During quarantine some people went outdoors more, others reorganized their homes, but Katie Cooper decided to bake. Cooper turned her stay-at-home time into an opportunity to hone her macaron making skills and open her new business, Coop and Co.
Cooper’s never considered herself a chef, but when the pandemic hit, she couldn’t sit still and decided to take on the challenge of crafting her own macarons
“I just was making, you know, three or four batches in a day and I had a lot of what we call ‘miss macs’ or ‘mac fails’ – and I still do – but there’s a lot of information out there for people that want to learn.”
Katie Cooper
After trial and error, Cooper finally found a formula that worked best for her and her oven, and decided to start selling them to people in Jackson. Cooper and her “flavor fairy” come up with new flavors every week and love taking requests from friends and commentators on Instagram. While she doesn’t have her fall flavors set in stone yet, Cooper’s experimenting with pumpkin spice, cinnamon roll, and bourbon creme brûlée macarons.
For her, coming up with fun new flavors, and thinking of innovative ways to display them on her Instagram is all part of her creative process. Looking forward, Cooper hopes to set up a “Macaron Club” subscription for people who want to have seasonal treats delivered to their doorstep. All customers need to do is subscribe and every month, Cooper will deliver six deliciously creative seasonal macarons.
Katie Cooper’s 5 Tips for Macaron Newbies
- Know the difference between macaron and macaroon. Macarons are seen in the photos above while macaroons are made with toasted shredded coconut.
- Do not be over-critical of yourself if your first few macarons are lopsided or hollow. If you use a macaron template when you pipe, you’ll have more consistent results.
- Follow recipes precisely to scale. Macarons are incredibly “finicky” and if you don’t measure to the gram, you most likely wont get the results you were hoping for.
- For the filling, Italian buttercream tops American buttercream. It’s more stable for the cookie and not as overpowering in sweetness.
- If you want a flavor packed macaron without changing the consistency, buy freeze dried fruit and blend it down to a powder to achieve a strong flavorful buttercream without making it too watery.
Cooper’s macarons are now available to purchase on her website, Instagram and at Persephone Bakery. And if you have a special flavor in mind, let her know! You may just see it pop up as the next flavor of the month!
