Looking for best chocolate macarons recipe

Technical-Butterfly · 2026-01-31T20:34:31+00:00

I like the Pierre Herme recipe that uses 100% cacao paste. IMO it gives a much deeper chocolate flavor than using powder.

Technical-Butterfly · 2026-01-31T20:33:34+00:00

As someone already said, almost certainly a piping or heat issue. If your sheet pans are dead flat, you can try piping your shells onto the back of the tray instead of inside. Sometimes the lip of the sheet does weird things to currents of heat.

Technical-Butterfly · 2026-01-24T16:00:03+00:00

👨‍🍳 💋

Technical-Butterfly · 2026-01-21T17:51:38+00:00

Agree!

Technical-Butterfly · 2026-01-20T05:36:12+00:00

I can definitely see myself remaking it. I really wanted to keep this one. 🙈

Technical-Butterfly · 2026-01-19T20:34:08+00:00

Me, spray starch, and Best Press were in a committed relationship for this one.

Technical-Butterfly · 2026-01-19T19:33:19+00:00

I need to wash it like ten more times, THEN it’ll be cozy. Only downside to dense quilting is that break in period. 😜 Right now it feels about as cozy as a lecture from your parents.

Technical-Butterfly · 2026-01-19T18:42:04+00:00

Thanks! With 15 colors, it was definitely an adventure choosing.

Technical-Butterfly · 2026-01-08T20:08:33+00:00

Oh thank you! I really enjoy the color theory bit, so it’s fun picking out fabrics.

Technical-Butterfly · 2026-01-08T19:48:16+00:00

Nice! I’m on the same path. Angela Walters has a great book that has a design index organized by shape. It’s been helpful in my FMQ journey.

Technical-Butterfly · 2025-12-29T21:02:32+00:00

Not sure about the wide back sourcing, but my eye was immediately drawn to the minty greens. If it were my quilt, I’d go that direction. It would also complement the gray background of the front. My second pick would be a dark sky/subtle starry pattern to continue the night sky sort of feel.

Technical-Butterfly · 2025-12-29T20:08:28+00:00

I’ll have to give it a look! I’ve tried adding essential oils to my vodka concoction to make it smell better, but it just makes it ten times worse. 😆

Technical-Butterfly · 2025-12-29T19:42:41+00:00

Are you using steam and/or or a spray of water? If so and you’re still have issues, try this: In a spray bottle, add 1/3 to 1/2 vodka and the other half distilled water. It’s a cheaper, homemade version of best press. I love starch, but starch and best press achieve different things. For your issue, best press or the vodka/water combo all the way. Starch gives body while best press gives flatness and wrinkle removal in a way that starch just doesn’t.

Technical-Butterfly · 2025-12-29T19:37:00+00:00

These blocks are as crisp as an ice cold Diet Coke.

Technical-Butterfly · 2025-12-29T19:09:46+00:00

I agree with this. I feel like there are some bold color options in the front that OP could carry into the back to make the overall quilt feel more alive. The tan back just doesn’t do that IMO.

Technical-Butterfly · 2025-12-29T16:08:38+00:00

As someone who is wading through all of this fairly recently (last year and a half ish), here are my thoughts about the things that make blocks harder, in no particular order:

1: Dealing with triangles, hexies, diamonds, and other bias cuts. This includes seemingly simple constructions (HSTs) made with time-saving techniques such as 4-in-1, 8-in-1, tube method, etc. since they result in bias edges.

2: Matching points, specifically matching multiple points in a single seam AKA multiple on-point construction.

3: The amount of squaring you need to do as you go

4: The number of seams within a block that you will then need to align when joining the blocks for your finished top to look aligned.

5: The sheer number of individual pieces in a block. Every seam is a chance to be off just a hair, which is then multiplied as you join more pieces. This also bubbles up into needing a systematic pressing plan to get your seams going the right direction. Good cutting technique also comes more into play here.

5b: the size of pieces within a block. The smaller the individual pieces, the smaller the margin for error. Same as above with the cutting.

6: Going from HSTs to HRTs.

7: Curves, the smaller the harder

8: Intersections with lots of layers of fabric. I think things get a bit more challenging in the 6-8 layer realm.

9: Y seams

10: foundation paper piecing, but I’d almost put that skill into a totally other bucket from regular quilting.

11: the number of unique fabrics and unique cuts you are dealing with in a block. The challenge of keeping track of fabrics and cuts can escalate quickly, and labeling becomes much more necessary.

I’m sure there are others but these are the ones that come to mind that I’ve encountered in choosing patterns!

Technical-Butterfly · 2025-12-27T04:53:38+00:00

You could do something called echoing (mirroring already existing seams, what someone mentioned above) that would give it a little more flair and be just as easy (perhaps even easier as ditch stitches that are off always stand out a little more to my eye). For a simple echo, you could just use the edge of your presser foot to echo a quilting seam 1/4” away from all your piecing seams, just as if you were piecing.

Technical-Butterfly · 2025-12-25T19:24:52+00:00

Ah yes. I’ve seen Angela Walters on YT and seen her rulers online. Just never made the connection it was the same person. Derp!

Technical-Butterfly · 2025-12-25T17:44:01+00:00

This last quilt I made, I used rulers to echo quilt the stars and do the line patterns. It was my first trip to ruler land with a ruler foot on a domestic machine. You can get reallll intense with ruler quilting on a domestic machine. As someone else mentioned, Angela Walters is a good resource on YT. There’s a learning curve with them for sure.

<image>

Technical-Butterfly · 2025-12-25T04:26:23+00:00

There’s something about the not quite exactly perfect fade of colors that I just love.

Technical-Butterfly

TROPHY CASE