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.
1 1/2 cups or 230g (8.11 ounces) pure icing sugar [US cups 1 1/2 cups plus 4 tsp] OR 1 3/4 cups 230g (8.11 ounces) icing mixture [US cups 1 3/4 cups plus 4 tsp] 1 cup or 120g (4.23 ounces) almond meal [US cups 1 cup plus 3 teaspoons] 2g (0.07 ounces) salt (tiny pinch)
I’m so frustrated, I don’t get this part of the recipe! Do I add the icing sugar and almond meal and salt? and what is icing mixture???
1 1/2 cups or 230g (8.11 ounces) pure icing sugar [US cups 1 1/2 cups plus 4 tsp] OR 1 3/4 cups 230g (8.11 ounces) icing mixture [US cups 1 3/4 cups plus 4 tsp]
1 cup or 120g (4.23 ounces) almond meal [US cups 1 cup plus 3 teaspoons]
2g (0.07 ounces) salt (tiny pinch)
Yes, you add 1 1/2 cups or 230 grams cups icing sugar
1 cups or 120 grams almond meal
tiny pinch of salt
Icing mixture is nothing you have to worry about if you are adding in 1 1/2 cups or 230 grams icing sugar.
Hi Johnna, Icing mixture is just icing sugar with a little cornflour in it. It is sometimes easier to get than icing sugar
Australian cup measurements differ slightly from USA cup measurements, so I have given you the detail.
1 1/2 cups pure icing sugar or in the USA[ 1 1/2 cups plus 4 tsp]. It should be around 230g
OR if you prefer you can use 1 3/4 cups icing mixture or in the USA that would be[U 1 3/4 cups plus 4 tsp]
1 cup almond meal or in the USA [1 cup plus 3 teaspoons] around
2g salt (or just atiny pinch)
Follow the directions in the recipe on what to add when.
Thanks for posting.
gel food colouring (optional)
It is confusing
Lol yes it is very confusing!
Pls I really like to bake this for my darling and kids on valentine’s day but my problem is what I can substitute for almond meal cos there’s no where to get it at my side.thanks for sharing though
Almond meal is just finely ground almonds, I don’t know how much you would have to grind, a Google search “almond meal” or “ground almonds” might help.
just buy regular almonds — slivered, whole, without the brown outer coating. put them in a food processor, e.g. cuisinart, and pulse till you have a nice meal. your intuition will tell you how fine. do not keep the processing up; you will have mush. i always make sure i have this on hand, albeit available in my neighborhood stores. i hope this helps.
Look up how to make almond milk. If you blend long enough the left overs well be great almond meal. Plus you’ll have almond milk to go with dessert. Just buy some plain almonds not salted or flavored.
Hi Juliet, You just need to finely grind blanched almonds. It needs to be really finely ground in a good blender to work. You could use another form of ground nut meal or seed meal (hazelnuts or pumpkin seeds. You can usually purchase some form of ground nut meal at the supermarket.
how many macaroons does this recipe make?
Leave your macarons on the baking sheet for about 30 minutes before baking and they will have feet, because they will dry out a little and when they bake they will rise UP.
Hello from Argentina! I love your site and tutorials!!! So happy I found them!
I was wondering if I could replace almond flour with cashew flour, for a person that’s allergic to nuts. How do you think they’ll come out? Would you use the same proportions?
Thank you!
hi ann, i just made a batch of your recipe. they did not have any feet and not smooth on tops. Also it was flat and porous. I baked at 275 deg F and used a very small amount of gel food coloring. Please advised on how I can achieve a perfect macaron.
HI ann, I just made a batch and they did not gave any feet. I baked at 275 deg F, used a gel food coloring. Also slightly porous not smooth and flat. Please advise
After trying a different recipe with more sugar and almond, I finally got feet and good looking macaroons :). I have to admit that I like this recipe more because it contains less sugar overall, but it doesn’t yeild feet. Anyone know why it isn’t working?
My almond flour has a lighter color compared to the one in the video. I suspect that my almond flour might contain a higher moisture level than the one that is used in the video. Or maybe she is using unblanched almond flour?
Hey came out amazing
Hey it was my first experience and they came out amazing. Omg I it was so good
I think I may have gotten the icing mixture and icing sugar definitions mixed up, but it is still just powered sugar that you need to use in the recipe.
Merci! I managed to do with your recipe what I had never achieved with many others.
I tried this recipe and it did not turn out whatsoever. It was WAY too salty that it actually tasted gross even though I put salt under the amount that it called for. The macarons did not puff up, they actually sunk completely flat. I did not over mix the batter. This was most most horrible macaron experience and this was a waste of time and money. I will never be trying an of your recipes again.
With the taste of the macaron you might have added to much salt because I make this recipe all of the time but I never add salt and they taste good and with the macarons not rising it could be because the oven temp might be to low because they first time I made this recipe my oven was to low and they sunk
Hello my name is Sara I am 14 and I do not know who or what recipe to follow can you help me
Sincerely, Sara
Hi, tyvm for the tutorial. I tried it. But my macs turn out cracked and no feet. What is the problm with it? Thank you in advance for sharing.
I have done this recipe four times, and all four times not a single foot has shown. 50% of the macaroons crack and 99% are hollow. They turn hollow minutes after i take them out of the oven. I also bought an oven thermometer to make sure that its the correct temp. I sieve then weigh to be more accurate, but even with all the accuracy, these macaroons dont get the pretty feet. I have tried over mixing the macaroons just in case I was under mixing, but still I have nooo feet. In your troubleshooting, even the over mixed macaroons have feet, mine just dont. In my first attempt, I used already made almond flour. For the others, I grinded them to a really fine powder using the blender. I beat my egg whites for an extra 30 seconds after reaching stiff peaks that stand straight when removed from the whisk attachment. I have lost all hope!!!! I would appreciate any help.
After piping them on the baking sheet, tap them against the table or counter until the air bubbles start to rise up and pop, then let them sit that’s really important, let them sit for about 30-45 minutes sometimes even up to one hour. This allows for the top (shells) to get hard and feel kind of like the outside of an egg and it’ll also allow the feet to form when baking 🙂 make sure you are not over baking or under baking them too, once they’re out of the oven let them cool completely, hope this helps!
Thanks for the reply.I have tapped them around 9 times. I have tried keeping them out for 40 minutes, at which point they still remain shinny, and I still get no feet. These cookies have drived me crazy. Maybe a different recipe will work.
I have done this recipe four times, and all four times not a single foot has shown. 50% of the macaroons crack and 99% are hollow. They become hollow minutes after i take thrm out of the oven. I also bought an oven thermometer to even make sure that its the correct temp. I sieve then weigh to be more accurate, but even with all the accuracy, these macaroons dont get the pretty feet. I have tried over mixing the macaroons just in case I was under mixing, but still I have nooo feet. In your troubleshooting, even the over mixed macaroons have feet, mine just dont. In my first attempt, I used already made almond flour. For the others, I grinded them to a really fine powder using the blender. I beat my egg whites for an extra 30 seconds after reaching stiff peaks that stand straight when removed from the whisk attachment. I have lost all hope!!!! What is wrong???
Hi, I really love your recipes and videos but sometimes I got lost on translation ( I am Brazilian) and I could not understand what is pure icing sugar and icing mixture. Also, what is caster sugar? Thank you.
Ola Andrea. Icing sugar eh o nosso acucar de confeiteiro puro mas o icing mixture eh algum preparado com o acucar de confeiteiro. Nao sei o que eh adicionado mas ele nao fica duro como o outro. Caster sugar eh o acucar refinado comum, bem fininho, mais fino que o acucar cristal.
Hi Ann how many macaroons do u reckon this recipe makes?
I’m excited to try this recipe with my sons.
Can someone clarify the icing mixture amounts for me (in US measures)? I have read and reread this direction (below), but I don’t understand it. I think Ann is giving us an option of 1) icing sugar only, or 2) icing sugar + almond meal. I’m interested in Option 2, but I’m confused on the ratio to create the mixture and how much of the mixture to use. Thank you.
1 1/2 cups or 230g (8.11 ounces) pure icing sugar [US cups 1 1/2 cups plus 4 tsp] OR 1 3/4 cups 230g (8.11 ounces) icing mixture [US cups 1 3/4 cups plus 4 tsp] 1 cup or 120g (4.23 ounces) almond meal [US cups 1 cup plus 3 teaspoons]
I have made this recipe twice now, so I will tell you what I did. I understand the recipe to read:
(For American cooks)
4 lg egg whites
1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon caster sugar ( according to the internet this is very fine granulated sugar. I couldn’t find this in my grocery stores so I took fine granulated sugar and processed it in my food processor until it was very fine and almost powder)
1 and 1/2 cups plus 4 teaspoons confectioners sugar, which is also called powered sugar or icing sugar.
1 cup plus 3 teaspoons almond meal (also can be called almond flour)
A tiny pinch of salt
Gel food coloring ( liquid food coloring will not work) You can also use powdered food coloring.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit (which is 150 Celsius ).
Follow the rest of the recipe EXACTLY as she has it written. I would also click on the troubleshooting link and read it first and also watch her video so that you understand exactly what to do before hand. That is what I did and both recipes turned out great. The second time I did it I decided to pipe all the cookies immediately, because when I waited until the first batch was finished cooking, my second tray was pretty flat. I piped my cookies out using a very large frosting decorating tip. These are so delicious and even if they come out flat, they are still very tasty.
Also, in the recipe, she gives the amounts for either using icing sugar OR for using icing mixture, which I googled and I think they said it was icing sugar with another ingredient added, I can’t remember what. She is saying you can use either one. I think icing mixture is something that you can get mainly outside the US. Icing sugar is just powdered sugar. I hope this helps.
Actually I believe it is the icing mixture that you can get in the US, which is what we buy when we buy powdered sugar. That means that you will need to use 1 and 3/4 cups plus 4 teaspoons powdered sugar. Sorry about the mistake.
Bake macaroon in oven 350 F for how long? How many does this recipe make?
Thanks,
Are you yolanda from sugar stars…….?
Hi Ann, The recipe gives quantities if you are using icing sugar or icing mixture. Almond meal is a seperate ingredient. The layout has kept throwing it out of the list into the line above. It should be fine now and more readable.
First try great success!! Great recipe, thank you! Only problem was a little oversight on the oven temp for my first batch C vs F 🙂