Macaron Madness

Today, I had my first attempt at macrons.  I know, scary right?  I've read my fair share of disasters on one too many blogs and I was very nervous!  But, I followed the instructions to the T and was crossing my fingers that they would turn out ok, and they did!! They are perfectly beautiful!!

Aren't my babies beautiful?  Here is the army that one batch yields.

Don't worry, those are the bottoms, no the tops.  This recipe is a plain vanilla macron and I paired it with a Nutella Buttercream in honor of Sunday, World Nutella Day!

Feel free to pair this delicious buttercream with your favorite vanilla or even chocolate macron.  

Nutella Buttercream

Beat one stick of softened butter with 3 cups of powdered sugar (add 1 cup at a time).  Beat in 1/4 cup half and half or whole milk and 1/2 tsp vanilla.  Add 1/2 cup more powdered sugar and beat on high for a few minutes, until its fluffy.  Soften 1/4 cup nutella in the microwave) and beat into the frosting.  If the frosting's not stiff enough, add another 1/2 cup powdered sugar.