Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Pierre Hermé - Jour du Macaron 2012


Yes, these are macarons, but they are not from Pierre Hermé.
They were made by Holly and me in a three-day frenzy of scientific study and baking.
They were divine.


Today is Jour du Macaron, a festival of these tasty delights by Pierre Hermé.  For the seventh year now the pâtisserie holds an event which I would compare to a treasure hunt.  You are given a card with the map of PH locations.  You can go to each location and select three macarons one macaron of the 25 flavors available on this wonderful day.  You are encouraged to drop a small donation in the box which will be given to charity.  You go to each of the 8 PH boutiques, selecting a macaron from each, and get your card stamped.  If you make it to all of the PH stores by the end of the day, you are rewarded with a box of 35 macarons!  

The rules have changed this year as in prior years there were three macarons at each stop!  I guess that it got to be too popular.  I have several blogger friends who are making the rounds today and they will be reporting on their success.  I hope that a treasure of 35 macarons is still the reward.  I am missing it by less than a week this year, but assuming there is an eighth year Jour du Macaron, I plan to be there!


Pierre Hermé, Jour du Macaron 2012
All over Paris 


After a random drawing from all the comments since last Tuesday,
the winner of the book, Dog Trots Globe, is .....
The Chieftess! 
Congratulations to her and thank you for all your wonderful comments during the past week.  
Special thanks to Sherry Long, the author and Chula's mom, and to OIC, the book publisher.

36 comments:

martinealison said...

Je commence la première journée du printemps en admirant cette belle photo de macarons qui va me faire prendre quelques kilos d'avance !!!...
Gros bisous

Vreni said...

Wow, your macarons look great and I´m sure they are divine!! What a pity that you miss Jour du Macaron! I´ve never participated in this special day, but I would love to one day!

Nathalie said...

You mean you MADE these?
Congratulations !
My sister tried to make some with a macaron mix last week and let's face it, they didn't look half as nice. I won't discuss the value of macaron mixes vs Pierre Hermé's creations, it would be shocking.

Joe said...

The look terrific. Do you take orders on-line? I like the sound of Macaroon Day. Sounds like great fun.

Cezar and Léia said...

French treasures! :)
Léia

Nicola said...

Oh, we already have a great French day out planned today otherwise I would rush out and search for macarons. Next year! Your macarons look perfect too.

Ann said...

Oh I love them...
they look so good
you just made me crave for some macarons right now ♥

M said...

Miam miam. Absolutement délicieux! There is a Boulangerie/Pâtisserie near my office. I have never tried their macarons but today is the perfect day to do so. Your creations look perfect! Wish I could taste them. Bisous!

Rob-bear said...

Macaroons! Who can resist.

Perhaps a good recipe would suffice.

What is the difference between macarons and macaroons?

brattcat said...

you made these!!!! they look brilliant. how i wish i could have a taste.

Janey and Co. said...

Yum...I bet you had fun making those. I especially like the light green ones. Jour du Macaron sounds like my kind of scavenger hunt!

Harriet said...

Your macarons look perfect in every way and I'm sure they were divine! I say that as someone who is still trying to make a perfect macaron. Leave it to the French to create such a tricky recipe! When in Paris, please have a few for me.

Virginia said...

I can vouch for Genie's macarons. Every bit as good as those in Paris and I can vouch for Chieftess as well. A dog lover extraordinaire, she's the perfect winner of Chula's book!
V

Anonymous said...

Congratulations to the winner. You're macarons look GREAT! I almost thought you brought them back from France. I wish I could enjoy a day of macarons sounds like fun!

Sylvia K said...

One of my favorite cookies!! And I haven't had breakfast yet so I'm drooling! I would love to make the rounds on Jour du Macaron!! Hope you get to make the next one! Fun post as always, Genie!

Hugs
Sylvia

Pat said...

I would happily make the rounds for these. For that matter, I'll find where you live and taste yours! They look great! Congrats to the Chieftess!

Janey and Co. said...

Maybe these should be your next give away!

Shane Pollard said...

Oh Genie, if only I'd known that I would have planned my trip better!!!
That would be such a fun thing to do.
Bon voyage
xox
Shane

Rob Siemann said...

HA, here they are again! Lovely, but I have to draw a line at the wasabi macarons.

My name is Riet said...

Wow, what a treat. They look delicious and devine. Wonderful.

TheChieftess said...

WooHoo!!! Thanks Genie!!! What do you need me to do at this point???

As for Macarons...perhaps Hermes reduced down to one macaron per stop because no one was fitting into his creations anymore!!!

Octavian-Andrei Brezean said...

that's true delicious ! :) Thanks for sharing

Alexa said...

If Pierre's macarons are as good as his croissants, I'd better plan to be in Paris next year on March 20. Meanwhile, yours look sublime, Genie!

Erika said...

Je les adore mais je ne savais pas qu'il y avait cette fete. Passe une belle soirée, chère Genie.
Erika

Nat said...

What beautiful macaroons! I adore them... they definitely deserve a special day in their celebration :-)

Jack said...

Genie, Holly and you are amazing! Those look terrific. (I shouldn't rave too much . . . you will start getting your back up and thinking "Doesn't that bozo think I can cook?")

Louise said...

Oh well done. You should be justifiably proud. What a wonderful photo for Macaron Day. I knew of Macaron Day but hadn't understood the full rules. I want to be there for Macaron Day even more now.

Holly said...

Wish we were there for Macaron Day, but in the mean time I'll whip up my own Pistache with Nutella buttercream! Hopefully next year we can "win" a box of 35...each! :-) Miam Miam!!

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

Well, I am waiting to read about PH's Jour du Macaron 2012 to see if there was a large box of macarons as a prize for making it to all of the shops!

I do love the macarons but do not have a problem walking away after eating just one. These are not too sweet and are made with egg whites and ground almonds (almond flour) and other ingredients. However, I will say that the French have some very complicated pastry recipes. Next one to tackle... Canelés de Bordeaux. Stay tuned!

Bises,
Genie

Louis la Vache said...

Oh my!
Shame on you for hitting «Louis'» MUST HAVE MACARON switch!

Jenny Woolf said...

A fascinating and original idea. I'd love to do this - I adore macaroons. When I was staying near Poitiers last year I saw that there was a museum of macaroons, and I was really fed up that I simply didn't have time to visit it. Have you ever been there?

As for making macaroons, I've never even tried. I like baking but there is something rather intimidatingly elegant about macaroons and my baking skills don't really include "elegant"

Kate said...

Darn! I never win anything, she whines!!

Halcyon said...

They were doing this in Toronto as well. But I don't care for macaroons, so I didn't participate. I like the idea though!

Melissa said...

This look delicious! You did a good job creating them, and arranging them. My mouth is watering :)

AL said...

Your baking looks amazing...would love to try those! I love the idea of this charity event...seems like everyone is a winner, and the grand prize is fabulous.

Kelley Carey MacDonald said...

Missed the book drawing, but am SO rewarded by this post. I feel the macarons in Paris are worth the price of the plane fare. Now, I must find out when next year's Macaron Day is and start saving my pennies!