Trial Bake #2
This bake went better than the prior, likely because I took a gap between the first trial and the second trial for research purposes. Problems that I experienced here was mainly the inconsistency in the baking process, as one sheet was overbaked and one sheet was underbaked. I also experienced a wrinkling in the "skin" of the shell, which may be due to not giving the cookies enough time to dry or the humidity in the air. This resulted in the shells not being as hard as they are typically desired, as they lacked the "crunch" that macarons are known for. My macarons did have feet this time, so I will take my successes where I can get them! It was definitely a step in the right direction and good motivation to keep going. Occasionally, the macaron baking process (especially when creating your own recipe with new ratios) can be incredibly discouraging. Recognizing that failure happens is the most important thing for success.
Takeaways
During this second bake, I realized that the most important thing to do is to follow the process in the moment. When you are too focused on the outcome of your product, for me anyway, it is incredibly difficult to make sure each individual step is executed well. I know that I was overly concerned about the outcome, causing me to make silly mistakes (like forgetting to add the vanilla into the egg white meringue...). It is crucial that when you are in the process, you are fully immersed in it, rather than being caught up with what *could* happen. I also realized that it is super important to PREP before you start baking! Making sure that everything is measured and prepared before you begin baking makes the process so much less stressful, easier, and more fun.