French Macaroon FAIL

It's my fault, really. While up at the cottage, my Mum did a Key Lime Pie (whipped cream on the side for picky eaters) for Dad's birthday, which meant we suddenly had a bunch of egg whites left over.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Perfect, I thought, I'll make that macaroon recipe from the Martha Stewart that's up here... but tweak it so it's lime flavoured instead of raspberry. I'd done the recipe before, so I was sure it would work out.

Ah the inevitable pride before the fall.

This is what macaroons SHOULD look like:

marthastewart.com

Keep that image in mind.

I made the recipe according removing the jam, and adding in some lime rind. Oh, and made one crucial substitution: instead of icing sugar, I used granulated.

You know what happens to French style macaroons when you use granulated sugar? You get meringues. Not macaroons.

A plate of sadness

Nope, these bad boys looked NOTHING like they should have. They didn't rise properly; the sugar didn't dissolve; they tasted gritty (again, the sugar). Disaster.

Ugh. Monstrosities.

Now the filling was a mixture of lime juice and zest, semi-sweet chocolate and cream cheese. It was tasty, but without the signature macaroon crust... well... it was a bit of a bummer.

I swear though, Martha's recipe (when followed correctly), is fantastic. You can find it after the jump.

Just be sure to use icing sugar.