Strawberry season is here again! ヾ(@°▽°@)ノ I was so happy that I bought an entire flat at the farmers' market this past weekend. AN ENTIRE FLAT. That's 12 whole baskets. I had to ask them to hold it for me while I shopped at the other stalls because I couldn't carry it all while walking around the farmers' market. It's been less than 3 days since the market and we've already consumed more than half of the flat. (*^^*)
I can't wait to make strawberry pie again this year, but in the meantime, I wanted to practice making macarons using the Italian meringue method so I decided to make these strawberry macarons with strawberry Swiss meringue buttercream.
That said, macarons are a huge pain in the butt. HUGE. The ingredients can be pricey, it can take a long time when you are making large batches, there's so many dishes to wash after, and it can all end up being a big flop after all that effort. BUT when they do come out right, it's a glorious sense of accomplishment for me - like TAKE THAT YOU DAMN COOKIE!! I BEAT YOU!!!! (Except, no, you lose since you'll get fat from all the sugar... :P) Anyways, I highly recommend watching some Youtube videos just to see what the texture of the meringue and batter ought to look like and techniques on folding the meringue into the almond meal. It took me a long time to get a feel for it and I still end up with hollows or no feet frequently. Ovens can also be tricky so you may have to play around with your temperature and bake times to find what is ideal for your own oven.
