These are French macarons. A macaron is a cookie sandwich with an almond-flour shell and ganache center. They are absolutely delicious and notoriously difficult to make. There is a reason why almost every macaron recipe is slightly different.We’ve been on a macaron-baking adventure lately, and it has been a journey of blood, sweat and tears. Kidding– but these little cookies have definitely tested my patience. It has been too easy to overwhip the egg whites: stiff peaks, not too stiff. It has been all too hard to pipe them onto our baking sheets in perfect circles: our shells often don’t match in size. And at the end of it all, there are about a thousand variables that could have ruined our macarons, according to our macaron troubleshooting resources (yes, those exist).
We’ve had macarons that were: too grainy, too hard, too hollow, too soft, too flat, and without “feet”. We have yet to experience the cracked shell or a full-on oven explosion, but our luck will run out eventually.
So if it’s this difficult, then why do we engage in this masochistic activity? Because the final product is so worth it. And therefore I present to you:
Why Relationships are like French Macarons
- It’s rarely ever perfect, but you enjoy it anyway. A relationship can be wonderful without being perfect. Perhaps one of us is walking through a difficult season. Or we’re sick. These moments can make for beautiful relational moments, but they’re not perfect.
- What works is always contextual. Know why macaron recipes have so much variation? Because these little sweets are so sensitive that anything from the size of one’s oven to the type of eggs used can change the outcome. Similarly, relationships thrive within particular cultures and contexts. People come together with unique personal histories and must find harmony within them.
- It gets better with time. While famous restauranteur Tom Keller tells us to eat macarons the day they’re made, we’ve found that they’re always better tomorrow. Relationships take time to grow, soak in, and thrive. My husband and I have often said to each other, “the best is yet to come.”
- The joy exceeds the labor. In a healthy relationship, there’s always work. There’s also pain, hurt and suffering. But there’s also joy– deep, soulful joy– that overcomes our suffering in ways that words cannot express. We come to see the best in each other and we become our best selves. It’s like the moment when you sink your teeth into a good macaron: ah yes, this is what I’ve been working towards.
Now for the recipe! For the macarons photographed here, we followed this recipe from Serious Eats. I recommend whipping the egg whites with a stand mixer or electric mixer, and using silicone sheets instead of parchment paper. But, then again, the best method depends on your materials and your oven– perhaps even the altitude of your location. Good luck!
What would you compare relationships to? And, would you ever try making macarons?
