Happy Star Wars Day! May the 4th be with you! If you regularly follow this blog you know I like to do something special on this special day. This time around I wanted to push myself with a challenging dessert... the french macaron. For those unfamiliar, a macaron is a little cookie sandwich that has crunchy exterior, but chewy interior, shells and a dessert filling in the middle.

My cookie friend, Tiffany of Snickerdoodle Sweets & Events, recently gave me a copy of Mindy Cone's book, Gourmet French Macarons, and I've been chomping at the bit to give macarons a try. Mindy's book shows pages and pages of creative ways to decorate an otherwise typical macaron. I used her great tips and tricks to attempt my version of Star Wars macarons.

Now macarons has a reputation of being challenging because their baking process can be very temperamental. I used Mindy's macaron recipe she includes in her book, but because I'm a visual learner, I also watched a number of YouTube videos to see the process in action. The two videos I found most helpful was one by Honeysuckle Catering (below)

and the other by Entertaining with Beth (below).

Using the tips and strategies from all three sources, I was able to achieve some decent results. The macaron recipes can be found in the videos posted above, as well as a few links I provided at the bottom of this post.

For the Star Wars macarons, I decided to do three different designs fans of the series will hopefully recognize. After the macaron shells were baked, I decorated the tops with royal icing. The picture below shows the steps to create a simplified representation of Chewbacca and his iconic metal sash.

These Chewbacca macarons were made with chocolate macaron shells and a chocolate ganache filling.

Another Star Wars macaron design is of one of my favorite characters of the series, R2-D2. They are made of white, almond-flavored macaron shells with a vanilla buttercream center that I tinted blue.

Lastly, I had to complete my Star Wars macarons set by representing the Dark Side. These treats were made to look like the Imperial's Death Star. Similar to the R2-D2 macarons, they were lemon-flavored macaron shells with a vanilla buttercream filling.

If you would like to try your hand at macarons, here are a few helpful links to guide you through the process:

For more Star Wars related treats, be sure to check out these links:

May the 4th be with you!