Macarons: Authentic French Cookie Recipes from the Macaron Cafe

by Ulysses Press, Cecile Cannone

PRAISE FOR AUTHOR CECILE CANNONE’S MACARONS:

“Feather-light, at once crunchy and chewy, and distinguished by rich buttercream filling.”

— The New York Times

“Rival those in Paris.”

— Zagat

“Addictive.”

— Time Out New York

Cuter than a cupcake and more delicious, the adorable macaron is très en vogue. Now you can make these crowd-pleasing cookies at home! Packed with helpful and inspiring color photos, this book offers everything you need to bake stunning macarons, including:


♥Step-by-step instructions for baking perfect shells

♥Simple tricks for making smooth, melt-in-your-mouth fillings

♥Decorating tips for dazzling, artistic cookies

♥Delectable flavors from chocolate and espresso to lemon and pistachio

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Food

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2010

Reviews

[Hannah Bevis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short, quick read. I was a little disappointed, I knew a lot of what was in here, though I did save all the buttercream and filling recipes to try later

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thorough without being overwhelming, this is a great starting point (or, in my case, refresher read) for the aspiring "macaroniste." The photos are very helpful. I especially liked the simple and straightforward instructions and troubleshooting for common problems/errors. I read through the whole thing in about 10 minutes, and I can guarantee that I'll actually use the book in the kitchen while baking.

It gets 4 of 5 stars because 1) I felt it skimmed a little too quickly over some very important elements of the cookies (the 'feet,' for example), and because 2) I'm pathetically obsessed with these little French confections, and I want more more more information - more history, more science, more practical suggestions on how to make the perfect macaron. I've read reams of information (mostly online, in blog form) about this fancy treat, but I STILL want more. I think my fanaticism is affected in part by the fact that I can't get them anywhere near me. I can have them shipped (and I've done it!), but they're still sort of mysterious and exotic. And completely charming. Swoon.

Okaaaaaay, geek-rant over. If you're into this sort of thing or just curious, here is as good a place to start as any. Then hit up The Google, and enjoy the journey :)

[Chieko · Rating 3 out of 5]

We made both the French and Italian macarons. We had more success with the French shells and the Italian shells were a bit too sweet for our tastes. Both the dark chocolate ganache and coffee buttercream were great. Also made the pistachio buttercream, it was good but not as good as the chocolate and.coffee.

We had issues with the baking directions. Often the steps were unclear on how to tell when the mixture was ready. The steps weren't broken down well, once we had to ask for a third opinion about what the direction ment. Several times the process came to a halt as we read further down the recipient and we would both be, "why didn't they mention that earlier, we needed to know that steps earlier," then we would have to sort out how to fix what we already did.

[Sylvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having visited Macaron Cafe in NYC, we placed this book on our holiday wishlist last year. Luckily our Secret Santa did deliver and we've made three batches of macarons following the recipe in this book. They've all turned out nicely and it's such a relief to be able to make macarons at home now! The instructions are clear and easy to follow. There are lots of recipes for the fillings and decoration ideas. It's an inspiring book for all!

[Cody · Rating 1 out of 5]

I won't make any recipes in this book.

[Dawnmarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!