The classic French macaron is always a crowd-pleaser! Macaron shells are only made with four simple ingredients that can most likely be found in any pantry. But to make these, many factors come into play from combining the ingredients all the way to the final bake. All it takes is patience and perseverance!
Macarons were how I first got into the baking sphere – these notoriously tricky desserts became an obsessive challenge for me as I made countless batches to make the perfect macaron. I learned how to make macarons by watching many, many YouTube tutorials and only followed one recipe so I knew exactly how to troubleshoot and make the necessary adjustments.
My holy grail of macaron recipes is by Ladurée, and that is what my recipe measurement ratio is based off of. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it! However, I’ve rewritten the contents so that it matches my personal experiences with making these macarons. I’ve also halved all the ingredients from the original recipe so it doesn’t yield a huge batch and still makes plenty to share.
Even though my success rate is much higher now, I sometimes still have bad days when making macarons. Sometimes I may over fold the batter, leave air bubbles, bake at too high/low of a temperature, get impatient and try to remove the shells before they’re cooled, etc. I think I’ve bumped into every troubleshooting combination at least once! Over time, there’s this macaron intuition that’s gained that will help you diagnose exactly what might be different with a batch and how to fix it. I’m still honing in on this intuition as well.
I plan to write a much more in-depth macaron post in the future. If I talked about everything macaron-related here, you’d probably never be able to reach the end of this page. 😅 A dedicated write-up is in the works!
Tips:
- Weigh. Out. EVERYTHING! I did not include volume measurements in this recipe for that exact reason (sorry not sorry). Weighing out ingredients takes one major element of guesswork out of what could have went wrong, and will be much easier in the long run. Believe me. If you don’t have a food scale, get one before you make macarons! This food scale is the one I use.
- A stand mixer will be your best friend. A hand mixer will be your next best friend. Just don’t whisk by hand. It will take you literally over an hour and and a full workout to form some semblance of peaks. I know from experience…
- When baking macarons, I highly recommend using a silpat sheet – not only is it more eco-friendly because of its reusability, it results in a smoother shell base than parchment paper. I have the silicone mats from AmazonBasics and I absolutely love them!
- Sifting the almond flour and sugar is honestly one of my least favorite steps just because of how long it takes, so I use a flour sifter with a hand crank. It’s honestly life changing if you make tons of macarons and have to do multiple siftings. No more flour going everywhere, and it cuts the time down so much!
- For easy fillings, some ideas are buttercream, ganache, or a simply Nutella or fruit jam. This recipe features a French buttercream filling with your jam of choice.
- When macarons are freshly baked, they will be slightly hard and chewy – not what you expect for a macaron! However, the trick is to refrigerate them for at least 24 hours. The moisture of the jam will soften up the shells and give it that delicate, crumbly texture as soon as you bite in. Bring the macarons to room temperature before serving. Don’t rush the process and plan ahead!
French Macarons
Ingredients
- 137 g finely ground almond flour
- 125 g confectioners (powdered) sugar
- 3 egg whites room temp
- 105 g granulated sugar
French Buttercream
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temp
- 3 cups confectioners sugar
- 1/2 cup fruit jam (strawberry, blueberry, apricot, etc)
Optional
- pinch of cream of tartar
- gel food coloring
Instructions
Macaron Shells
- Combine the ground almonds and confectioners sugar and strain through a sieve twice to remove any lumps. Set aside.
- In a clean dry bowl, whisk egg whites until foamy. Once frothy, add a third of the granulated sugar and whisk for a minute. Then, add another third of granulated sugar and whisk for another minute. Finally, add the remaining granulated sugar and whisk for 1 more minute until medium-stiff peaks form. If you are having trouble with peaks forming after several minutes, add a pinch cream of tartar to stabilize the egg whites.
- Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the mixture of ground almonds and confectioners sugar into the egg whites until evenly incorporated. If you want multiple colors, divide your batter and add several drops of gel food coloring. Be careful to not overfold!
- Transfer mixture to a piping bag fitted with a plain tip. On a baking sheet lined with a silpat mat or parchment paper, pipe small macaron rounds 1.25" – 1.5" in diameter. Bang the baking sheet firmly against a surface to release trapped air bubbles. Do not skip this step!
- Preheat oven to 300ºF/ 150ºC. Allow macaron shells to rest and form a "skin" for about 30 minutes. This may take longer depending on how humid it is, so be patient. To tell when it's ready, you should be able to lightly touch the shell with your finger and not have any batter stick to your finger.
- Bake for approximately 15 minutes until they form distinctive macaron feet. Based on your oven settings, this may take less time, so check on your macarons frequently. Remove from oven and let cool completely. This is important!
French Buttercream Filling
- In a large bowl, beat the butter until soft. Add confectioners sugar, jam, and food coloring and beat until smooth. If buttercream is too thick, adjust by adding a tablespoon of jam. If it's too runny, add more powdered sugar. Make sure the buttercream is not too runny or it will slide off the shells when piping. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a plain tip.
Assembly
- Pipe the filling onto the backs of half the shells. Carefully place the shell on top and push down enough so that the filling does not spread past the shells.
- Store in an air-tight container and refrigerate for at least 24 hours. Bring to room temperature before consumption.
Notes
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