{party trend crush} french macarons

{party trend crush}

french macarons

{not macaroons. french macarons. yes. there is a difference. a big one.}

ok so. 

i thought these were cute. and colorful. and trendy.

and expensive. and hard to come by. and hard to make.

so i never used them in my parties.

AND THEN I ATE ONE. 

{actually, I ATE 5}

and i fell in love. 

did i want to spend $3.50 per delicious bite? 

did i want to drive the 45 min to napa to get them?

no. but i would. 

so i decided to try to make them first. 

paying lots and driving far would be plan B.

with a little love & patience you too can make them too

hence i bring you 

"the DIY guide to making your own french macarons"

stage one: research & appreciation

i started out searching tons of blogs & french-y people for a quick background and 

figuring out just what these things were all about.

read a brief history on macarons

meet an official macaron snob HERE

{actually, you will realize soon enough that everyone who loves these is a snob about them}

the most famous {at least in my mind} macaron folks out there:

LADUREE

BOUCHON BAKERY

{this is the one in napa that i WILL go to soon. even if i can make them myself now!}

stage two: watch a tutorial

i looked at TONS of youtube videos. 

these were the ones i thought were the best.

i liked this one

i really really liked this one 

{although you have to read the subtitiles}

i also thought this one was great

stage three: pick a recipe

there are MANY different recipes out there. 

here is martha's

{which to be honest is vauge and i did NOT use.}

this is a good one.

THIS is the one i LOVE & decided to use.

advice: don't try to make something crazy. 

start basic & get the technique down first!

stage four: practice & know how to trouble shoot

i got this image from HERE where they break it down for you.

great troubleshooting tips at the end of THIS article

and of course there is lots of troubleshooting on the recipe i used

stage five: experiment

i am SO ready to mix it up and try som different flavors. here are some fun ideas

snickers? yes please. 

some fun ones at the end of this post

tons and tons of ideas here

so far, i have tried grape, strawberry, chocolate, raspberry.

good luck - YOU CAN DO IT!

{no seriously. if i can do it i KNOW you can}

happy entertaining

mindy starr