Unicorn Macarons

Macarons have certainly given me the runaround since I embarked on their creation back in March but oh how far I have come!! Once upon a time my house smelled of almonds but all I had to show for it were essentially almond cookies. To be honest, the art of macarons is eternally hit and miss and as a fellow baker friend (@doctor_cupcake_) quite aptly asserted, they are the diva of the baking world.

A wrong oven temp, a mix too many, a meringue too flimsy and to put it bluntly there'll be nothing but disappointment cooking in your oven.

That all being said, I think I have mastered a pretty good track record with macarons to the point that I actually felt confident enough to attempt something a little different with this latest batch. Unicorn Macarons!!!

I had so much fun with these. I piped out the usual macaron rounds and tapped the tray a few times to free the air bubbles - this after watching macaron master Xena's video on just such a design - before taking a second piping bag fitted with a smaller tip to add my unicorn horn and ears.

Lo and behold these magical beauties rose from the parchment paper! And then for the funnest part... decoration! I mixed a few drops of vodka with some gold lustre dust and painted the horn and inner ears before adding a buttercream flower crown to each unicorn. A sprinkling of glitter and some shimmery edible beads and they were almost complete save for some sleepy eyes which I drew on with edible marker. And... I'm in love!