Review/Giveaway Macarons by Em

I really enjoyed the chance to review Macarons by Em , a Ft. Irwin baker that sells in our local area, for a few reasons. One of which was that I would get the opportunity to highlight a fellow military spouse, which is a huge passion of mine. The next was she is local to my small community of Fort Irwin. Here especially, options are very limited for spouses to fill their time, and furthermore, help fill the wallet, and equally limited for local area residents to find interesting shopping or eating opportunities. The last reason goes without saying, but, I very much enjoy the foodie reviews—more so when it is home baked goodness!

Emily Camarillo began Macarons by Em, just recently after a trip to San Francisco earlier this year.

Not to be confused with a macaroon, (I actually thought she may have typoed her name at first…) a macaron is a meringue cookie shell filled with a soft filling. You can find them filled with various spreads such as jams, jellies or curds; Em fills hers with buttercream so they don’t have to be eaten right away.

Furthermore there are different varieties of macarons that have slight differences. Macarons by Em identify best with a French style macaron.

Based on my research for this review, it appears these things are quite the science to make. I don’t know if this is worth noting, but just to be sure – it was raining for 3 days at the time of my order and it appears one of the highest desires when baking macarons is for the driest air possible. This was my first experience with macarons of any sort.

Emily whipped up a mixed dozen of her four most popular flavor options for me to taste: Smore’s, Fruity Pebbles, Dark Chocolate Coffee and Orange Dreamsicle. My husband picked them up on his way home from work, so I never got the chance to meet her in person. However, he assured me she was extremely nice and polite with the sweetest southern accent.

When he arrived home with two adorable ribboned white boxes, I couldn’t wait to dive in. My husband and six year old were equally as giddy. It was driving them crazy that I was insisted on taking review pics before letting anyone touch them.They were about the size of a silver dollar and I was thinking, how I could eat them all in one sitting! (way wrong!)

We each grabbed for a different kind. The first I tried was the Dark Chocolate Coffee. Mmmm! It was delicious. The consistency of a macaron is hard to describe. The outer shell had a perfect light crisp to it, while the inside almost resembled the texture of a brownie. The flavor notes were spot on as I tasted both a rich chocolate and a hint of coffee all wrapped up into one. One macaron was more than enough at a time.

Later that evening when my sweet tooth stuck again, I was excited for the Orange Dreamsicle. This is, in general, one of my most favorite flavors. The macaron however, was probably my least favorite of the 4 options. It was a little too sweet for what I expected. Additionally, the chewy texture with a fruity note seemed wrong in my mind. This is simply my opinion, and my daughter disagrees wholeheartedly.

The Fruity Pebbles was my husbands favorite. He is definitely a sweet cereal fan. I found it to be the richest of the four, and was more than stuffed after a single one.

My favorite was the S'mores. It tastes exactly as you’d imagine it would. The marshmallow filling is even toasted which adds a wonderful touch.

These were definitely make with time and effort and love. I think they are absolutely wonderful and I will definitely be a repeat customer.

Now that Summer is behind us, Emily has taken a 4th grade teaching job at a local Intermediate School, thus limiting her baking time. She now only takes orders of 2 dozen or higher. Two dozen macarons can be purchased for $24, which given the artistry that goes into making these masterpieces, I think that’s well worth the price.

Aside from the 4 flavors I was given, it appears Emily is capable of producing just about any flavor or color your heart desires. These would be wonderful for any occasion!

But do be sure to eat as soon as possible. Ours were left out with two in the box, and after about a day or two, they could have broken someone’s teeth! Emily's Macarons are only available in the Ft. Irwin area.

Emily is also giving away a dozen macarons to one of our Ft. Irwin readers - read on to see how to enter!

www.facebook.com/macaronsbyem

Emily is offering one winner in the Ft. Irwin, CA local area a dozen macarons in the flavor of their choice ($12 value).

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment in this entry as instructed by the Rafflecopter, then leave the name you commented under and your email in the box in the Rafflecopter entry. (This allows us to contact you if you win!)  This will open up additional optional entries to increase your odds of winning.

This giveaway is open to FT IRWIN, CA RESIDENTS ONLY
and will end just before midnight ET on 8-25-15. 

The winners will be notified by email within 24 hours after the end of the giveaway.  In order to claim the giveaway prize, the winner will need to respond within 24 hours of notification, or an alternate winner will be selected.

Once the winner(s) have responded and confirm, their first name will be posted on our Giveaways page. 

Good luck everyone!


a Rafflecopter giveaway