This 8-Ingredient Riff on EPCOT’s Most Famous Dessert Is Better Than a Trip to the Park

If you’re like us, you’re always on the hunt for more Disney Parks recipes, whether it’s Woody’s Lunchbox Grilled Cheese, Mickey Pretzels or Dole Whip on the menu. Now, you can cook and bake 100 more, thanks to Ashley Craft’s The Unofficial Disney Parks EPCOT Cookbook: From School Bread in Norway to Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches in France, 100 EPCOT-Inspired Recipes for Eating and Drinking Around the World.

Released last month, the cookbook includes authentic recipes based on EPCOT favorites, like German Jumbo Pretzels from Sommerfest and Mexican Avocado Margaritas from La Cava del Tequila. For a taste of vacation without the flight, we took a stab at the legendary Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches from L’Artisan des Glaces in the France Pavilion—and shared the full recipe below so you can do the same.

Macarons are notoriously finnicky, but don’t let their reputation intimidate you. These tips will help even newbie bakers pull them off. (If you’re still worried, take it from us: Even if they turn out less than Insta-worthy in appearance, they’ll still taste good—we know firsthand.)

• Read the recipe in full before starting. This is a good rule of thumb for any recipe, but especially higher-maintenance ones. It’s also smart to prep all your ingredients in advance. For instance, sift the almond flour and confectioners’ sugar before you start whipping the egg whites.
• Stick to the instructions. Macarons don’t respond well to freestyling. Almond flour is key and cannot be substituted with all-purpose flour in this case. And as the author suggests, make sure your mixing bowl is completely clean and dry, and use a bowl of warm water to bring your eggs to room temperature before cracking them.
• Be patient. It’s imperative that the macarons sit for 45 minutes after being piped before going into the oven. This helps the cookies form a crisp, hard exterior and a distinct bottom edge, called “feet.” It also prevents the tops of the macarons from cracking as they bake.
• Use stencils for piping the macarons. If the cookies aren’t uniform, your sandwiches will look wonky. Simply trace three-inch circles onto your parchment paper with a pencil, flip the parchment over onto a baking sheet and pipe the macarons into the outlines.
• Slice and place the ice cream filling—don’t spread it. Luckily, these sammies are stuffed with store-bought vanilla ice cream, making them a breeze to fill. But if you want to do so without breaking the delicate macarons, you’ll have better luck by rolling the ice cream into a log and slicing off a three-inch-wide slab to sandwich between them. (You can also buy a pint instead of a gallon and slice right through the container.)
• Once you’re comfortable, experiment. Try different gel food colorings, add a few drops of flavor extract to the cookies or test a variety of ice cream flavors. You can also nix the food coloring completely if you’d prefer. (We went easy on the blue and red to avoid dyeing our tongues purple.)