Peppermint Bark Macarons & De-bunking Macaron Myths

I am very proud of this batch of macarons! They are, in fact nut-free as well. I used vanilla beans to flavor the shell and then made a peppermint bark buttercream. Although, I must say, it looks like a ganache! Ghiradelli peppermint bark is one of my most favorite chocolates of all time. OF ALL TIME!  I figured since I read so many macaron blogs, I should start my own. Don't know if I should give you guys the recipes, but for now I will just post my methods and tips. :)

Googling has become one of my regular everyday things, especially when I'm bored at work. I usually google random stuff, or lately it has been macaron flavors and recipes and ideas. One day, I was bored and I found someone's website who had this great idea of swirling the macarons like the actual peppermint candy! At first I was gonna use edible glitter to decorate the tops, but this works much better. All you have to do is paint the inside of the piping bag with red stripes, and fill up the piping bag while it's open. Only problem is that you have to keep washing out the bag and painting the inside of the bag. But it produces such a pretty and cute result! It's worth it, trust me.

Also, I MUST state that after many trials of macarons, I can say that the Italian Meringue Method is the most reliable, prettiest, and produces less hollows. I despise the French method now! haha.

Another thing that bugs me that's on these macaron blogs are that they tell you to "baby the meringue", or "age the egg whites for 5 days", or "let it rest for 3 hours", or "don't use silpats". NONSENSE THINGS LIKE THAT!

I would like to officially de-bunk these myths....

• YOU DO NOT HAVE TO AGE THE EGG WHITES...NOT AT ALL

              - However, you can if you wish to, especially if the weather is humid and rainy. But personally, it's too much effort. I am busy with work and school, you think I have time to separate the eggs from the whites and then leave it out for a few days and just let it come to room temperature slowly?! NO. What I found to work best is to microwave the egg whites for 8-10 seconds. I don't use really cold egg whites, just in case it doesn't work when I whip it. haha

• YOU DO NOT HAVE TO "SLOWLY" ADD IN THE SUGAR ONE TEASPOON AT A TIME.

            - You can just dump it all in at once...you do that with swiss meringue buttercream, so why would you need to baby the meringue with macarons?

• YOU DO NOT HAVE TO REST THE MACARONS.

            - NONSENSE! Who actually has the time to rest them for 3 hours?! It is a matter of proper macaronage...I find the best way to produce macarons without resting them is using the Italian Meringue method, making the powdered sugar & almond mixture a paste using half the egg whites. It also produces a sturdier batter. Pretty much if it is not runny and not too solid, you have a good batter. If you pick up the spatula and it leaves a mark and takes a while to go back into the bowl, then you're good. You can also check if your batter is good enough by leaving the batter out for 10-15 minutes and if you touch it, it won't stick to your finger. Make sure it is thick enough to hold a shape and not ooze out of your piping bag too fast.

Here's what overmixed looks like:
and here's what your batter should look like:

And there you have it. :) I will post my tips and tricks later on. Gotta go to lunch. Bye <3