Making French patisserie, window-worthy macarons may seem like an intimidating task. For many, these sweet tiny treats are a baking bucket list item that are only tackled by the bravest of bakers.

Thus, I found myself in possession of a King Cake-A-Ron, a seasonal creation by local macaron maker Ilyssa Archuleta of Violet Sprinkles. The King Cake-A-Ron is a giant macaron fashioned into a ...

While her most popular items tend to be French macarons and decorated cookies and cakes, the farmers market crowd gravitated to Zummer’s homemade pop tarts made with fresh, local fruit.

In order to pay her own way there, she decided to launch a bake sale fundraiser based on the most French dessert she could think of: a macaron. The only problem was, she’d never baked one before.