I Heart Macarons . . .

. . . but not as much as my husband does.  Go ahead and mock him for it (he also likes fruity, girlie drinks); he's not ashamed.

So when I showed him my new purchase, a gorgeous jewel of a recipe book called I Love Macarons, he temporarily forgot that he was a miserable medical resident and clapped and giggled with glee, like a little school girl.

Ok, he didn't actually giggle.  He yelled out some expletives not appropriate even for my foul-mouthed blog.  Then he may or may not have licked some of the pages.

Image Source: Amazon

And I hardly blame him.  The book is filled with the most charming, delectable photos of beautifully made macarons, in every color and flavor combination imaginable.

But not only is the book gorgeous to look at, it is actually a wonderfully informative, detailed guide to macaron-making.  Along with step-by-step (and fully illustrated) accounts of how to make macaron shells using the two classic methods (French and Italian meringue), and how to create various flavored and colored shells and fillings, the book has a troubleshooting guide, as well as suggestions for packaging the lovely confections and for using the leftover egg yolks (only egg whites are used in the making of the shells).

Of course, I had to whip up a batch of macarons.  I mean, I couldn't possibly review a cookbook without testing out its recipes, right?  That just wouldn't be fair to you, dear reader.

I made caramel macarons with vanilla buttercream.  They were scrumptious.  In fact, my husband, who is stunningly, sometimes brutally honest with his reviews of my cooking, declared them "just as good, if not better" than any macaron he's ever had.  Woo hoo!

If you love macarons even a quarter as much as my husband does, I recommend this book enthusiastically.  Even if you never make a single macaron from it, its darling photos make for great browsing.  I even thought about taking the book apart to frame some of the photos for display in our kitchen.  I just got to figure out how to remove the drool marks first.

Do you love macarons?  Have you tried making them at home?