Doubtful

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“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.”

–Karim Seddiki

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You know what kills macarons?
No, you don’t.
No one does, because these stupid fucking cookies have minds of their own.

For me, macs go hand and hand with failure.
Do I doubt them? Perhaps—just a touch—as I slide each fated sheet into the oven.

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Ah, I know there are explanations and even better explanations, there are complete lists of problems and solutions.

But sometimes, y’all, the problem cannot be explained by even the most exhaustive list of troubleshooting suggestions.

Take these macs.  I’ve never turned out a sheet as perfect as the first that was pulled from the oven.
Great feet, solid insides (beware the hollows!), crack-free.
Hallelujer.

The second and third sheets, however, looked like the San Andreas fault personified in a cookie.
Feet, yes.  Gigantic, canyon-like crevasses?  Yep.

Why?!?!?! I don’t know.
Same batter.  Same oven temp and technique… It’s a mystery.

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So this round of macaron mania resulted in 1) the single most perfect sheet of macs to come out of my oven and 2) the most delicious macs to come out of my kitchen.
The super chocolaty shells (thank you extra dark brown cocoa!) are filled with rich bittersweet chocolate ganache and a spoonful of tart, bright red currant, blackberry, and raspberry jam.

This jam is something of note, guys.  Like seriously.  It’s bursting with the flavors of summer and it is outrageously fruity.

The end result of the cookie sandwich is something that tastes like a rich brownie with a crackling shell, with a dab of jam right in the fudgiest part.

Hello, heaven.  Come to mama.

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For the macaron shells, I’m directing you to Annie.  To make them chocolate, sub 24 grams of extra dark cocoa powder for 12 grams of the almond flour and the confectioner’s sugar.

Pipeable Chocolate Ganache
ingredients:
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup cream or half-and-half
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon corn syrup
pinch kosher salt
1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar

directions:
Melt and briskly whisk the chocolate, half-and-half, butter, corn syrup, and salt together.
Whisk until the mixture is shiny and viscous.
Allow to cool until solid but still scoopable.
Whip with the confectioner’s sugar using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
Whip until fluffy and lightened in color.
If it starts to melt while piping, stick it in the fridge and rewhip as needed.

Red Currant and Berry (Fridge) Jam
makes approximately 2 cups
ingredients:
1 heaping cup red currants, destemmed
heaping 1/3 cup blackberries
1 heaping cup raspberries
generous 2/3 cup sugar

directions:
Press the currants and blackberries through a fine sieve with the back of a spoon; process them for a long time so that you get the most puree possible and leave behind relatively dry seeds.
Place into a deep pot with the sugar and raspberries and place over medium heat.
Smash the raspberries with a spatula or spoon as you stir the jam.
Reduce the heat to low and cook for 20 minutes, until the jam is thick (use the freezer test: place a small amount of jam on a plate and put it in the freezer until it cools to room temp: it should be thick and spreadable).
Allow to cool slightly, then transfer to a clean jar and then to the fridge.

16 comments

  1. Rachel: your photos are absolutely stunning and so is food 🙂

    1. Thank you so much Katya!

  2. Absolutely stunning photos! Macarons are one of the few cookies I can’t bring myself to try because we have a really temperamental oven. I just know they would fail before I even started! Yours look incredible though 🙂

    1. Thanks Lilli! I will say, I am apprehensive to try macarons in my oven at school, since it is unreliable… But sometimes, you just need to get your courage up (think: kitchen floor pep talks) to try them 🙂

  3. Oh girl, you rocked those macaroons:)! Is this the first time you made them?

    I also love your photos:)

    Best regards,
    Mila

    1. Thanks so much Mila! I’ve made them a few times before, but I have yet to turn out a fully perfect batch… maybe one of these days 😉

  4. Your photos are truly stunning! And you are so right – no one really knows what kills macs. Haha!

    1. Thank you! Sometimes I’m convinced it could really be my nervous energy, since their deaths seem so arbitrary 😉

  5. I’m sitting in the doctor’s office, waiting for my appointment, and burst out laughing at your comment about these “…stupid, f*cking cookies…” Oh, to have been a fly on the wall of my kitchen the last time I made these. I’m with ya, Mister Sister, both in spirit and choice of vocabulary words!

    1. Laura, it is so hard to control one’s tongue when being vexed by such a simple little confection, isn’t it? I think I’m going to take a stab at them again soon—pray for me! xx

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  9. 212 grams almond meal
    212 grams confectioners’ sugar
    82 and 90 grams egg whites, divided
    236 grams granulated sugar, plus a pinch
    158 grams water

    So just for clarity.
    200 g almond meal
    200 g confectioners Sugar
    24g unsweetened coco powder ??Thanks, these look amazing!!

    1. Hi Shannon! That is exactly correct! Hope it goes well xx

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