French Macarons

French macarons have been all over the internet for some time now. I've tried making these before but they didn't turn out but I've been meaning to give them another go. I was invited to a potluck and the theme was green food. I decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to try making them again. I have to say that after reading up on them and different techniques, I realize where I went wrong the first time. I really liked the taste of them. They still weren't perfect, but practice will (hopefully) make perfect. :)

I got the recipe from The Extraordinary Art of Cake {click here for the recipe} although I substituted almond flour for the ground almonds and I added cream of tartar to my whipped egg whites ( I also ground 3 oz of pistachios which was perfect to leave enough for a garnish). Her site is incredible and she is ridiculously talented, so you should just check it out. I also looked up a basic technique {here}. Here are some of my own tips: make sure to give them enough space on the sheet, try to make them the same size and perfect circles will take time, and last of all let them cool completely before removing them from the cookie sheet. 

I made pistachio macarons for the potluck and filled half with caramel buttercream and the rest of them with lemon buttercream and raspberry jam. Personally, my favorite was the lemon buttercream but I think the fan favorite was the caramel filled ones.