Raising little foodies is always an adventure, to be sure. They never fail to surprise me with their likes, loves, and requests. I love to hear them talk about food destinations they want to visit, and their favorite chef (Rick Bayless, for the record), because nothing of the sort was even remotely on my radar as a kid. Caroline’s fifth birthday party was this weekend and she had just a few items that were simply required on her menu, one of which was macarons.
The party was art themed, so brush stroke macarons were an obvious choice. I have seen beautifully decorated macs many times in the past, but the one time I previously attempted them, things didn’t quite work out. Thankfully, this go round was much more successful! This isn’t really a recipe but rather a simple technique to take your plain macs over the top. Basically, there are two basic methods for coloring the cookies. First, using edible markers is a great option. The second option is to mix gel coloring with a very small amount of almond or lemon extract and paint the color onto the cookies. I played around with both techniques a bit and ended up preferring the texture provided by using an actual paint brush so that is what I used for all of the macs pictured here. I’m sure I’ll use the edible markers in the future though, depending on my needs and the look I’m going for. The main thing to remember either way is that you want to use as little liquid as possible. If the shells get too wet, they will start to dissolve in that area.
I played around with a few different color palettes in my brush stroke macarons but this one with deep fuchsia, magenta, teal and violet were by far my favorite. I could stare at these beauties all day.
If you have ever had the desire to make some pretty painterly macs yourself, I urge you to give it a try. Just when I thought I couldn’t love macarons more, these changed it all! Full party details to come over the next week or two in a few different posts. I think you’re going to love this one!
Resources:
- basic macaron recipe (with step-by-step photos) – Everyday Annie
- edible markers – Amazon
- brushes – Amazon
- gel colors – Amazon
- macaron tower – Etsy
