Macarons are made with egg whites, almond flour, and sugar.  The price of eggs, almond flour, and the ice cream filling in particular have increased since I first started.  Even the butter for the buttercream is expensive! Everyone knows how much groceries cost nowadays. 

With macarons, the ingredients must be weighed. Using cups and tablespoons to measure is a surefire way to ruin a whole batch. This takes time. Once while visiting my in-laws I forgot my food scale and tried to measure with cups and teaspoons and it was a disaster. 

Making macarons isn't easy. The egg whites need to be separated, and then need time to dry out. The almond flour and powdered sugar need sifting so the shells come out smooth.  The shells need to wait for at least 30 minutes to settle before they can bake in the oven.  

After all that, I can only bake one or two trays of macarons at a time because otherwise the heat isn't evenly distributed and they end up lopsided.  I have tried making shortcuts to save time but the results are so inconsistent it isn't worth it.  

Macarons "mature" and taste best after resting overnight with the filling. I usually weigh, sift, and prepare the ingredients one day, mix and bake the next, and decorate and add the filling another day. Making a batch of macarons from start to finish takes several days.  

Macarons are one of the few baked goods that are naturally gluten free.  Almond flour is more expensive than regular flour, but you get the pure taste without substituting sub-par ingredients. While they do contain sugar, macarons are one of the healthier choices when it comes to baked desserts. Also, since they are so flavorful and filling, I find that I eat fewer macarons than I would cookies or brownies or cake.  

Adding coloring and flavoring to macaron shells is another challenge that can ruin a batch!  Most people don't flavor their shells because adding that much liquid ruins the consistency of the macaron and results in hollow shells or thin and flat shells, instead of round and tall.  

I use quality coloring and flavoring to give that extra boost of flavor in the shells.  That makes my macarons unique without compromising that classic macaron look with developed feet and chewy centers. 

What is macronage?  This is one of the most difficult challenges when making macarons.  Macronage is the macaron batter mixing technique-meaning hand mixing the meringue and dry ingredients in a very specific way.  Doing this correctly results in beautiful feet, smooth shells, and that fluffy texture we all love.  There is no way to fix it if you overmix in the macronage stage.  

In these photos of some of my very first macarons, you can see the cracked and grainy shells. This is caused by over or undermixing the macronage.

Every single macaron is handmade by yours truly.  When you purchase a treat from Camille's, you are literally supporting a stay at home mom with a passion. I am trying to show my kids and community to go after your dreams.  I genuinely appreciate every purchase and every compliment from the bottom of my heart.