Easy French Macaron Recipe (Macaroons)
I am often asked why have my macarons failed?! Why are there no feet?! Why have the macaron shells cracked? And which recipe do you use for your macarons? So here it is… french macaron recipe and troubleshooting.
On a recent holiday I found a 200 year old cookbook on my mums bookshelf. It tells that King Henry VIII granted an estate in Leadenhall Street to a Mistress Cornewallies in reward for the fine puddings that she presented to him. Follow these easy steps to make macarons fit for a king. You will aquire such indulgence that is pleasing to the palate and if you’re lucky enough perhaps you too will be granted an estate!
The picture above shows the 200 year old macaron recipe. They called them almond puffs. Personally I prefer to make them using my electric mixer using the recipe below.
French Macaron Recipe Ingredients
4 large egg whites (or 5 small) approx 140g (4.94 ounces)
1/3 cup or 70g (2.47 ounces) caster sugar (also known as superfine sugar)
1 1/2 cups or 230g (8.11 ounces) pure icing sugar. IF you wish to use icing mixture INSTEAD of icing sugar you will need 1 3/4 cups or 275g (9.7 ounces) icing mixture
1 cup or 120g (4.23 ounces) almond meal
2g (0.07 ounces) salt (tiny pinch)
gel food colouring (optional) note too much liquid will make the macarons fail so if it is your first time making them try with no colour until you’ve got the technique sorted.
Macaron Recipe Directions
This recipe makes approximately 40 shells or 20 filled macarons
Preheat the oven to 150C (302 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sift the almond meal and icing sugar and salt together, discarding any almond lumps that are too big to pass through the sieve.
Place egg whites and caster sugar into a bowl and mix with electric mixer until stiff enough to turn the bowl upside down without it falling out. How long this takes will depend on you mixer.
Continue to whip for 1-2 more minutes.
Add gel or powdered food colouring and continue to mix for a further 20 seconds.
Fold the almond & sugar mixture into the egg whites. This is the most important step and where most first time macaron bakers have trouble.
It should take roughly 30-50 folds using a rubber spatula but obviously this will vary depending on your folding technique. The mixture should be smooth and a very viscous, not runny. Watch the video to see what you are going for. Over-mix and your macarons will be flat and have no foot, under mix and they will not be smooth on top. See the macaron troubleshooting post for examples.
Pipe onto trays lined with baking paper, rap trays on the bench firmly (this prevents cracking) and then bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes. Make sure you are using NON-stick baking paper or they will stick. Check if the macarons are done by quickly opening the oven and slightly pressing on top of one – if it squishes down slightly it’s not yet ready, close the oven so the oven temp doesn’t change. Taking them out of the oven too soon will mean the insides will drop and you’ll have hollow shells.
PLEASE make sure you watch the macarons FAQ and troubleshooting video. This way you can learn from the mistakes and questions of those who have made them before you.
Filling your macaroons
My favorite is flavoured ganache, but you can use jam and cream, butter cream or just eat them plain.
Ganache Recipe
100g (3.53 ounces) chocolate
30ml cream
Bring the cream to the boil and pour over the chocolate. Let stand for a minute and then stir. If it is not adequately melted then microwave for 20 seconds and stir – repeat until smooth. Allow to cool and thicken before piping onto macarons.
More macaron recipes for you:
|
Macaron trouble-shooting & FAQ
|
nut free macarons
|
orange choc macarons
|
 macaron ice cream sandwich |
SEE ALL RECIPES |
chocolate macarons
|
fun with macarons
|
Salted Caramel Macarons
|
My Cookbook
Stores that sell my book listed by country:
http://bit.ly/ARcookbook
All recipe quantities in the book are in grams, ounces and cups.
Hi Ann –
Have more ?
My macaroons cracked, some times yes some times no,
I am rapping the trays on the bench hard and maybe 12 times total, do you think this is too much ? and how to make nice shell ( with out any small bubbles)
Please help me
Hi Natalie they look great. Some cracking and some not can be uneven oven temp or the fan at the back of the oven, keep an eye on if it always happens in the same spot on the tray. It can also be a streak of undermixed mixture, then they tend to be in a row of how you’ve piped them. To prevent this use a spatula to scrape down the the bowl several times during mixing.
Hi Ann –
How to store them ?
Have to make them a lot for next week, any idea ?
thanks a lot
Hi Natalie, If making ahead I store unfilled sealed in plastic containers with baking paper between the layers and then fill the night before needing them.
Hijacking this thread.. Storing.
Do we leave the containers of shells out in kitchen (hot humid sg) or in fridge? Read in a book that says baked shells can be freezed? And that garnished macarons (I assumed filled) to dry out in fridge for few hours uncovered? What’s your thoughts? Do you freeze filled macarons for few weeks?
May I also add that your recipe, response to comments posted here and videos are inspirational. It gives laypeople like us hope and ignited passion ;p
Hi Chiu Ee freezing macarons is on my list to try next time I make them as I have had a few questions about it, whenever I make a batch there are never any left over to freeze but I know of pastry chefs who freeze them filled so it must be OK. I store the unfilled shells in an airtight container at room temp, if filled I keep them in the fridge because it can get hot here.
I made these macaroons today and thy have turned out cakey. They are soft like a brownie, I followed the recipe so I don’t know what I’ve done wrong. I think the mixture might have been a slight bit runny
Hi Kath, if the mixture was runny it was likely over mixed. Have you been to the FAQ troubleshooting page? There is a video there that might help.
Alleluia :-). Step by step….finally a recipe that worked for me. Thank you
Yay 🙂
Hey is there any other filling I can use like a strawberry filling or not I want to make them for my friends birthday 🙂
Hi Nicole yes you can, but if the filling is moist it tends to make the macarons soggy so people ten dto use buttercream or my favourite is ganache – which you can flavor see the ginger or orange ones for ideas you can use white choc in the ganache.
https://wellness-wave1.news/public_html/chocolate-macaron-recipe-macaroons-with-ginger-ganache/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> https://wellness-wave1.news/public_html/chocolate-orange-macarons-macaroons-recipe/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Hello Ann! I will be attempting my first try at making macarons and I have a quick question.. will my macarons work if I use almond meal made from almonds with their skins ON? It looks like your almond meal is made without the skins.. will skin ON almond meal work with this macaron recipe or not? I hope you will reply! Thank you either way! 🙂
Aaaannnddd one more question.. hehe:
Will my macarons turn out okay if i make my own almond meal out of “Raw Blanched Slivered Almonds?”
Thanks again! x
Hi Elona I have only ever tried once with my own using pistachios that I blanched and removed the skins and but them in the blender. It did not grind them fine enough and the macarons didn’t look good at all. I’m sure it would be fine if you could grind them.
Hi Elona, yes but they will not look as smooth and will be a little grainy. Almond meal needs to be really finely ground.
does somebody know how many macaron I´ll get out of the above recipe?
Hi Susann 40 halves or 20 wholes in the size shown, more if you make them smaller
Hi, I’ve tried this recipe many times, but I still am unable to achieve feet on my macrons. I followed all the tips about increasing the preheat temperature first and then decreasing it once I put the macarons in. I also made sure that I didn’t overmix then batter. Please help! Thank you.
Hi SF, I would suggest checking you oven temp with an oven thermometer.
Hi Ann, thanks for this recipe. 🙂 I just have one question though, don’t you leave them for a while and let them form ‘skin’? Because all the recipes that Ive looked at says that you have to leave them for at least 15 min. to let them have that skin and that means they’re ready to bake? Or is it okay to just put them straight in the oven? Thank youuu
Hi Akii, I have experimented with both leaving them out and putting them straight in the oven and with this recipe it makes no difference.
The video was really useful especially the end part showing what might go wrong this helped me find the problems and make my self more aware of what I was doing. As I am not American the quantities didn’t make much sense so followed another recipe but your method and it worked well.
hi hannah, lovely pic thanks for sharing
Hi. I tried making this but my egg whites and the caster sugar never dissolved and I fist tried mixing with a fork then I put it in the blender since I don’t have a hand blender. It still turned out very liquid like. What can I do to make it stiff?
Hi brittany, you need to use beaters as you discovered a blender will not work for whisking egg whites.
Hello Ann,
What size Mixer do you use? I recently got an 8L mixer and was wondering if you think this is to large for your recipe. My first time tring a macron recipe will the rain kill it? North QLD is expecting a wet weekend. Also one more thing for the egg white and sugar you don’t use a French Meringue method?
Hi Jasmine, your mixer bowl will be fine, If it is your first time making it then I suggest making a half or even quarter batch so you can get practice folding it. I make them raining or not, we get humid days here is sydney too just not as often as you. I don’t use the italian meringue method for macarons, I find this method quicker.
Hey Ann,
This is how they turned out. Pretty good for a first time and makes a nice Facebook cover photo I think.
Hi Jamine, they look lovely, thanks for sharing
Hi Ann,
Do you use Lucky’s brand almond meal? I have been using it and I think it’s too coarse to sift. It took me over an hour to sift it all. Is there a way to make it finer? what brand do you use? Your blog is brilliant by the way, love it!
Hi Diana, I have a fine metal sieve that I use for baking and a cheap coarser sieve that I use for macarons, you will not get the almond meal through a fine sieve (well perhaps you will if you persevere for an hour like you did). The finest one that I have found it the black and gold ones from IGA.
Great, I will try again for my friend’s house warming party. Thanks for the advise.
Hi,
I have aquestion for the colourig of the macarooons Might be silly, but how do you keep the colour bright. I did try ( my first time) and all my macaroons turned out w/ brown crust on top and pink inside.
Hi RD the colour ‘fades’ in the oven so you really need to use either gel colour or powdered colour to get bright colours. If they are going brown they have been in the oven a little too long, if you see the nut free macaron recipe video they are a little browned because I had to attend to my toddler when they were needing to come out of the oven.
I just tried making these today and they were wonderful! They didn’t look quite as pretty as the picture but I was surprised how much they still looked like macarons, especially after they were assembled. Thanks for such a great recipe!
This was my first time making French Macaroons and they were almost perfect. They didn’t last a day. I will certainly be making these for my French class’s potluck.
Hey. I was wondering when making these when you chuck out the big bits of almond do I need to make that up with finer stuff to get the exact amount? Also if I try and take the macaron off the baking paper before its ready is that one ruined or can I put it back on till it is cooked?
Hi Samantha, I don’t replace the chunks, if it is more than a few teaspoons then I suggest that you do. As for the one you’ve lifted off the tray – I’d eat it : )
Hiya,
Can you please tell me what does it mean if my macaroons came out abselutly hollow from the inside?? :/
Thanks
Annie
Hi Annie, SOme beaters are more powerful thatn others, try beating the meringue until the bowl can be turned upside down and then for 2-3 minutes more. That should solve it.
They can also be hollow if taken out of the oven to soon so the mixture inside is not ready and ‘drops’ to the bottom of the shell. This also happens if the oven temp is dropped so try not to open the oven until they are done.
I forgot to mention that the end result was a crunchy and chewy macaron and delicious. I will have to improve on the look 🙂 Michelle
HI,
I tried your recipe today and they tasted really goo. I was afraid of overmixing and undermixing. I guess after this time I will definitely mix more than what I did to achieve the look of your macaron. I have one question. I hope you can answer.
1. Does the weather have anything to do with the runny consistency of the batter or was it because I undermixed it. The look of my batter I think was similar in consistency from the picture of what it was supposed to be. But when I put it in the piping bag, it was a runny texture and I had a hard time piping it on the parchment paper.
I used exact measurements using a scale and a an oven thermometer too. Hope you can help me figure out what went wrong. It was warm this evening and a bit humid too.
2. I used a purple color to color the macarons and the end result was a dirty brown. All the color vanished 🙁 how do you and others get the nice color to stay.
Regards,
Michelle
Hi Michelle, some people say they find macarons harder to make when it is humid,I can’t really say that I have noticed a difference between the days. If it is runny then its likely to be over-mixed. If the colour is not strong then you can lose the colour if the macarons brown slightly when cooking. To solve this you can use more colour, but if you use more liquid /gel colour sometimes they do not work, powdered colour is best.