About Mrs. Mel's

Hello, I’m Melanie Watkins. I’m a full-time home baker from Hurricane, WV.

Mrs. Mel’s is a hobby turned business and French macarons are my passion.

My husband, Brian, helped me make my very first batch of French macarons in February 2021. It all started when he asked me if I wanted to do something special for my birthday.

I had seen a post on Craftsy.com for a tutorial on Chocolate Heart Macarons with chocolate raspberry ganache, and I decided that’s exactly what I wanted to do for our date night in.

If you’re thinking, “That’s a pretty high bar for your very first attempt at macarons,” you would be correct. I would be lying if I said that first batch even came out edible. I can laugh now and honestly tell you that I thought it was okay to exchange the parchment paper for wax paper. (It was not okay.)

Fortunately, the chocolate raspberry ganache went pretty smoothly the first time around. There was only minimal mocking from Brian as I mashed already seedless raspberry jam through a small  strainer because I was determined to follow the directions.

Initially, I was so proud pulling those macaron shells out of the oven. I thought I did a decent job piping the heart shapes and we were excited to give them a taste. If you didn’t know or hadn’t already guessed, that wax paper had glued itself to the cookies in the oven.

Unless we wanted to remember what it was like to eat those candy buttons when we were young, the ones that never cleanly separated from the paper sheets, these cookies weren’t going to be eaten.

I’m so glad we didn’t give up on those Chocolate Heart Macarons. We bought parchment paper and gave them a second try.

I was elated when the shells easily peeled off the paper the second time. After filling them with ganache though, we realized that we had to wait overnight before we were supposed to eat them.

Luckily, when we finally were able to taste those complicated little things they next day, they were nothing short of absolutely delicious and I was hooked.

Brian and I were engaged at the time and shortly after making our first (and second) batches, I decided that I was going to make macarons for our wedding favors.

Our wedding was in June 2021. I lost count of how many practice batches I made. Some I threw out, some I gave away to family. Eventually, I started becoming happy with them and putting them into the freezer for safe keeping.

I made two macarons per guest and placed them in little, clear, square boxes. I designed and ordered custom stickers to put on each one with our names and our wedding date.

Let me tell you – not even one single box was left after the reception. All of our guests went crazy for those cookies.

It was the kind words from my family, friends and our wedding vendors along with Brian’s encouragement that gave me the idea to start this home baking business.

These days, you can expect me to be in my macaron-dedicated kitchen most weekdays and particpating in WV fairs and festivals on the weekends. My mother, Teressa, is a huge help and the mastermind behind most of our filling flavors. She definitely helps my kitchen to run more efficiently and is usually my event partner. 

My husband, Brian, is super friendly and outgoing. You can catch him at some of my events as well. He’s been known to make deliveries for me and supports and encourages me to no end.

That’s my story, in a nutshell. While I’m new to the game, I’m eager to try out fresh ideas and to help you make your event a more memorable occasion.