My failed (1st attempt) at French Macarons

I've been wanting to make French Macarons for a while, but after reading up about all the issues people have had with them, I've been procrastinating. Unlike brownies where you just mix and bake, macarons require some solid technique. Technique I apparently don't have. My goal was to make salt caramel macarons. I was off to a good start with the salt caramel filling....

....and it seemed like the macaron shells were ok (though a bit big given my limited piping abilities)...


But when it came time to assemble the baked cookies, it was clear something wasn't right. Some of the cookies had the desired "foot" while others didn't, and they were crunchy like meringue. Not crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Plus - some cracked while others didn't. Sigh. They taste ok, and they appear to be sucking some moisture out of the caramel filling, but I may just have to buy my macarons in the future. Either that, or obsess until I get it right.