French macarons – those crispy-chewy, dainty little darlings of butter cream-filled almond meringue – are notoriously temperamental and intimidating.

They’re also as magical as they are maddening.

Just in time for Bastille Day, Lynette Pflueger shares her recipe – as well as tricks and tips – for making the high-maintenance, light and lovely sandwich cookies.

She’s head pastry chef at Common Crumb and Santé Restaurant and Charcuterie in Spokane, and she makes about two, commercial-size batches of French macarons per week. During busy times, she’s made a batch a day.

She’s tried French meringue and Italian meringue, varying temperatures, aging and not aging egg whites, among other things. When a batch doesn’t turn out just right it ruins her entire week.

One of her macaron must-haves: weighing each ingredient to the tenth of a gram.

Read more in Wednesday’s Spokesman-Review Food section.

Also on the menu: three kinds of fresh-fruit salsas, Easter egg radishes and more. As always,  look for a bunch of food-related tidbits in the weekly Fresh Sheet feature.

Cheers! Salut!