(Successful) French Macarons

Alas, my hard work has finally paid off. The first time I made these suckers was the day I discovered what they were, last summer. I literally had not even heard of them before that. Where have I been my whole life, right? Without any prior research, I literally found the first recipe I came to (mistake #1) without knowing at all how fickle they were I just "went for it". Needless to say, they didn't turn out.
The second trial-oh, I had done my research. I believe I read almost every single piece of information needed to succeed with these needy little things. I read many times about creating the "ribbon" that trails back into the bowl when you fold the almond mixture into the whipped egg whites. Because I was not getting this, or what I believed it should be, I kept mixing and mixing (mistake #2). Again, needless to say-the batter was too runny and they didn't rise properly. But oddly enough, there were some baby feet on the bottoms. This made me feel much better about my oven failure.

 And finally-my third trial. Why is it that the third time is always a charm? In honor of spending Valentines day with myself (and my kitchen) I decided to pour all of my energy that would have been spent on someone else on myself and these precious little macarons. They were receiving all of my love for the day. I had heard that you NEED a kitchen scale if you wanted proper results. Because I just love a good challenge I wanted to put this to the test. Well, and maybe because I am broke. Regardless, I wanted this to happen!

I couldn't find almond meal/flour anymore, so I busted out my food processor and ground those almonds up. Went for the confectioners sugar-of course, I'm out. This always happens, you'd think one would learn by now. Nope. I'm sure it will continue to happen throughout my life as well. With this, I poured some sugar in the processor and processed until it was almost powdered. Then I had to add cornstarch :(. Which, normally, I would completely stay away from but hey when you're in a pinch, you gotta do what you gotta do. These macarons were already getting so much from scratch attention, my goodness.

 I whipped the meringue until those sweet peaks couldn't get any stiffer. I was so anxious to fold in the almond mixture-but this time I was confident I knew just the right consistency that was needed. Just a few times, and because it was V-day, of course a tiny drop of red, (Okay, I'll use any excuse to make something pink) and in the piping bag it goes! Little perfect circles on the parchment paper, and the first batch goes in. There would be one more batch-I had plenty of time to wait and ponder my poor dating choices since last Valentines day.

Finally, the moment came down to this. I opened the oven and-literally squealed. And danced, and clapped and almost cried. I may have shed a light tear. They weren't perfect, but for me-I was ecstatic. They even had little feet. Voila! My first batch of successful macarons! And how convenient was it that I had left over pastry cream that needed to be used? Now that I have gotten down a simple vanilla, here's to spending way too much time discovering every possible flavor combination on these beauties.

Vanilla Bean French Macarons by Volume:

1 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup almond flour
2 large egg whites, room temperature
Pinch of cream of tartar

1 vanilla bean
1/4 cup superfine sugar

1. Pulse confectioners' sugar and almond flour in a food processor until combined. Sift mixture 2 times.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk whites with a mixer on medium speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar, and whisk until soft peaks form. Reduce speed to low, then add superfine sugar. Cut vanilla bean open lengthwise and scrape seeds out with a knife. Add seeds to bowl. Increase speed to high, and whisk until stiff peaks form, about 8 minutes. Sift flour mixture over whites, and fold until mixture is smooth and shiny.
3. Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain round tip, and pipe 3/4-inch rounds 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets, dragging pastry tip to the side of rounds rather than forming peaks. Tap bottom of each sheet on work surface to release trapped air. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Bake 1 sheet at a time, rotating halfway through, until macarons are crisp and firm, about 10 minutes. After each batch, increase oven temperature to 375 degrees, heat for 5 minutes, then reduce to 325 degrees.
4. Let macarons cool on sheets for 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. (If macarons stick, spray water underneath parchment on hot sheet. The steam will help release macarons.)
5. Sandwich 2 same-size macarons with 1 teaspoon filling. Serve immediately, or stack between layers of parchment, wrap in plastic, and freeze for up to 3 months.