Basic French Macarons
Servings
30cookies
Servings
30cookies
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. In a food processor, combine powdered sugar and almond flour, as well as any dry ingredients used to flavor the shells such as cocoa powder or spices. Pulse for about 10 to 20 seconds.
  2. Sift the powdered sugar and almond flour mixture from the food processor into a separate bowl to removing any remaining lumps. Set aside.
  3. Stir granulated sugar and dried egg whites together in a separate bowl and then set it aside by the electric mixer.
  4. Add room temperature egg whites to perfectly clean stand mixer and turn mixer onto medium speed. I usually use speed 4 on my KitchenAid.
  5. Once the egg whites are frothy, start adding the sugar/dried egg whites, a third at a time, about a minute apart.
  6. Once the egg whites are at soft peaks, it’s time to add any food colorings, but use a gel coloring rather than a traditional liquid coloring to control for moisture.
  7. Continue mixing egg whites until stiff peaks form.
  8. While the egg whites whip up, insert a wide piping tip into a piping bag. Set out baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.
  9. Once the egg whites are at the point of stiff peaks, remove the bowl from the mixture and add a third of the dry ingredients. By hand, make about 10-15 stirs around the outside of the bowl, and then cut down the middle, making sure to incorporate the bottom of the bowl.
  10. Add another third of the dry ingredients and repeat the 10-15 stirs again.
  11. Add the remaining dry ingredients and continue stirring until the dry ingredients are fully incorporated and the mixture runs off in ribbons that hold their shape against the batter for a few seconds before reincorporating into the rest of the mixture. The batter should slowly fall of the stirrer in a continuous “V” shape.
  12. Gently move the batter into the piping bag and snip off the tip of the bag. Setting the bag in a pint glass is helpful.
  13. Pipe the macarons onto the mats by lightly hovering about a centimeter over the mat, keeping your hands still, and piping out enough to create even circles. You’re not making a circle motion, but just hovering close enough to the mat that the batter spreads on its own.
  14. Pipe out the entire tray, then tap the bottom of the tray about 5 times on each side, then another 5 in the middle to pop air bubbles.
  15. Use a sharp knife or toothpick to pop any visible bubbles.
  16. Continue the process with the remaining batter and trays.
  17. Leave the macarons to dry enough for a slight skin to form on the top. Depending on the humidity in your home, this could take 25 minutes to and hour or more. Be patient. Once you can gently pet the top of the shells without any batter sticking to your finger, they should be ready to bake.
  18. Preheat over to 330.
  19. If there is a tray that isn’t full, bake this one first. For whatever reason, if I ever have a tray that doesn’t come out like the others, it’s the first one into the oven.
  20. Bake each tray on its own for about 14 minutes. It’s better to over-bake a bit than under-bake.
  21. Allow the shells to fully cool.
  22. Find a mate for each shell that is as close to the same size as possible. If you end up having to combine slightly mismatched shells, apply the filling to the smaller of the two shells to avoid a mess.
  23. Once the shells each have a mate, gently pipe the filling onto one side and then gently press the two shells together with a little twist.