Strawberry Lemonade French Macarons

I have been on a French Macaron kick lately, but I guess when you make French Buttercream, you have a lot of egg whites left over. If you didn’t know, French Buttercream is made with egg yolks. Don’t worry, they’re cooked! But we’re not really talking French Buttercream right now… we’re talking French Macarons. Hey, just a thought… Do you think that French Macarons and French Buttercream were made to be compliments so you don’t waste eggs? Just a thought.

But since I’ve had so many egg whites lying around, I thought French Macarons were in order. I love making them. I don’t have them perfected just yet… And practice makes perfect. Plus at our last dive club meeting, I made my friend Danielle a deal that I’d make her French Macarons if she’d make hubby some deviled eggs. He loves them and I’m not a fan so I don’t typically make them. In fact, I’ve only made the once in my life. It was fun boiling the eggs and then seeing if I did it correctly to see if the shells would peel correctly.

Speaking of Deviled eggs, I saw a deal at the grocery store where you crack the egg, pour it in, boil it, and it makes a perfect deviled egg. Interesting!

But back to these French Macarons…

I was trying to come up with a flavor that screamed summer. What tastes better for summer than lemonade? Well… Strawberry lemonade of course! I seriously equate the Countrytime Brand of Lemonade to my Grandma. That was what she always made. She always had a pitcher of the regular lemonade in her refrigerator, all summer long. She typically made the sugar free type. And every year when I drink that type of lemonade I remember her.

I feel as if I stepped back into her old farmhouse. I could see her busy cleaning in the kitchen, the sink of water waiting for dishes so she could rinse them off and then load the dishwasher. One of her favorite tv programs on the tv whether it be a soap opera that she watched, The Price is Right with Bob Barker or the Sally Jesse Raphael show. Does anyone remember Sally Jesse?

So in an attempt for a summer flavor, lemonade sounded perfect! And of course to make it better, Strawberry Lemonade. Now, I didn’t veer off my favorite Macaron recipe for these other than adding a drop of red food coloring to make it pink. The buttercream filling has real lemon juice in it as well as butter and powdered sugar, milk, and lemon zest. Finally, that touch of strawberry jelly in the center just makes them perfect.

So if you’re looking for a real summer treat in a small little-bite-sized cookie… these are the place to be. And truthfully, I remembered Grandma while I was eating these too. It must be that lemonade flavor. They say that certain smells and tastes bring back memories. Thank goodness for the power of smell and taste!