Forty Before Forty: A Cooking Class and Some Macarons

Mmmmm macarons! I love these light fluffy cookies! Not coconut macaroons either- just macarons. These are two totally different cookies. 

Now I can cross off two more items from my list! I wanted to order some macarons and enjoy them and I wanted to take a cooking class. I decided to kill two birds with one stone when a cooking class came up to make Valentines Macarons at Sur La Table. My husband bought me the class for a Valentines Day present because he thought I would enjoy going. 

The benefit of taking a class is really to learn the technique and be able to make them yourself. The last time I had a macaron was at a bakery in downtown Charlotte last year as they are not super plentiful around here. I would have really had to order them online and have them shipped to me and it would have probably cost close to the same! It looked like there were a couple of couples in the class as well as a couple of small groups of ladies. I took the class by myself and let's face it, everything is better with a friend. I got the space right by the counter so I was able to talk to the chef and ask questions and watch closely and carefully. It probably would have been more fun though if I would have known someone. Knowing me though, I might not have paid as much attention though since I probably would have been talking or laughing too much! 

The chef was very knowledgable and does this full time for a living at a bakery. She knew what she was doing and was very patient when people asked questions. If you have never made macarons yourself, you might not realize how time-consuming it is to make them. She made the suggestion of making the shells or cookies one day and making the fillings another day. The cookies take the longest and they have to be just right during the mixing and baking. It was a lot of fun but was a lot of work! 

The flavors we made were strawberry and champagne buttercream, chocolate with salted caramel, and hazelnut with chocolate ganache. I'm already thinking of other flavors or other combinations too! 

Here are some random pictures from the class:

Recipe packet and 10% off coupon- Bonus! 

Chef Marissa

The tray that Chef Marissa made- they look super neat and pretty! 

Trays and trays of cookies waiting to be baked! 

Getting ready to mix up ingredients for the champagne buttercream

Here I am holding a pan of the finished product! 

Overall this was a fun experience! I'm glad that I got to learn how to make these myself and will have to get started on it! In the meantime, I will enjoy one or two of them myself. 

Happy Valentines Day! 

X O X O Sandae