Strawberry Macarons
The January/February issue of Food Network Magazine included a fun feature: a cookie for every month of the year!
Each month’s cookie is such a perfect match for that month. May’s cookies took advantage of fresh strawberries coming into season with Strawberry Macarons.
Macarons have earned quite the reputation.
They are super photogenic, which has made them a social media darling.
They are also super temperamental and fragile and finicky to make, which is why they tend to be a bit on the pricier side to buy.
The May 2014 issue of Food Network Magazine featured an article all about macarons, complete with photos of each step and some helpful tips for mastering this sometimes-tricky treat!
The cookies themselves aren’t too complicated, ingredient-wise. The batter is basically a meringue with almond flour folded into it (there’s a bit more to it than that, like sugar and food coloring and some sort of flavor extract, but you get my point).
The ingredients are fairly simple, but the execution is where things get complicated. Each ingredient needs to be measured exactly. The almond flour needs to be folded into the beaten egg whites enough, but not too much.
They’re definitely not a scoop-n-bake cookie; they have to be piped. In approximately the same sizes. Then they need to rest and dry out. Then they bake, long enough but not too long.
Long story short, macarons are diva cookies.
But they are delicious, with their crunchy AND chewy textures and cute lil ruffled “feet”. And making a successful batch of macarons does provide quite the sense of accomplishment!
We were so excited to try these cookies, and our whole family loved them! The recipe is pretty easy to follow, and the cookies are delicious.
If you’re not familiar with making macarons, I would definitely recommend reading through this picture tutorial, which was featured in Food Network Magazine, May 2014.
When you are/if you are already familiar with making these lil divas, get to work making May’s Monthly Cookies!
Strawberry Macarons, Food Network Magazine January/February 2019.
