I do so like green eggs and ham (Mactweets May)

I was excited to see this month’s Mactweets theme: Tell me a Story with macarons inspired by a favourite book from childhood.  I knew immediately what book I wanted to use for inspiration – a classic Seuss:

(Image source: Salon.com)

Many of you who know me will be aware that I am just emerging from a fairly stressful month of school yearbook deadlines, grad school papers and various other projects but all the while, I knew I had the Mactweets deadline coming up and was not feeling very confident – it seems like it’s been so long since the last time I made them!  Plus, the whole “green” part was stumping me a little.

(Image source: Motherhood Examiner)

Once I had the idea, I couldn’t get the thought out of my head and I struggled to figure out a way of making these “Green Eggs and Ham” themed macarons.  I oscillated between ideas as to how to execute them and finally decided that I would just make snow white macs and attempt to colour the middles green (as above).  I figured the easiest way to do this was to set aside a tiny amount of the macaron mixture and quickly colour it before I piped the white ones, then pipe a small amount of green into the middle.

Surprisingly, my cunning plan looked like it was working as I popped them in the oven…

And imagine my surprise when after baking at 320F for 12 minutes (turning the tray mid-way), they emerged from the oven with feet!!!!

I was pretty excited, I have to say – definitely a “happy feet dance” moment!

Ok, now for the “ham”.  I took my inspiration from Rachael at La Fuji Mama who used Baking Obsession’s recipe for chocolate plastic (basically corn syrup and melted chocolate – surprisingly easy!) to make fillings for her “Big Mac” macarons.  Here it is going into the plastic to be refrigerated overnight.

For the filling, I took my inspiration from the colours on the book cover and used Martha Stewart’s basic buttercream frosting, coloured a vibrant orange and flavoured with orange essence.

They’re very “Seussian” don’t you think?

Here they are “served” with their “ham”:

And because it’s Mother’s Day, I brought out a little memory from when my mum used to serve me boiled eggs (which I hated when I was little but I loved the cups!):

I have to admit, I was pretty chuffed with this batch and I found it relaxing and even therapeutic this time around. That will tell you a little about how stressful the past few weeks have been – have you ever known me and my macs to be a less than stressful experience????

87 thoughts on “I do so like green eggs and ham (Mactweets May)”

  1. LOVE THEM! How creative and fun. Sounds like they were a pleasure to make, compared to the deadlines filling the rest of your past few weeks/months. Still, this is not helping my craving for macs at all. I’m about to head off to Camp Blogaway, and with my track record, this is exactly when I would attempt to make macs. But I just can’t do it this week. Maybe when I get back?

    Nicely done!

    Best,
    Casey

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  2. What a great job, Mardi! And yeah, when making macs is *relaxing*, I know you’ve been having a stressful time of it. 🙂

    Love your green eggs and ham, Sam I Am!

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  3. Beautiful and fun at the same time…you are fast joining the league of Mac Queens in my book (or Dr. Seuss’s even!).

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  4. Mardi, what a excellent post. the Green Eggs and Ham theme is sooo fun, I can see you really had a great time making these. You are quite an accomplished Macaron maker. It was nice to see your old Bunnikins egg-cup made an appearance.

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  5. Seussian macs… whoa! What a great idea and how beautifully they ‘feeted’!! Love the inspired story idea, your Mom’s egg cup and the plastic chocolate. So glad they worked out Mardi. After the rough touch weeks gone by, these must have been the most welcome feet to hear in a while! I have always enjoyed Dr Seuss and now you’ve added a new dimension to it!
    Thanks for joining Jamie and me at MacTweets! Fun to have you on!!

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  6. well knock me over with thing one and thing two- this represents a new feat of mac-making for sure. you may almost have me convinced that I could actually eat a macaron and like it. almost. they are so beautiful and splendoriffic, congrats!

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  7. oooh…they are so beautiful! I just want to eat them. I love Dr Seusse books. 🙂 Been reading it to poppet since she was 1.

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  8. These are brilliant, I can’t believe I have never ate one of these no less tried to make one….looks so hard but very professional…amazing little alicia and wonderland or rabbit cup they are in, love that little touch there. I have every book on Dr Suess so a big fan here, green eggs and ham I am~lol

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  9. Dr. Seuss couldn’t have been prouder with these macarons. I’ll say you handled the “green” part in style. Your macarons are gorgeous.

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  10. They look very arty! Love the use of props (well done Mr Neil!)

    In a way they remind me of those psych tests where they show people food under different lighting to see if they’d eat it!

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  11. These are very cute! Great idea. Congrats on the macs as well as getting through the stressful time. I hope things are quieter now.

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  12. PERFECT! These are so brilliant and so well done and what a clever mac for this month’s theme! You are the best! And hip hip horray for feet! And calm, calm, honey. A little stress to keep you going but there is no time on this earth to let big stress get you down. One day and one mac at a time!

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  13. They look stellar, I must say,
    and I want some to eat today.
    With their green tops and handsome feeties,
    They put to shame my bowl of Wheaties.
    About which Dr. Seuss stayed mum,
    and with just cause, because
    ho-hum.

    And I hope you get to enjoy the Spring once this stressful period is over. When is that, exactly?

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  14. And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed.

    You have feet in your shoes (macarons).
    [pseudonym Tami :-)]

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  15. I’m so loving these macs Mardi, you totally hit it right on. These are so clever, and look those feet! Ah… bellisimo…

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  16. I’m a little late to the party on saying this, but “wow, these are the coolest!” 🙂 They turned out SO WELL and I love your creativity.

    That egg cup is lovely too, takes me back to my years of eggs and solders, when I enjoyed the fun of cracking the top and dipping the toast in, but wasn’t a huge fan of the eggs.

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  17. Love your idea and execution! Such a beautiful combination of colors. I think once you get the hang of it you end up finding macaron making very relaxing. My favorite part is piping them, and piping the filling to then sandwich them together. I find it to be very therapeutic.

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  18. These are so fun. They look just like green eggs! I love Dr. Seuss books but was not brave enough to try a macaron inspired by him. You did him proud!

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  19. Brilliant..absolutely brilliant, AND beautiful!! Such a fun macaron and so perfectly ‘green eggs and ham’ 🙂

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  20. mardi, these are gorgeous! the colors are so vivid and they are so wonderfully creative! and those feet? well done, girl, well done.

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  21. Pingback: Fun Food Saturday: Green Eggs and Ham - Jolly Tomato
  22. These look great. I have made 2 color macarons and every time they crack right around the middle color. Has this happened to you? Also the last ones I made they were actually crispy and no chewy. Do you have any idea what I may have done wrong?

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    • No this hasn’t happened, sorry. And I’m sorry I can’t tell you why they might be crispy not chewy – though it does sound to me like they were overbaked – there are so many different factors that can affect macaron success – it’s difficult for me to figure anything out without knowing a few more details.

      Reply

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