LAVENDER LEMONDADE AND LEMON FRENCH MACARONS

2:28 PM

Did you know my favorite color is purple? As a girly girl, I'm obsessed with pink but although my obsession with pink knows no bounds, I must admit I love purple even more, and I love lavender. It smells ah-mazing and it takes even better in lemonade.

As a southern, lemonade is a staple, especially for those spring/summer afternoons sitting on the front porch and soaking up the sunshine or after a long day of working the garden. This lavender lemonade is a great twist on the classic drink with an amazing color pay-off (no food coloring needed)!

This recipe is super easy and quick, so if you're thinking of serving this at a picnic or barbecue, you're guests will think you're a drink wiz and extra classy, without ever knowing it took you less than 10 minutes to make.

Since I made Lavender lemonade, I thought a sweet lemon macaron would nicely compliment. Plus I love the color combo of Purple and Yellow!

Lemon Macarons with Vanilla Buttercream Filling

What you'll need:

Dry Ingredients:

1 CupAlmond Meal/Flour
1 2/3 Cups Powdered/Confectioner's Sugar
1 Tsp Cream of Tartar

Wet Ingredients:

1 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
Yellow Food Coloring
1 Tsp of Lemon Juice/ Lemon Zest
3 Egg whites
1/2 Heavy Whipping Cream
2 Tsp Room Temperature Butter

Tools:

Electric Mixer
Piping Bag
Piping Tip
Parchment Paper
Cookie Sheet
Whisk

Step 1: Sift Almond Mill and Powdered Sugar

This step is particularly important for getting airy and light cookies!

Step 2: Beat Egg Whites

Step 3: Add Vanilla and Lemon Juice to Egg Whites

Step 4: Fold Wet Ingredients with Dry Ingredients

Step 5: Add to a piping bag

Step 6: Pipe out Half-Dollar Sized Circles

Step 7:

Tap the Cookie Sheet a few times to release air bubbles

Step 8:

Patience Required... let macarons sit out for 30 minutes before baking, this a good time to Pre-Heat your oven to 300 degrees

Step 9:

Once macarons are no longer sticky to the touch, bake in the oven for 15 minutes

While Macarons are Baking... Make the Vanilla Butter Cream Filling:

-Just mix a room temperature stick of unsalted butter with 3 cups of Powdered/ Confectioner's Sugar, 1/4 cup of milk and 1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla extract with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes

Step 10: Once your macarons are finished baking and you have the signs of a successful Macaron cookie: FEET!

Add your Vanilla Buttercream to a piping bag and pipe onto one cookie and use another to make a Macaron Sandwich! Voila, you have a Macaron cookie! Easy huh!

Now to make the Lavender Lemonade and it's even easier than the Macarons!

Lavender Lemonade

All you need is:

-1 teaspoon of Lavender Buds (try whole foods or a gourmet Grocery Store...don't worry, their super cheap!)

-3-5 Lemons or 1 cup of Lemon juice

- 5 cups of Water

-1/2 cup of Sugar

Step 1:

Boil your lavender buds in 2 cups of water and use a strainer to remove buds