Stubbornness + Macarons

So not my typical post, but have you ever been super stubborn about something? Like you just won't quit regardless of your failure and your frustration. No matter the tears. Well, for me recently, it was macarons. I love to bake and try new things, and I obviously love to eat macarons - so many flavors, the awesome texture that melts in your mouth, and the sweet sweet success of making something and sharing it with those you love.

Well it was not that poetic. We read recipes and watched youtube videos of macaronage and we felt super ready. We were not. Not even close. Our first attempt, was a complete dud. Nothing went right, from the piping, to the shells glossing, to the baking. It was three hours wasted. We then watched videos and read articles on what can go wrong and how to course correct it. We switched recipes to "full-proof" and "guaranteed" macarons. But they only guaranteed more disappointment and frustration and tears when things didn't go right. WTF? How can i watch people do this all the time with such ease and we are just failing left and right? I like rules and following directions, and we did it perfectly. But it still wasn't working.

It was time to call in the professionals. We signed up for a macaron making class at a local bakery and spent three hours learning it from a professional baker. We were re-invigorated when our macarons turned out perfectly. But yet, we were still too nervous and fearful of failure to try it at home again. Thanks to quarantine though, we had some extra time on our hands and gave it one last go. Following our bakery recipe, and watching the videos we snapped from our group class, we meticulously followed every detail. Our kids helped with piping and we over did it making 100 shells at least, hoping for a 25% success rate.

But all that failure and determination got us to our finish line. Five hours later, we knocked it out of the park and made 100 perfect little shells, that we carefully filled with buttercream and lemon curd. We were high-fiving and jumping for joy, and snacking happy for the next bunch of days. I'm glad that we stuck with the endeavor. All the hardship, and literal tears, made success that much more awesome and sweet! And now we have another skill under our belt! But I'm not sure it will be put to use any time soon.