Magnifiques Macarons Français or Magnificent French Macarons!

I just happened to see on FB that the Pioneer Woman was hosting an amazing contest to visit her lodge, stay there, meet her, and the amazing Helene of Tartlette, so for the heck of it I entered the contest with this response and thought I would share it with all of you.  Enjoy!

I love, love, love macarons. My 29 year old daughter introduced me to the delicate little gems when she made them for Easter last year. They were gorgeous, precious, pink, little love filled heart songs…and they were tasty. I didn’t have another one until I got up the nerve to try my hand at them myself two weeks ago. My husband went to France on a business trip in mid May and told me about the religious experience he had just had with this delicate little filled chocolate cookie. When he described it to me, I knew what it was but he couldn’t remember the name. Also knowing I probably couldn’t compete with a “real” French macaron, I opted to try it in a lemon version. I ruined my first batch by beating in the almond flour (wasn’t paying attn), but the second batch….yum. I filled them with a zesty lemon mascarpone and lemon curd...and they were (to my surprise) delicious. Now, they still probably don’t compare to the macaron that gave hubs the OMG moment, but I held my own, for a non-baker. I am looking forward to trying some fun combinations, though I don’t know how long it will take for me to work up the nerve to try that chocolate in chocolate version he had in France.