Pistachio Macarons

They say French Macarons are the most difficult cookies to bake. And a year ago I wouldn’t have even attempted to make them because I thought “they’ll never work.”

You get knocked down enough times, you start to think that you’re the problem. I started to feel like I was an un-lucky charm. I didn’t want my “bad luck” rubbing off on anyone else so I would avoid certain situations. I started believing I had a sort of reverse Midas touch. Where everything he touched turned to gold, everything I touched turned to dust. Eventually the possibility of failure held me back from even trying at all. I had taken a backseat in my own life. So who was driving? Fear.

But do you know what conquers fear? Love. Love conquers ALL. It took a long time for me to retrain my brain to love. To love my situation. To love the process. And to love myself. How could I call myself cursed when I am fearfully and wonderfully made by the one who created all things? He makes no mistakes. And through this, I’m learning to praise.

Mine weren’t perfect but for a first attempt I was pleasantly surprised at how well they came out! And they tasted amazing!

*Recipe* - 3 eggs - 2 t salt - 1/4 c granulated sugar - 1/2 t vanilla extract - Few drops of gel food coloring - 1 3/4 c powdered sugar - 1 c almond flour Filling - 1 c cream - 1/2 sugar - 2 T butter - 1/4 c ground pistachio - 1 1/2 c white chocolate chips

* In a sauce pan add your cream and butter and bring to a simmer. Add in your sugar and cook for another 2-3 mins stirring the pot occasionally until the sugar melts. * In a bowl add your white chocolate chips and ground pistachio. Pour your cream mixture on top and mix until smooth. Then pour the mixture into a piping bag and set aside. * Separate your egg whites and let it rest for a half hour. (Save the yolks for another recipe coming up!) * In a food processor, pulse your powdered sugar, almond flour and 1 t salt until very fine (about 6-7 times). * Wipe a glass or steel bowl with a paper towel and vinegar to ensure your bowl is clean and dry. Then add your egg whites and 1 t salt, and beat them until they are white and frothy. At this time add your granulated sugar a little at time, so you don’t deflate the air incorporated already. Continue beating until you get stiff peaks. This means when you lift your whisk the eggs should stay in place. When you have achieved stiff peaks you could hold the bowl over your head and the eggs will still stay in place. Make sure you have stiff peaks before you attempt this! * Add your vanilla extract and mix. * And at last add your gel food coloring and mix. Start with 1 or two drops. You want the meringue to be 1 shade darker than your desired color because when you bake they will become more pale. * Sift 1/4 of your dry ingredients into the meringue at a time and fold. Here is where things get tricky. It’s very easy to over mix or under mix. Mix well until you are able to draw the number 8 with your batter without breaking. Once this is achieved, STOP! * Pour your batter into a piping bag. * Squeeze small dots of the batter on all 4 corners of a baking sheet and place a sheet of parchment paper. * Pipe your macarons to desired size. You can draw circles on the back side of your parchment paper as a guide. I just free handed mine and the varied sizes worked out for me. * Tap the tray on your counter several times to beat out any air bubbles and let the tray rest for 30 minutes. I needed to do this step a few more times! * Place your tray into a 300F oven and bake for 18 mins. * Take them out of the oven and let them rest again for about 20 mins. Your macarons should lift right off. Let them cool on a wire rack for another 30 mins - 1 hour. * At this time you can pipe just a dollop of filling on one cookie and then sandwich with another.