Macarons Part Une

I had a TON of leftover egg whites because I needed a lot of yolks for the wedding food. I didn't want them to go to waste... and despite vowing not to make anything at home for a few weeks, I gave in and decided to make French macarons (not to be mistaken with the coconut macaroons of America)! I had never made them before, nor had I ever even tasted one... so I had to do my research.

According to the lovely internet, there seems to be a lot of people who spend their entire lives trying to perfect the macaron. I extensively read forums on this fragile little cookie, and went through a variety of recipes until I decided to go with Pierre Herme, because he's, well, Pierre Herme! My pastry chef at the restaurant made a sample batter to help me know what to look for - the consistency called "macarone," which basically means... looks like macaron batter... which obviously isn't the most helpful.

They turned out really well, although I think I made the batter a little TOO "macarone" because they came out pretty flat. The picture is of the cookies in a bag ready to show my chef. I was too lazy to take them out and make them look nice =P I will make some more tonight with some tweaks, and maybe make a filling for them to be sandwiched (that's how they're usually served).