Ajl92

After comparing my first batch of macarons with those smooth domes posted by some others in the thread, I revised my technique and came up with a much better finished cookie. (also thanks to some advice from Partrick and others) I ran all my preground almonds through the coffee/spice grinder along with the powdered sugar, and I realized that my first attempt was much too coarse using just preground almond "flour." I didn't want to wait till tomorrow to make these again, so I didn't let the eggs sit out. My batter was much smoother and flowed much better; it settled into disks instead of remaining in peaks. I could see how it would benefit from the "old whites" though. The final product not only had a better texture but the overall flavor seemed even better on the palate and the chewy interior contrasted much better with the crispy exterior, because of the smoother consistency. I should be getting some tahitian vanilla beans from the saffron site mentioned in another thread tomorrow and will be trying some more classic macarons with buttercream soon, I'm hooked!

Thanks Patrick. I must say though, that mine have a way to go to compare to the smooth domes on your's and some of the other pics on here. It seemed that my batter may have been a little on the thick side, and didn't "flow like magma" as one poster said. Also, the texture may be a little off as it seems my commercial almond flour (from assouline and ting) is a little granier than I would like. I caught some of the biggest bits in a seive and ground them back down in a coffee grinder, but some of the other bits remained. You say that more egg whites produce a thicker batter, to get the smoothest domes, does the batter just flow from the pastry bag and spread slightly before drying, or do you pipe out rounds? I allowed mine to sit for 45 minutes, but my eggs only had about a 9 hour rest, compared to the 24 of the others'. I will definitely be doing more experimenting with these this weekend. -Adam

After viewing all the great pics and discussion about these macaroons, I decided to try my hand at them as I have always wanted to make some, and I had some almond flour on hand, looking for a good use for it. So I used jgarner's recipe for the chocolate macaroons, and I think they turned out pretty well. I left the whites out in the morning and made them around 8 oclock, so they didn't set out all night. My batter was pretty thick, but I used a rather small tip on the pastry bag and made rounds from a spiral motion instead of one smooth dollop, so they aren't quite as smooth topped and domed as the poster's were, but they still tasted great, and I think they look pretty darn good for a first attempt. Thanks for all the great tips, pics and recipe! Here they are:

My shipment of Chef Rubber colors just came, as did my new dome molds from JBPrince, and I couldn't wait to try them out. So, I wipped up some raspberry truffle filling and melted the white and red color as well as some extra cocoa butter to "grease" the mold. I swirled first the red, then some white color ala Norman Love/Christopher Elbow and I couldn't be happier with the results. I know I have a long way to go with tempering but I think the finish is pretty decent for my early stage of experimenting, especially with the extra cocoa butter in the molds. I can't believe I finally got to make these:biggrin: Here are the bon bons just out of the mold on a wood cutting board:

I just placed my order for a quarter pound as well. It is almost uncanny that I have known about this site for a while and was thinking about posting for other eGullet members' opinions. I always thought it did look a little too good to be true, but we shall see! Free shipping is another great perk of the site!

I bit the bullet yesterday and ordered some of the chefrubber colors. I would also be interested in a comparison by anyone who has used both. Also, how do the PCB colors compare in price and quantity (as I am an amateur chocolatier at best, I am really only looking to dabble and I tend to go a little crazy loading up on frivelous ingredients) I bought some white, red, and yellow (which I will also mix for orange, shouldn't be a problem, right?) I also ordered some of the polycarbonate molds from jbprince, as well as that airbrush. I got it for 1 CENT! from ebay! (Actually, I paid 13 for shipping, but hey, it was still a great deal! I have 22 pounds of E. Guittard couverture from Assouline and Ting as well as a kilo of cocoa butter on the way, so I should be set. All I have to get down is tempering this tempermental chocolate and hopefully I can produce some halfway decent looking chocolates. btw, this is my first post to eGullet after a long period of just reading, and I hope to learn a lot from all of you great folks!