Weddingbee Blog

Since we got our guest list down to a trim three-oh, I have officially decided to take the plunge and make French macarons as favors. I’m thinking that three per person is sufficient, so I’ll be making about 90. I think I can handle it.

I’ve come to the conclusion that they are the perfect wedding favor, in my humble opinion. Not only are they delicious (and if by chance one of our guests doesn’t fancy them, I’ll happily gobble theirs up), but they’re also adorable! Just look at them:

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A little aww and a big nom, nom, nom, right? Well, yes, those, my friends, are what macarons are supposed to look like. My first few attempts however, did not fare so well (don’t laugh too hard):

*personal photo*

Notice how #1 looks like something left behind from one of my precious little puppies, #2 is just a mess, and by #3 I was getting a little closer to the goal, but I wasn’t quite there.

Now, first and foremost, I want you to know that this shows how much I love the hive: I consider myself a pretty good cook/baker, and I’ve never actually experienced a cooking or baking related fail, so this kind of hurts my little heart, but I’m going to go out on a limb, and share my big fat FAIL, just for you.

I got my macaron recipe from our very own Mrs. Perfume. The recipe makes a pretty large batch, so I was able to get my first three attempts out of just one batch. I have found that after round three I’m just too exhausted to go on any longer. Needless to say, some things worked for me, and some things didn’t. Here, I’ll show you what didn’t work.

*personal photo*

1. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup aged egg whites. Combined with all the other ingredients, using a half cup of egg whites left my batter less like “molten lava” and more like “old, over-cooked oatmeal”

2. The recipe states “In a food processor, blend the confectioner’s sugar and almond flour.” I (stupidly) skipped this step and just blended it by hand. Yeah, don’t do that. You don’t get the same results, trust me.

3. “Add 6 drops of food coloring” I don’t know what kind of magic food coloring Perfume was using, but I needed about 20 drops. Care to share the name of your magical food coloring, Perfume? (pleeeease)

4. “Bake with the door slightly ajar at 325 degrees for about 12 minutes” Did you see attempt #1? Yeah, that was after about 9 minutes. At 12 I think I would have had little charcoal macarons.

*personal photo*

But don’t worry, hive, my macaron making misadventures have a happy ending! You’ll just have to wait ’til another post

Have you had any massive baking fails? Are you making your own edible favors? If so, what are you making?