Beginner’s Guide to French Macarons

Delicate almond cookies with soft and chewy centers and filled with a swirl of sweet buttercream. These dainty french classics are easy to make with this beginner’s guide to French macarons.

French macarons may be the prettiest edible goodies ever, but they also have quite the reputation for being one temperamental cookie. Macarons are ever so popular for their delicate almond shells with slightly chewy centers that crinkle just so upon the first bite…giving way to fluffy buttercream or sweet fillings bursting with flavor. They are the ultimate fancy-pants sandwich cookie and if you’ve been following along for a bit, you know I’m all about a sandwich cookie. And while the words “easy” and “macaron” aren’t often used in the same sentence, take it from me that there is no need to be afraid of this classic little confection. I still consider myself a total beginner, but if I can make a macaron, anyone can!  I was absolutely determined to conquer my love-hate relationship with these tricky treats. Truth be told, I used to be completely mortified by the notion of making macarons, but I promise you they aren’t as scary as they seem.

If you are brand new to making French macarons, there are a few tips and tricks I found to be very helpful the first few times I tackled these notoriously finicky cookies. I am not a classically trained baker in any way, shape, or form, but you should know that even professionally trained experts can have a bad day in the kitchen when making macarons. There are just so many variables that can take a batch from bad to worse and some of them {like the weather outside!} can be entirely out of your control. Don’t despair. Making French macarons was once just an item on my baker’s bucket list, and now I ADORE making these cute-as-can-be cookies. With a little practice, you’ll get the hang of it too and before you know it you’ll be a macaron master.

You’ve got this!! {insert high five emoji here}

LET’S START WITH THE BASICS

Macarons are generally made one of two ways. There is the Italian method and the French method. I’ve tried both techniques and after many failed attempts and lots of botched macarons in the trash, I can vouch for the Italian method being the more stable and predictable of the two. The end result is virtually the same, so what really matters is which style you are able to master as a baker. The French method involves making a meringue by whipping uncooked egg whites and sugar. It’s certainly a good arm workout and some bakers swear by it for making the best macarons.

Then there is the Italian method which begins with heating the sugar with water and making it into a syrup that is then poured into the uncooked egg whites while beating it into stiff peaks. It does require a stand mixer and is a tad trickier but my experience has been that the meringue is more stable and easier to work with during the “macronage” stage when the wet and dry ingredients are combined. That is a critical stage in the process so you want all the help you can get! For the purposes of this post, we are going to work with the Italian meringue method.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

Before you make your first batch of French macarons,  I highly recommend you stock up on a few simple tools that will make your journey to mastering macs sooooo much easier! First, a kitchen scale is a must when making macarons because your measurements for each of the ingredients need to be very precise. I use this scale from OXO and love it. It’s super user friendly and doesn’t take up much space. Next, buy yourself two silpat silicone baking mats as seen here. These are perfect for serving as guidelines when you are piping the macaron batter into discs. Trust me, you don’t want to free hand this the first time around and ain’t no one got time to go drawing perfectly stenciled circles on parchment paper. I use these silpat mats for baking all of my cookies and they make clean up a breeze! Other than that, you’ll just need your stand mixer, a fine mesh strainer, disposable pastry bags and piping tips and you are ready for business!

TIPS & TRICKS FOR THE BEST MACARONS

This handy-dandy list of do’s and dont’s will help guide you through the macaron making process from start to finish. Many of these tips I have learned first hand from bloggers that I consider expert macaron makers…@stylesweetdaily, @thejamlab, and @cloudykitchen to name a few. Read it through a couple of times before you jump to the recipe. Some of the steps involve simple trial and error and you may not master these fussy little pastries the very first time, but don’t you give up. You’ll be delighted when you do make that perfect batch and I you’ll break out into full happy dance when you do!

WEIGH YOUR INGREDIENTS: I cannot stress this tip enough. Don’t skip this step as you’ll end up with wonky macs that will be fast tracked to the trash can. Use a kitchen scale to weigh the almond flour, powdered sugar, granulated sugar and water. The only exception I make is that I always use 4 egg whites from 4 large eggs. I do not weigh the egg whites.

USE FINELY GROUND ALMOND FLOUR: There’s nothing worse than finally making a batch of macarons with actual feet on them only to see that the tops are bumpy and lumpy, and well, just not that pretty. Buy finely ground almond flour and you’ll also save yourself the step of having to grind it further in a food processor. I use Finely Ground Almond Flour from Bob’s Red Mill and it works like a charm. {not sponsored, just love it}.

SIFT, SIFT, AND SIFT SOME MORE: You’ll be tempted to skip this step to save time, but don’t. It’s important to be sure your dry ingredients are fine and powdery and to achieve this texture you’ll need to sift them together several times with a fine mesh sieve. I always sift my flour and confectioner’s sugar together four times for good measure.

WHIP YOUR MERINGUE UNTIL STIFF PEAKS FORM: As a general rule, whip the eggs whites with the hot sugar and water mixture for 8 minutes until stiff peaks form. If in doubt, whip it one minute longer. When you turn the whisk attachment upside down, the meringue should all hang on to the whisk and when you flip it back over, the tip of the meringue should stick straight up and not tip over. The bowl of the stand mixer should also feel room temperature to the touch at this point, not warm. Note: If using food coloring, add it to the meringue at minute 7 of mixing. Be sure to use GEL food coloring. It’s the only type I have found that doesn’t change the texture of the batter.

BE DELIBERATE WHEN FOLDING IN THE MERINGUE: When folding the meringue into the dry ingredients, you’ll want to do this in 3 batches. Use a large silicone spatula and be sure to use big, sweeping motions as you fold the ingredients together. You don’t want to “whip” the wet and dry ingredients together. The motion should be deliberate. Do not vigorously mix the ingredients together as over-mixing is the number one reason for excessive spreading and deflated macarons. As you mix, be sure the spatula is reaching the bottom of the bowl and also turn the bowl as you fold. Occasionally run the spatula up against the sides of the bowl, pushing the mixture up against it to press out air bubbles and smooth the batter out. You are aiming for a lava type texture that folds back into itself within 5 seconds. I repeat….do not over mix!

PIPING THE BATTER: If you are a first time macaron maker, you’ll love the ease of using a silpat silicone macaron template to pipe your batter. It takes all the guesswork out of piping perfectly symmetrical circles and all of your macarons will come out of the oven looking almost identical. As you pipe, hold the tip perpendicular to the silpat mat and stop when the batter reaches the desired circle outline. Give the tip a quick little whip around to release the batter and move instantly to the next circle. This takes a little practice but in no time you’ll get swing of it. Always tap the cookie sheets on the counter three times to release air bubbles and let them rest for 30 minutes at room temperature before baking. The batter should feel dry to the touch. Note: if your batter immediately spreads beyond the area you piped, you have over mixed the batter.

KEEP THE OVEN CLOSED AS YOU BAKE: If you’ve followed all the correct steps and the baking gods are on your side, you’ll hopefully see little “feet” appear on your macarons midway through the baking cycle. Cue the happy dance!!! Be sure to keep the oven door closed until the baking time is up. The macarons are done when the tops barely jiggle but stay attached to the feet below. Remove from the oven and cool on the silpat mat for 5-8 minutes before carefully pealing each macaron off the mat. Once they have cooled, fill with buttercream, chocolate ganache, lemon curd…the skies the limit!!

If you’ve read this far, you deserve a cookie! Not joking. Grab the recipe below which is from Tessa at Style Sweet CA {and Natalie Eng before her}. Tessa is a macaron queen {do give her a follow!} and this is a trust-worthy recipe that has worked like a charm for me every time. Feel free to comment below with any questions or frustrations you have with macarons and I’d be happy to help you trouble shoot. I’ll plan to add to this post now and then as I pick up more helpful tips to share. I promise once you have this technique mastered, you’ll be looking for any excuse to make these fancy-pants pastries over and over again.

If you make these macarons, be sure to tag @brownedbutterblondie on Instagram. I want to know all about your adventures in macaron making and I always love to see what you are baking up to in your kitchens.

Happy baking!

 

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