When it comes to baking, I can get a little obsessed. Exhibit A. So when I decided to make notoriously tempermental macarons, I had the sneaking suspicion that it wouldn’t be a one-and-done deal.
Still, I had NO IDEA what an art—and a science—it actually was. I dove in naively at first, using what I now know to be a laughably imprecise recipe that does beginning macaron makers NO favors. Thanks a lot, Martha.
Regardless, my first batch of lavender-lemon macarons came out half decent, considering I used totally inexact measurements, unsifted almond meal and under-mixed batter. More on that later.
Anyway, I chalk the fact that my macarons had any “feet” at all (that cute little bubbly ridge under the smoother, shiny top) to beginners luck. Tasty they were—pretty they were not. So I tried again. And this round that drove me over the edge.
They were flat as pancakes. Beyond flustered, I spent hours scouring the Internet for the best recipes, tips and troubleshooting information. Let me tell you: There are entire forum threads dedicated to the topic of this little French cookie; 3,000-word blog posts on botched attempts at perfecting it; and endless lists of things you’re most certainly doing ALL WRONG.
Do me a favor—if this is your first time baking macarons, MOUSE AWAY from the Google search bar. You’ll only be completely and utterly overwhelmed, as I was (Italian meringue or French? Parchment or silicone baking mats?? Oven door open or closed???). Lucky for you, I’m persistent, and I’ve culled all of the tips you’ll need. Start with these, and if something disastrous happens and you can’t figure out why, only then may you dive into the dark depths of online macaron horror stories.
- Start with a good recipe. I liked this one, which also happened to be where I got many of my tips. For filling, I went traditional. And here, Martha actually pulled through for me.
- Measurements count. The weight of an egg white can vary, so get a cheap baking scale and weigh your ingredients.
- Age your egg whites (it helps the meringue hold better) the fast way—stick them in the microwave for 5-10 seconds.
- Add “insurance” in the form of egg white powder (this is in the recipe above).
- Use almonds without the skin. Some people like the brown specs, but I found it impossible to get a smooth macaron with them.
- Sift your almonds very well (same reason as above).
- Add the dry ingredients to the meringue in thirds, and don’t be afraid to mix enough to get a smooth, shiny batter. Watch this video for a great visual. If you’re not sure if you mixed enough, see if the batter settles and smooths out when you plop a bit on a piece of parchment paper. If the peaks don’t settle with a slight tap, you haven’t mixed enough, or you have too much dry ingredient. The SECOND your batter starts to look smooth and glossy, stop folding.
- Wait as LONG as it takes for the macarons to set before baking them—it could be an hour or more depending on humidity.
- Use powdered food coloring for a really saturated look so you don’t throw off the liquid ratio of the batter
- Bake macarons until they come off the parchment paper easily
- Let your macarons (with the filling) “mature” for a day or two in the fridge. This lets the insides fill in and gives macarons their trademark crunchy-on-the-outside, gooey-and-chewy-on-the-inside taste.
Thanks to these tips, I finally got my beautiful, delicious macarons. I have a long way to go to perfect my technique, but at least I can stop obsessing.
Need some tools of the trade? Check them out here.
21 Comments
heather @ chiknpastry
looks good! i only made them once and they were ‘ok’. nothing to write home about (although i did write on my blog about them… now that i think of it…). persistence pays!
alli
They look fantastic! I’ve never made them from scratch before, only from a packet mix & that was hard enough. Well done.
ivy
Hi Hi
So I’ve been trying to make macarons and this is my 6th time and they always turn like like your flat pancake image. Did you find out why they turn out that way? I’m trying to guess it’s my egg whipping process, but I’ve whipped them till stiff peaks.
Thanks
admin
Hi Ivy. So frustrating! The tricky thing about troubleshooting is that flat macarons can either be caused by under-beating or over-beating the mixture (or broken or under-mixed meringue). Try adding egg white powder for “insurance” and be sure to age your eggs (see my recipe). Also, make sure you let the cookies rest before you bake them–they should have a “skin” on the top before they go in. One more thing you might try: start the macarons at a slightly higher oven temp for the first few minutes, which helps them create the little feet, then lower the temp back to normal for the rest of the baking. Let me know how they turn out! Also, check out this post for more troubleshooting: http://notsohumblepie.blogspot.com/2010/08/macaron-troubleshooting-new-recipe.html#more Good luck!
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Tina
My macarons did not want to come off the baking sheet. When I took them off the top shell stayed intact and the insides pulled away.
N Raja
When using powdered colours do u dilute them in water before adding to the egg whites?
Jackie
I made macarons for the first time this weekend! I think I did pretty well! They didn’t get the little feet but I think that’s because I under mixed the batter. Also, I’d like to the try lowering the temp in the beginning next time! 🙂
Jackie
I mean higher temp, then lower temp!
admin
nope, you can just add directly to the mix!
admin
did you try baking them on parchment paper?
Gillianne
Hi,
I was reading through the comments and saw that you said the ‘flat pancake’ result can be caused by under or over beating. How do you tell when to stop beating the meringue?
-Thanks
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simona
Hi! I’ve made the French macarons twice. Second time they were nice, not perfect. My macarons weren’t coming off the baking sheet, so I put them in the oven 5 mins longer. As a result the colour was slightly browned. The top wasn’t very smooth also, showing some almond particles. Any advice please?
Gina
Thank you for all your hard work and research, trail and errors. Thanks for sharing . This is a recipe you need you read and plan for, no rushing.That is what plan on doing. Thanks again.
Hana
Hi ! I’m already trying to make the macaron about 2 times. And what frustrated me is , whenever I baked them , the result will be like the pancake. I really want to know how to overcome and why its happen. Thank you ! 🙂
Barbara Mitchell
mine were flat and ran into each other whats wrong
Ismel
So I gave macarons an attempt last night. And they came out tasting amazing!! Hard shell, soft inside, I got the crinkly ‘feet’ as well. The problem is they just didn’t come out as fluffy as a macaron should. And half the reason I love these things is the way they look. Oh and they were sticking to my silicone baking mat ? Help??
Susan
What is the actual recipe??
Jessica McKnight
Your first and second attempts could be almost identical to mine! After I got it in my head that I wanted to try, I read MANY recipes and methods and settled on a combo of all. I must have lucked out because my first ones were near perfect (save for the concave bottoms of the ones I baked on a silpat). I chose to do chocolate the 2nd time, did not weigh the egg whites and although they tasted decent enough, they looked disastrous!! I made some lemon ones yesterday and they were ok. I’m always afraid to overmix the batter, so I think I err on the side of caution and that’s part of my problem. Will try again!!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Sandra March
Thanks for the tips. My first try was not too bad, but a bit flat. Do you prefer a silicone mat or parchment paper?