The top should be crisp, delicate, but not fragile (it shouldn't collapse beneath your fingertips). The feet should be prominent and neither flared or tucked beneath the top like a mushroom stem. The inside should be mostly full, but not thick or fluffy like a biscuit, the shiny tops should delicately crackle beneath your teeth and give way to a soft and chewy center (which in turn gives way to a typically-creamy filling). My macaron recipe yields macarons with the proper texture, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't darn proud of that  As for taste, they are sweet, and they're supposed to be!