Holiday Gift Ideas #1. Merry Macarons

I've always wanted to give gifts that I'd also love to have (or to eat:)).  This holiday season, I will be sharing some gift ideas or suggestions which I think both the giver and the receiver will be happy to have.

When we, Filipinos hear about Macarons or Macaroons, we think of Coconut Macaroons, one of the principal ingredients of which is shredded dry coconut.  Merry Macarons is not that kind of macaroon...they are French Macarons!  A French Macaron is a dainty cream-filled sandwich cookie which melts in your mouth and tastes like heaven!   While regular French macarons make use of almond flour, Merry Macarons are made from a mix of ground almonds and...cashew nuts! That's simply because cashew is so delicious and best of all, it's local :)  and unlike other French Macs available here, Merry Macs are reasonably-priced..hence, they landed on my list of Holiday Gift Ideas :)

Apple Cinnamon

Coffee Caramel and Coffee

Pistachio

Choco Macs, a big hit for kids!

 

Other flavors include Milk Chocolate, Chocolate Mint, Strawberry, Coco-Calamansi, Salabat with Honey, Guava, Choc-nut, Chili Chocolate, Cookies and Cream, Buko Pandan, Peanut Butter (from Vizcaya), Peanut Butter Jelly, Honey Jam (from Bohol).  Please note that they are regular-sized macs (not mini macs) 

Merry Macs are at P30/piece. But if you buy 5, you get 1 free! These are regular-sized macarons...

For online orders, Merry Macs come in packs of 6 (P180), with a maximum of three flavors.

However, if you buy more than two packs, you get to avail the 5+1 promo, too. :) 

For Christmas, alternative packs include the following:

* 3 macs in a glass -  P100

  minimum of 4 glasses

* Tree Box (max of 4 flavors)

  8 macs - P230

  10 macs - P280

  (minimum of 2 boxes)

They make use of reusable packaging.  Orders can be picked up in Fairview or in UP Village. Should you want the macs to be delivered,  they suggest the use of Pedala's services. 

For complete details of their products, more photos and more info, please check them out on facebook.com/merrymacarons.  You can also find them selling in bazaars like 10A Alabama Bazaar..

Macaron Rediscovery and Merry Macs History By Maye Padilla:

My first time to eat a macaron was several years ago, when my brother brought home some.  It was okay...but I didn't really get hooked.  When we were in Paris last year, we tried some macarons from a cafe that we just ducked inside in because of the rain. I got re-acquainted with them...and my initial impression of macarons changed: macarons are actually good! :)  But because there were lots of other more tempting-looking pastries, we never really got to try out other macarons.  

January of this year2011, my family and I had dinner before proceeding to Tagaytay.  Across the restaurant where we ate was a gelato shop and while we were still having our meal, it was decided that we would have dessert at that store.  Aside from different flavors of gelato, they also offered different flavors of macarons.  And since they had a promo, we decided to try them. :)

We sat around one table and tried the macs, tagay style - one would take a bite then pass the rest to the next person, until everyone had a taste. :) THE MACARONS WERE SUPER DELICIOUS!!!!! We got hooked!!! They were really, really good. I didn't know that macarons could taste that good and could be that addicting.  

Until one time, my brother brought home some macs and we all shared, again tagay style.  We were raving about how good the macs were, but how they' re also expensive and how the store was so far from where we lived...kaya I thought, why not try to make my own macarons?!  

I tried to search for recipes and videos.  Among my first reactions were - "What? Almond flour??"   That was actually my first time to hear about almond flour.  I searched some more and got really intimidated - for some reason, most of the blogs that I read introduced macaron-making as something really difficult and tricky! 

Because I didn't have a kitchen scale, my only choice was to try the recipe that measured ingredients in cups and tablespoons, instead of grams.  The first batch that I made tasted good (according to my brothers! :)). But they looked nothing like a macaron. They were flat and irregular-shaped and had no feet!

The second batch was much better! When I finally saw the macs rising and starting to have "feet" - I was so ecstatic! :) (Actually, up until now, I still feel that way every time I bake. Kabado while waiting, then overjoyed when the "feet" start to show :))

I decided to start a visual macaron diary to document my macaron adventure (facebook.com/media). I experimented with the shells - adding flavor, adding color. Then I experimented with the fillings - buttercream, ganache, jellies, etc. The responses that I got from my friends were really encouraging! I made a pledge to bake at least once a week...but I got addicted and ended up baking every other day - and the rest is history :)

Posted By:  Manila Shopper

Disclaimer:  Manila Shopper is not in any way connected with Merry Macarons.  No product nor service was received for free.