they worked!

After my disasterous attempt at macarons yesterday, i decided i couldn't let it get me down and i would try again, this time with a much smaller mixture amount. I read all of the tips on other food blogs and felt ready to go, so i started making my mixture, overly concerned about everything working out okay.
The recipe i used was a adaptation from Nigella's, as i didn't have any pistachios in but i did have ground almonds i substituted the 75g grams of pistachios for 65g of almonds, as the ready ground ones will absorb more liquid.
I also found the right nozzles so they didn't need to be sellotaped on, thankfully, and when i opened the oven door i was so happy that they had turned out well (not exactly but so much better than last time!).
So here's the recipe:
65g ground almonds
125g icing sugar
2 large egg whites
15g caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4, or if using an 2 door aga place on the lowest set of runners in the top right door.

Beat the egg whites and the caster sugar until medium peaks, and then fold the grond almonds and icing sugar in in 4 parts. Try to only fold them until they are all in the mixture otherwise you might over beat them.
Pipe out to 3.5cm circles and leave to form a skin for 30mins, at which point place in the oven for 9-10 minutes. Take them out and let them go cold before filling.

Recipe for chocolate ganache:
(100-150g icing sugar)
85g 70% cocoa bittersweet chocolate
1/3 cup heavy cream
15g butter, softened
(optional) couple of drops flavoured extract

The ganache recipe i have didn't ask for icing sugar but after melting the chocolate it had gone funny and it wasn't very sweet so i added it.

Melt the chocolate and cream gently over a pan of simmering water.
Once they have both melted take off the heat and add the butter, the heat of the chocolate will melt it.
If adding the sugar add now.
Let it go cool for 10 minutes then sandwich a blob between two of the macarons.

macarons..hardly.

Macarons, macarons why won't you work?!
I attempted macarons for the first time today and they were a complete disaster.
First i over whisked the egg whites, all 7! of them. I should of tried the first time with a smaller amount of mixture but didn't realise it would make so many, how i didn't realise that i don't know.
Then the bowl was too small so i couldn't add the almond and sugar to the mix, and had to end up making them in a big metal jam maker bucket.
I didn't know that the tiniest mistake would make them turn out so drastically wrong, and so when i piped them with a piping bag with the wrong size nozzle which I had to sellotape on and i subsequently ended up with mixture all over my hands, I felt like giving up.
However, i did in the end place the 'macarons' in the oven and when they turned out so flaky and not at all like the ones from laduree or Pierre Herme i felt like crying.
I placed ganache in the middle though and stuck them together, and to see how badly they turned out just look at the picture and feel sorry for me. On the up side they tasted gorgeous so i might attempt them again, just next time i'll make sure i use the correct quantity of mixture that i actually need.