A Taste of France!

     What does one do on a Sunday in September when your football teams aren't playing - not sure about all of you, but I made my first French Macaron.  I wanted to clarify they are French vs the American Coconut Macaroon.
     I went to Paris years ago and spent my vacation in Southern France earlier this Summer and I must say, the French KNOW their sweets! Chocolate filled croissants, crepes and my favorite the macaron (by the way it rhymes with phone)!! LOVE them! All the colors, the flavors and fillings - with a cup of tea or a glass of bubbly, delicious!
     My mom, sister and I have been talking about Paris a lot these days - talking about making a trip next year and it got me thinking...I want to make a Macaron!
     So here we go, started with the help of Google - how do I go about making a French Macaron??... well, thanks to Joanne Chang, a Pastry Chef that not only gave me a fairly easy list of ingredients, a written recipe, but also a video I could watch and replay throughout the course of events! Thank you!!

Ingredients ready - Kitchen Aid mixer prepared to bring it all together, parchment cut and placed on cookie sheets so let's get this cookie made. 

Egg Whites, Powered Sugar, Almond Flour, & Sugar - whisk it until the batter becomes a meringue - light, fluffy with peaks - YES, I had peaks. Success!! 

This is where the fun began - using a piping bag!  Just filling the bag provided a challenge for me but it all turned out OK.  Next time I will make them a tad bigger but for my first time, I'll take it. 

Fresh out of the oven! They have the glossy look, crispy and yet soft - I think they turned out OK...now onto the filling.

I made Chocolate Ganache, Vanilla Buttercream (I even scraped a vanilla bean), Chocolate Cream and Strawberry Rhubarb.  My friend Jacqui's mom sent me her homemade jam so I thought why not include that as a filling!!

TaDa!!! Here they are! I can't wait to make a cup of tea and bite into one.
I have dinner with some friends on Wednesday and I thought it would be the best surprise to bring along a taste of France!!
If I wasn't for Joanne Chang - today would have been much more challenging! Give her video a look and her recipe a try - I'm no longer intimidated to make a Macaron!
http://www.finecooking.com/videos/how-to-make-classic-french-macarons.aspx