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:
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Macaron trouble-shooting & FAQ
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nut free macarons
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orange choc macarons
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 macaron ice cream sandwich |
SEE ALL RECIPES |
chocolate macarons
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fun with macarons
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Salted Caramel Macarons
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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.
It’s too sweet and I follow the recipe exactly the same and the macarons got stuck on the baking paper, then I leave it 5 mins longer then it got burnt. And it’s to hard to eat and not as fluffy and good to eat.
hi Ann,
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! I tried baking macarons for the first time this weekend. After 2 unsuccessful attempts I finally stumbled across your recipe (and maybe my technique improved) but they were perfect! Your video tutorial was also really helpful
Hi Brin, That is great to hear! Macarons drive a lot of people crazy, so very glad that this recipe and tutorial is a winner for you.
Hi Ann. Made your recipe today. They turned out great the first time. Thanks for all the info on the video, very helpful The only thing, I did have to bake them long to make sure they didn’t stick to the silicone liner I was using.
Now problem #2 they are too good I am eating them all before even stick them together, had to make another batch.
Thanks again..
Hi Lisa, We have that problem at our place too.
I tried this recipe (and several others in the last week) and they all end up hollow!
Any ideas why this could be?
I really want a macaron tower for my wedding anniversary and want to make it myself so
I’m needing to get these right.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, Thank you
Ps, LOVE your channel!!!
Hi Mandy, Check out Ann’s troubleshooting guide here: https://wellness-wave1.news/public_html/macaron-recipe-faq-troubleshooting/%3C/a%3E . Make sure you rap the tray on the bench to remove air bubbles. You may get hollow shells if your oven temperature is too high and they have cooked too fast. Every oven is different, so just adjust the temperature a little. Lastly sometimes if you overbeat your egg whites you can get this problem.
I am planning on making these for a project at school, however we are not allowed to use any form of nuts, including almond meal. Are there any substitutes for almond meal that would leave the macarons with a similar texture/consistency? I’ve heard that you can use coconut flour, but I just wanted to check. Thanks 🙂
Hi Charli, if you wanted to try a replacement for the almond meal, we would be recommending you experiment with another soft nut meal. I have never used coconut flour, so if you try it, let us know how it turns out.
Help! How long does the macarons stay fresh unrefrigerated? Refrigerated? And frozen?
Hi Lily, this is a common question. Whenever Ann makes these, they get eaten straight away. Unfilled and stored in air tight container, the shells can last 5 days to a week. If Filled they soften quickly so just a day. You can freeze them though Ann hasn’t tried it. Some of our subscribers report that they freeze well.
Hi,
I tried your recipe and although it took me two goes to get it right, i still have a question…
When folding the mixture, it seems very runny still, i ended up folding it maybe 10 times and it was still a little runny. Am i doing something wrong? When i watch your video, your egg mixture seems quite rough and textured, however, mine is very very smooth. I thought maybe i wasnt whipping for long enough so i did it for 30 minutes and still the same result.
Can you give me any advice?
thank you in advance!
Hi Michael, Ann suggests that there are a few things you could check: 1. the freshness of the eggs, the fresher the whites the better they whip. 2. Do not use whites from a carton as they do not whip up in the same way because they have been heated to pasteurize them. 3. Make sure you have already sifted the ingredients so you can fold as soon as you have whipped the whites. 4. Check there is no egg yolk in the whites or they will not whip properly.
I use to recipe and was happy my macarons came out perfect, however, I found them a little bit too sweet. It might be because i made them pink and pink tend to make things taste sweeter when they are not? Is there a way to reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe
Hi Jen, You might like to consider a different filling to reduce the overall sweetness.
How much macarons can you fill with the ganache recipe? Is the ganache enough to fill one batch of the macarons?
Hi Niles, This quantity should make around 40 shells (20 macarons) and the ganache quantity given should fill one batch.. depending how much filling you like to use of course!
I own a wedding cake company and have been putting these off, yet eagerly wanting to dive in as I know they are super yummy and quite profitable. As we use a very similar method of baking with our cakes, we actually nailed it! The shape could be fairly better, but we were able to produce our first batch as perfect as those marketed everywhere. And they were YUMMY! So – THANK YOU for this very detailed and helpful recipe with videos. I am not sure I have ever seen a more proactive way to bake something!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! <3
I have been making macarons quite a bit now and it’s usually with success. I notice that there are no resting time for macarons to be touch-dry
after piping and before baking in this recipe. I always rest mine for a good 30 mins at least, before baking and it always works.
Hi Nelia, Ann has tested this numerous times and fines that resting makes no difference. How ever if the tray of piped macaroons are not rapped on the bench to remove air bubbles, you can get problems. It is likely that ‘resting’ achieves the same thing but it takes a lot longer!
Am a vegetarian! So do u have an eggless versions of these deliciously looking macarons?
I have some really good advice for people with hand held mixtures (I have one myself). On the written part of the recipe it says beat egg whites and caster sugar until stiff and when bowl put upside down it doesn’t fall out. This is actually wrong. If you have a hand held mixer or any mixer (could also be a kitchen aid, but I’ve never used one before so I’m not sure) you have to beat it a little longer until the mixture feels really heavy. Listen and watch the video because it is more helpful. LISTEN when it says beat for 10 MINUTES. This really helps. It doesn’t have to be exactly 10 minutes, as long as it’s around ten minutes.
The first time I did it I just mixed the egg white mixture until it was stiff like the written part said. This didn’t work because my macaroons were cracking, they were big and it just turned out all weird and messy.
Don’t worry if your macaroons looked a little flat when you put them in the oven 🙂 so did mine 🙂 They will rise and actually look like macaroons after about 10 minutes of baking inside the oven.
If you don’t have gel or powdered colouring don’t be afraid to use liquid. BUT BEWARE!! Don’t use too much otherwise your macaroons will not work. I used about 2-5 drops and it worked out well 🙂
Hope this helps!! LISTEN TO THIS ADVICE BECAUSE IT IS ACTUALLY REALLY HELPFUL 🙂
Another tip: when you are taking them out of the oven and they are sticking to the baking paper and the shell came off, DON’T GIVE UP, just gently place the shell back on and put into the oven until you can lift the macaroon with no problem 🙂 If it is still coming off just gently twist the shell and the part that is stuck to the baking paper together and lift. This will allow the sticky part (not the shell) to come off the baking paper (they will not be properly stuck together but they are still together).
P.s. this is my second time making macaroons 😮
I could write a whole essay about macaroons and my first fail etc. but I have no space and time 🙂 so this is all for now 🙂
Here is a photo of my second attempt 🙂 I forgot to take a photo of first attempt but I don’t think you want to see anyway 😀
This was my first batch (out of three), because all of them didn’t fit on one tray.
As you can see, they turned out okay 🙂
This is my second batch, and as you can see they are getting better and better, but worse at the same time, because I piped the first batch and for the second batch the piping bag (with the macaroon mixture) was standing around for 15-20 minutes which may have caused the egg whites to settle down and the mixture to become runny.
This is my third batch I was pretty happy with this batch 😀
AND FINALLYYYYY THE FINALLL PRODUCT!!!! (yes I did notice the repetition 🙂 )
The best video for French Macarons. Thank you
Thanks for the feedback Daisy.
why is my macarons always a failure? And my macarons create cracks and bubbles, why is that happening?
Hi Emet, These are common problems with macarons. Ann’s tips for avoiding bubbles is to firmly tap the tray on the bench before putting it in the oven. You can see her explain this in the video. If you get very flat macarons in can be from overmixing. Ann has a great post on trouble shooting macarons. You can find it here: https://wellness-wave1.news/public_html/macaron-recipe-faq-troubleshooting/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Hi I tried your recipe and mine turned like this any tips? Because they both look flat and lumpy
Hi Andrei, Unfortunately we can’t see your photo. Ann has a great post on trouble shooting macarons. You can find it here: https://wellness-wave1.news/public_html/macaron-recipe-faq-troubleshooting/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Of all the “how to”:s I’ve seen and read about macarons, this is the only one that’s actually helped me. Thank you so much! 🙂
That is great to hear Erica. You should check out Ann’s Macaroon trouble shooting page too: https://wellness-wave1.news/public_html/macaron-recipe-faq-troubleshooting/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Hi!
I was just wondering how many macaroons does this recipe make? I’m currently taking French and one of the a amazing plus sides is that we get to make French food and well I’m up for it this time and I’ve decided on macaroons! My French class is approximately 12 people so I’m trying to make it to be about 2 each. Maybe more.
I’m just wondering if I need to double the mixture or not.
Anyway thanks heaps!
Faith
Hi Faith, This quantity should make about 40 shells or 20 macarons.
Thank you so much for this recipe and all the tips! I tried it yesterday and thought everything was going fine until the oven was involved. I know that if the bases still stick to the greaseproof paper the macarons are not ready yet but the problem was that they actually started to look burnt like some of the shells started looking orange! So I thought ok surely I should get these out now but none of them are coming off smoothly 🙁
The oven was at gas mark 2 so 150 degrees and I did put 3 trays in at the same time but I don’t know if that affected the results? Really want to try again and get this right
Hi Rania, Ann usually cooks one tray at a time. Having three in means the top tray will definitely get hotter. Try doing one tray at a time on the middle shelf and leave the others on the bench. If you experience the same problem again, place an empty tray on the top shelf to shield the macaroons. It may be that your oven is a little on the hot side.
Can you make a video on how to make almond flour?