Have you ever wanted to get somewhere in life and thought “there’s got to be a quicker way?” I know I have. Growing up I would say  “Come on, are scales really necessary to becoming a good piano player? In college it would be the complaining question “Wow, I have to seriously put in all these years of studying to get this degree? Perhaps for you it could be something like Is it worth putting in over time for a potential new position? or I’ll buy followers cause I don’t want to be patient and organically earn the 10K.” Cutting corners will never allow you to reach your goal faster. In fact, in the long run it will take much longer than it would if you just simply put in the time it requires to getting there.

So, back to my macarons (and not confusing them with macaroons) lesson. When making macarons there is no cutting corners if you want them to turn out right. Often times it takes a number of attempts before you actually achieve perfection. 

Looking at the first step alone you might ask yourself “isn’t this a bit tedious?” “Is it really that necessary?” The first step is putting the powder sugar, the almond flour and salt through a sift. This seriously takes time and your arm gets quite tired BUT you have to do this step. Why? Because otherwise you will have bumps in your batter. 

Next comes the egg. You can not be sloppy when cracking the eggs. Egg yolk within the whites will not whip. If yolk gets in there you really need to start all over. I recommend cracking each egg in a separate glass bowl so that the good egg whites don’t get wasted should you accidentally get the yolk in the bowl.

How long you beat the egg whites is another critical step to making this cookie. If you undercut the time it takes to peaking the eggs, you will not be able to pipe the batter and the cookie will have no form … And if you over peak the egg, you will end up with a hollow cookie. Thus why the timing of this step is so important.

Once you pipe the cookies on the tray, you have to tap the baking tray on the counter a good five plus times. Crazy you might think as you reread that line but it comes with reason.  This is a key step to eliminating air bubbles. You see if you blow-off this step the air bubbles will cause your cookies to crack!!

If you have reached this point, you must likely just want to pop these cookies in the oven so you can finally enjoy the fruits of your labor but oh no…. You have to let them sit at room temperature for about 45 minutes to an hour. Yes, that is right! And if you skip or rush through this resting step, your cookie will spread flat while baking. The cookie top must be glossy but dry before putting in the oven. If you blow past this step the cookie is unable to lift upward and rise.

Lastly, you can certainly eat the macaron within 30 minutes of it coming out of the oven. However, to truly appreciate the delicate deliciousness of this treat, I dare say, you would refrigerate and wait patiently for 24 hours to truly enjoy it for all its worth!

 Just like in life, if you cut corners when making this treat, you will not achieve the end result.  A macaron is a luxurious, delicious french cookie that is worth the effort. Just like any goal you might be attempting in life, it might take a few times to get there but you will get there!!! Enjoy the process!