woman is unmeasurable one of a kind and I think everyone has something to learn from her.
Now before we get into the action, let me note that literally everything she makes is neither processed or what most Americans claim as a homemade dish. She handcrafts her food from beginning to end. No time skipped to quicken the process of any meal because she knows what healthy truly is. You'll also find that same attribute in very many authentic and Europeans cooks. Something can be more delicious, even sweets, without the cheats. You just need to know what you're doing and what you are cooking with!
INTERESTING FACT: The French Macaron is not French, it is Italian and was introduced by a chef in the 1530s.
NOTE: The process in making a batch of French Macarons takes many delicate hours. A simple step skipped or time rushed will ruin the whole thing. Here is the link to a recipe we went off of for the shells of our Macarons.
http://www.sweetandsavorybyshinee.com/french-macar...
To begin, everything must be sifted if not twice or more until you have the most refined ingredient. Otherwise the shell may not be as soft or too heavy to rise later in the oven.
Next is mixing the ingredients. Your egg whites should have absolutely no sign of yolk and need to be completely at room temperature before adding. Best advice is to leave the whites out on the counter overnight.
When pouring the mixture into the bowl before the next step, which will be adding more sifted ingredients and food dye, you cannot stir. Only flip the mix with a spoon no more than 30 times or less! Overdoing this will cause failure and no hopes of the shell to rise like those beautiful French Macarons you purchase in store.
The next step is pouring the mixture into a plastic bag that you will end up cutting the corner just enough to squeeze out the mix onto a baking pan.
DO NOT put the mixture on a pan without parchment paper and prepping with coconut oil. This will prevent the shells from sticking or cracking after that have set.
Make sure that every circle is even because you will be stacking them in the end. Let them sit in room temperature for at least 45-60 minutes before baking.
During the oven process, the shells will start to rise and you'll behind to see the crown on the bottom. That's a good thing!
NOTE: Pull them out of the oven just in time before browning. Any burn will ruin the cookie and flavor.
Now the fun part!!! So while your shells were baking, you should have making your filling. After the shells cool, you'll carefully pick them up and begin to round the other side with the filling.
Now place the over half of the shell on top and BAM. You have just created your own French Macaron. Refrigerate then enjoy!
Here is an extra link I wanted to add in that will show you a filling recipe that my mother in love enjoys using with a spin of her own.
A fun German way to make your filling flavors pop, is by adding these simple ingredients show below...
Interested in learning about the true history of this cookie and where they came from? Visit the two links below!
http://www.mrmacaron.com/history.html
http://madmacnyc.com/history-of-macarons
Kendra Badley
