macaron – Sincerely Liz

I have a wonderful friend that has 2 adorable daughters, and we have stayed very close for over 17 years. Her youngest daughter Sarah is going to be the maid of honor at her sister’s wedding and asked my 3 weeks ago if she could have a shower for her sister at my house. I jump at any opportunity to entertain, and we started surfing Pinterest for ideas. Sarah is a young woman with a great sense of style and had a clear vision of what she wanted the outcome to be, and I was more than happy to help. Pinterest became our Bible and the 3 weekend adventure was amazing. We made a swag out of sheet strips with the words “Love Birds” under it.

The menu for the shower was finger foods from blueberry coffee cake to mini quiches, with finger sandwiches in heart shapes and lemonade served in bell jars with straws. We had traditional wedding cookies and of course french macarons, as well as fresh fruit salad made with hand-picked blueberries. We chose to do a cupcake tree instead of cake with lace covers made from paper doilies. The country cottage theme worked well and the guests loved the food.

Sarah putting the final details on the table

The food….I can’t believe I forgot to take a picture of the cupcake tree with the doilies and the finished rag swag !!

The day was spent with close friends and family and the bride to be was very happy. I was honored to be part of the day and host it at my home.

The happy Maid of Honor and hostess

The bride to be Christina and her future mother in law.

The guests went home with hand-made “save the date” candles.

Congratulations to Christina and Ross

I am proud to be part of a bridal shower next weekend at my home. We have a clear vision of the theme, french country tea party. While surfing around Pinterest, I saw the most amazing table setting and it was adorned with French Macarons, in a variety of gorgeous colors. I read many articles on the art of making these Macarons and how difficult it was, and I was ready for the challenge !! I went to 3 grocery stores, remember, I live in the middle of nowhere, looking for almond flour and struck out 3 times. While at the grocery store, I binged how to make almond flour, looked easy, challenge continues.

I started with the recipe http://yumscrubblog.com/2011/11/15/yum-recipe-french-macarons-with-three-fillings/. It was well written and easy to follow, and the site has a video !! I am very happy with how they came out, and the taste was amazing !!

The color is off, that is going to take some work. They didn’t have blanched almonds in bulk, so it has brown flecks throughout from the skins. I was shooting for sage green and as you can see, I didn’t achieve that color. Thank goodness this was a test run and not the actual bridal shower. They came out light as a cloud with the perfect shell, and they just melt in your mouth.

I can never stop with 1 recipe, I had to try Martha’s recipe. Her recipe just never came together, and the final product was not even close to the first recipe. I can’t wait to make these again, practice makes perfect and I need to work on the colors.

If anyone has any tips on coloring, I would appreciate your feedback.