Mel

Thx so much! Book has been ordered!

Hello - The extent of my work with chocolate is Pierre Herme's book....is this book way above my head or something from which I could start learning? THX!

Patrick S & Foodman - thanks so much for the info!!!! Now that you mention it...they were pretty pale last time

Daqouise query - I tried to make them but instead of a firm disc...mine were a bit floppy They tasted great but lacked the muscle to create a solid structure that you could cut into. Any advice as to what I might have done incorrectly? THX!!!

Query on egg whites.....as I think they might be the root cause of my macaron woes (I must admit that it has been months since I made them...not sure if that is due to frustration or pregnancy has taken away all my energy & left me sleeping more than my cats ). What is the best way to tell when you're stiffly beat whites have gone too far or when they are beat too little? I realize this is nebulous to explain but does anyone have a guide they use to determine they definitely have either over or under beat? I'm worried that even if my egg whites stand at attention, maybe I haven't beat them enough...on the flip side, I've had times where i beat them so badly they seem to "break" into separate pieces..... Back to the other side, some say they shouldn't be stiff but gently droop at the top. Advice is always appreciated!!! Thanks guys!!

iii_bake : as these are an ongoing obsession for me there is no such thing as too late So did you let the cookies be exposed directly to the heat for a bit & then add the foil to cover for color for the rest of the time? Or did the foil just get negged completely? What temperature are you using? Is there a ratio of ingrediants you swear by? Thank you!!!!

Wendy, thanks to your recipe, the consistency finally came out correctly. Chewey cookie!!! However, they were rather flat with a tiny foot and the tops cracked. So now comes my questions. Do you add the powdered whites immediately to the fresh whites or gradually? Do you use your fresh whites immediately or allow them to sit for a bit? When using a standard oven, do you allow the cookies a rest or pop them into the oven immediately? Hmmm....using the word immediately quite a bit.... Could I half the recipe successfully? Can you freeze these cookies? I tried to make a smaller cookie but they spread quite a bit which means my batter was too wet still. Any fabulous advice for me? Once again, thank you so much for the recipe!!!!!

Wendy, you have hit it on the nose! An air pocket between my dome & foot (with a chewey foot). Did you actually add powdered egg whites to fresh? I generally leave out my egg whites at least 24 hours (have also tried everything from fresh to 2/3 left out & 1/3 fresh). May I ask what recipe you used which yielded success? Is there any chance that using a 6 qrt mixer on 150g of egg whites could be my problem? Perhaps so much "power" on so little whites is a contributor? I've tried slightly underbeating but that only resulted in flat messes. Trying to increase the sugar/almond ratio did the same. Would folks recommend measuring 150g of egg whites and then using only the concentrate remanining after 24+ hours or measuring extra to then measure out 150g of concetrated egg whites? At this point, I'm ready to start back at the drawing board so if anyone has a recipe which has worked well for them, please consider passing it my way. Thank you all for your help!!!

Wendy - I have worked mainly with Lousie's recipe : 300 g powdered sugar 180 g ground almonds 150 g egg whites 30 g sugar Tried the Pascal Rigo recipe, Pierre Herme, made some variations on the above on dry to egg white ratio... all to no avail. I truly believe it must be technique as most recipes I've researched seem to have comparable ratios to the above. Could using a 6 qrt mixer on 150g of egg whites inevitably create too much air in the eggs? I generally leave out the whites for 24 hours & let the piped cookies sit for 30+ minutes.... After my first attempt at using store bought almond flour, I didn't return as the flour was pretty course & needed to be pulsed some more in the blender. Since then, I use the Herme technique of grinding and get very good results....but maybe I'm doing something incorrect there or when I blanch the almonds? Most likely, I would assume, it is something about my whites that are leading to air pockets.... The only macarons I've eaten store bought were from Miette's in the Ferry Building in San Francisco. They were beautiful! 2 cakey, chewey cookies. My poor husband had to take pictures of the cookies being eaten at various stages so I could refer to them when I was attmepting to make them on my own. Your thoughts and advice are most appreciated!!!! Arghavan- GOOD LUCK!!!

Ever feel like you're so close....but missing that vital ingrediant in the equation? That is how I feel about these cookies; I'm completely obsessed with them. No matter what I change in my calculations, I never achieve a chewey, cakey cookie that rises...there is always a component missing.... If anyone can help me, I'll give them a huge on-line smooch.

As to the macaron thread, I would love to see that revisited as I'm in tears on mine. (mine was the last post). My attempts look great but once you bite into them, there is quite a bit of air. I've tried everything from 1) leaving the whites out to dry 2) not letting them dry 3) 2/3 dried & 1/3 fresh.... Could it be that using a 6 qrt mixer on 150 grams of egg whites inevitably creates too much air in the whites? When I try to slightly undermix (in hopes of less air), I end up with a mess. Tapping down on the pan hasn't helped my problem at all. If anyone who has successfully made a cookie could please review that thread, I would be eternally grateful as I have been working on this a year & I'm still no closer to a chewy (non-chocolate) cookie. As to ratios on ingrediants, I have used Louise's recipe mentioned by ComeUndone in that thread. (no clue how to create a link to it). Help please!!!

jgarner53- it seems you can just keep re-tempering the chocolate until you get it right? does parchment work as well as acetate? reading these strings always makes me hungry.....

R Washburn, thank you very much for the advice! I would hate to ruin $20 of chocolate in the name of experimentation. Do you use acetate? If so, where do you buy it? Thx for your help!

Thornado, they are beautiful!!!! I've been wanting to try that one but the fear of tempering has kept me away. Any advise? I'd hate to destroy expensive chocolate. When the recipe calls for scoring, did you use your round cutter? Once again, fabulous job!

ComeUndone, Thank you for your response! As to the egg measurements, I didn’t clarify well that I am measuring the actual egg whites versus the complete egg. As to the proportion of a sugar/egg/almond mixture, I was using the recipe you recommended from Louisa earlier in this string. Are you still using such proportions or have you adjusted? A better question might be: what is the ratio you use? Thank you so much! So close and yet so far on these cookies….

PLEASE HELP!! I have been following this string for a year. While my macarons taste lovely....they are on the delicate side. They seem to be part chewy & part air so they crush easily (& a bit messily) when bitten. I've left the egg whites out for 24 hours & have even tried 2/3 left overnight & 1/3 fresh, I continue to experience air pockets in my cookies (I do tap down on the pan to rid them of any air bubbles but it isn't helping). Externally, they look good: frilly feet, nice dome that is a thin shell when you bite into it. I just can't seem to figure out why they are so delicate vs firm & chewy. Perhaps I'm overbeating my eggs and incorporating too much air but I've experienced a lack of rising when I tried to underbeat a bit... Could my problem be that I’m using a 6 qt mixer on 150g of eggs so too much air is inevitable? When I measure eggs that are to be left out, should I measure 150g of fresh eggs & use what is left or should I leave out extra egg white and measure 150g from that? Any advice would be truly appreciated as I’m close to tears on this one. Thank you so much for your help & time!!!!! I truly appreciate it! On a side note, do folks keep their cookies refrigerated due to the buttercream? Mine seem to melt if I keep them out for more than an hour or so. Am I doing something incorrectly or do most bakeries use a non-dairy base for their buttercream fillings? Once again, thanks for the help!