Lately, I’ve been somewhat obsessed with with the thought of macarons. It’s actually taken me almost 2 years to perfect (some what) and every batch comes out better than the batch it followed. To craft the perfect macaron takes much practice (this I still need) but for now I’m happy with my current out comes.

I remember my first few batches were horrendous – though they tasted great. I had no guide and had no idea what they should even taste like. They had no feet (crackly ring around the edge) and the shells were super delicate – almost see through…if that’s even possible.

Hello my happy feet!!

For my recent batches, I made a coffee flavored one and a strawberry flavored one.

For the coffee, adding some instant coffee bits (or even finely grounded coffee bean – for a more deeper flavor) to a standard recipe does the trick.

For the strawberry flavor, I wanted to use ingredients I already had at my house… So I opened up a bag of Special K cereal and hand picked a handful of dried strawberries. I then grounded it into fine powder and added it to the standard recipe. — came out sweeter than I actually wanted, but it definitely gave it a nice soft color ( well on the ones I didn’t toast. -.-).

The ice cream sandwiches were made to eat. I did think of making them ahead of time, but honestly, it’s more fun when you’re involved in the making of your food right ?? Ok, I ran out of time and wanted to join the fun haha. Anyways, placing the macaron shells on a plate next the the ice cream allowed everyone to serve themselves however big of a serving they wanted.

Some chose the “fancy one scoop” route and others the “functional bowl and spoon” method. No matter your preference, the flavors still blends the same. ^^

Yay for Friday !!!

Photo credit: sara kim