For every friend I have that is a dog lover, I have one that is a cat lover.  Though I own neither, I always thought I would be a dog person if I had to chose [largely based on my allergies and the options for hypoallergenic dog breeds].  However, over the years, I’ve learned to love cats [and I think, so has my allergies].  On a cuteness scale, both furry faces are adorable but I gotta give it to the felines for their independence and their lower maintenance care.  So, when a cat crazed friend of mine was celebrating a birthday, I thought if perfect to gift her a batch of macarons that suited her obsession.

S T R A W B E R R Y  K I T T Y  M A C A R O N S

COOKIE RECIPE

STRAWBERRY BUTTERCREAM
[Note: this recipe will likely make more than you need so I suggest cutting it in half]

1/2C fresh strawberries | puréed
3/4C butter | cube and @ room temp
3C icing sugar | with more on hand to thicken if needed

combine strawberries + butter in a stand mixer
add icing sugar 1 cup at a time with the mixer on low-med speed
continue to add icing sugar until you reach a more firm than runny icing consistency
increase speed
mix until a smooth texture is achieved 
transfer icing into a pipping bag with star tip
fill macarons and sandwich 

TO DECORATE….

To transform my macarons into a kitties, I used royal icing and created shapes forming the face.

ROYAL ICING
[I also suggest making half this recipe]

16oz icing sugar
2.5tbs meringue powder
1.5tsp of vanilla or almond extract

combine all ingredients in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment on med speed for 7mins
separate into 3 portions | leave 1 portion white and colour the other 2 pink and grey
transfer each into a pipping bag with a fine pipping tip

on a piece of parchment paper draw out triangles to your desired cat ear size and circles to your desired cat snout size
[I attempted pipping whiskers but ultimately decided that would be too tedious and fragile to use so I abandoned that idea]
flip the parchment over and start pipping out the ears and the snouts | similar to how you would ice a sugar cookie, use a toothpick to smooth out the icing and fill in the holes
let the pipped pieces completely dry before attempting to remove them from the parchment

To assemble the faces….

insert the ears into the buttercream 
to attach the snout onto the cookie, use a dot of the icing as glue to adhere
lastly, pipe 3 whiskers onto each side of the snout
allow the whiskers to dry before serving

These kitties turned out pretty damn cute; the purrfect gift for a crazy cat lady!