For the love of macaron!

I have to admit that I'm a bit of a Food Nerd. I watch cooking shows religiously, especially on weekends. I subscribe to MULTIPLE food magazines. I read food blogs weekly. I'm addicted to foodgawker. And... if you've seen my pantry, I've got a serious cookbook addiction. Needless to say, I'm pretty "hip" on food trends, and yes, there are food trends. One such trend has alluded me lately (and no, it's not bacon and chocolate, which I'm... puzzled by). I see them over and over again in food blogs and there has been a rush of cookbooks about them. The cupcake is headed out (maybe). So what am I talking about?

French Macarons

No, not MACAROONS, which are those sort of sweet, heavy, coconutty piles of stuff (can you tell I'm not a fan?).

Macarons are a whole other thing... light, heavenly, almondy meringues with a sweet creamy filling or jam smushed between... delicate as a snowflake. Or so I've heard. You see, I've never tried them. I can hardly believe it myself. I feel like I've eaten every dessert on the planet. My thighs can attest to this. I've never even seen them in any stores, but they are insanely popular right now and have been for well, maybe even a year now.

I was going to attempt to bake them myself but I made a big mistake. I started reading about them. And how finicky and impossibly difficult they are. I got terrified. I was imagining a horrid scene with a kitchen spattered with egg white and sugar, and me cussing and throwing spoons about. I decided to shelf the idea for a while. But I couldn't get those darn macarons out of my head.

I figured, in order to really perfect and WANT to try this cookie of sorts, I'd have to try it. After searching the net and trying to find a bakery that would deliver, I stumbled across Sparkles Kitchen on Etsy and fell in love. Just a short week later, I had a small box of macarons of my very own. I was so excited. Never have you seen a bigger nerd... photographing the adventure of unwrapping and savoring my first macaron.

The verdict? Heavenly. The baker at Sparkles has perfected the macaron and I am grateful. After sampling Madagascar Vanilla, Salted Caramel, Dark Chocolate and Sumiyaki Coffee, I think the Caramel was my favorite. And, something about finally getting to savor these tasty delights has really helped me face my fear. If this is the payoff, the baking chaos may be worth it. Wish me luck! But not just yet... ;) I have some more snacking to do.