Macarons are the perfect little soft and pillowy cookies. They are small and cute and can be flavored and colored in multiple different ways. French macarons are a delicate cookie with a crunchy exterior and airy interior and are by far my favorite cookie. For years I have put off trying to perfect the macaron. It has been on my list of baked goods that I have wanted to improve along with kouign-amann. It wasn’t until Brent signed me up for a macaron class for my birthday taught by Muriel-Marguerite Foucher here in Seattle, that I learned the art of making the French macaron.
Since the class, I have made dozens and dozens of macarons. You could say that I am completely obsessed, but no one seems to be complaining. A truly delicious obsession. Below I have outlined details and steps and have tried to include everything that I have learned while it’s all still fresh in my memory.
DETAILS
Make sure your equipment is clean. If there is any grease in your mixing bowl, your egg whites will not whip up correctly.
You will need a digital scale to perfect the macaron. There is too much variance when you are not using a scale.
You want to use blanched skinless almond flour. I have listed my two favorites in the Tools Needed section below. When combining the almond flour and confectioners sugar, I find that pulsing them in a food processor then sifting a few times gets the smoothest macaron exterior.
When making macarons, the egg whites must be at room temperature. Having them at room temperature will ensure that you will have a stiff and stable meringue. If you don’t have time to bring your egg whites to room temperature, I find that placing the bowl of egg whites over a warm water bath should do the trick.
When dying the macaron, a gel food coloring works best. A gel food coloring will achieve the most intense color without adding the extra moisture you would get from a liquid food coloring.
In my opinion, the most crucial step when making macarons is the consistency of the batter once everything is combined. If the batter is too thick, the macarons won’t have a smooth top, if the batter is too thin, the batter will spread, and the cookies won’t have height. A few useful tests are: drape the batter in a figure-eight pattern. You don’t want the batter to break. Another helpful test is to drizzle the batter into the bowl from a spoon. Wait 30 seconds to see if the batter has sunken into itself. Alternatively, you can also place some of the batter into the piping bag and try to pipe a macaron. Once piped, the macaron should hold its shape but settle into a smooth top with no bumps.
Before lining the baking sheets, I like to trace small 2-inch circles on the bottom of the parchment paper so that I have a stencil to follow to ensure my cookies are perfectly round and consistent in size. You can also purchase parchment paper with the circles already traced. I have linked them below in the Tools Needed section.
SUGGESTED TOOLS
MORE DELICIOUS COOKIE RECIPES
Salted Caramel Macarons
makes 18 macarons
prep time - 2 hours
cooking time - 11 minutes
INGREDIENTS
4 oz of superfine almond flour from blanched almonds
4 oz of confectioners sugar
3 oz of superfine sugar, sifted
3.5 oz of eggs whites (3-4 eggs), room temperature
1/8 tsp of brown gel food coloring
SALTED CARAMEL INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp light corn syrup
1/4 cup of water
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp of salt
SALTED CARAMEL BUTTERCREAM INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups of confectioners sugar
1 tsp of vanilla
1/4 cup of salted caramel (homemade or store-bought)
1/4 tsp of kosher salt
DIRECTIONS
Place the almond flour and confectioners sugar in a food processor. Pulse until finely ground and combined, approximately 1-2 minutes. Next, sift the almond flour and confectioners sugar into a bowl, to make sure that they have become very fine and that no lumps are present. It will help ensure you get a very smooth cookie. Depending on how much time I have and how diligent I am feeling, I will sift the almond flour and icing sugar roughly 3 - 4 times.
Next, add the superfine sugar to a small bowl. Set to the side.
Measure the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer. Attach bowl to the stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites on low speed until they are foamy. Similar to the foam, you would get when you pour a beer into a glass.
Add the superfine sugar to the egg whites and whisk on high speed until you have reached the soft peak stage. Add the gel food coloring to your desired color, and continue to whisk on high speed until you’ve reached the stiff peak stage. To check for stiff peaks, remove the whisk from the stand mixer. Plop it into the egg whites and pull up. Turn the whisk attachment right side up. The Egg white should stand straight up with no droop.
Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and add 1/3 of the almond flour mixture to the meringue. Using a spatula, fold the batter until just combined. Do not overmix. Continue to add 1/3 of the almond flour and fold, and then the final 1/3 of the almond flour and fold. At this point, the ingredients are combined, and you should have a thick and fluffy batter. Continue to fold the batter until it’s shiny, and you can successfully drape the batter and make a figure eight without the batter breaking.
Fill two small or one large piping bag with a round Wilton 1A piping tip. Make sure to tape the end of the piping tip so the batter won’t come pouring out once you fill it.
Line your baking sheets with parchment paper. Add four small beads of batter on the four corners of a baking sheet to get the parchment paper to stick to the baking sheet.
Remove the tape from the piping bag tip. Place the tip directly in the center of the circle, where you want your cookie piped. Squeeze the piping bag, holding the tip submerged in the batter while piping. Release your grip, and swirl the tip to break the batter and finish piping the cookie — pipe the cookies 1 1/2 inches apart. Depending on how thick or thin your batter is, it will spread slightly once piped.
Once you have piped all of your cookies, give the pan a few wacks on the counter to remove any air bubbles. Using a toothpick, gently pop any remaining bubbles that are still present. Let the cookies sit on the counter, uncovered for roughly 20-30 minutes develop a skin. To test if the cookies are ready to be baked, gently touch the side of one of the cookies. It should not be wet or indent. It should have a solid film.
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Place the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 11 - 12 minutes. Once cooked, you should be able to lift a macaron off the baking sheet easily. If they are sticking, they probably need a bit more time in the oven. Remove from the oven and let them cool completely on the baking sheet.
TO MAKE THE SALTED CARAMEL. Place the sugar, corn syrup, and water in a small or medium saucepan. Swirl the pan to combine the ingredients, but do not stir with a spoon. The sugar will look clumpy, but as it heats, the mixture will dissolve and become liquid.
Bring the sugar syrup to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue to boil until the syrup has turned a medium caramel color, and has reached 350ºF, roughly 10 - 12 minutes. Once you are nearing the 10-minute mark, keep an eye on the caramel because it will reach 350ºF very quickly.
Remove the pan from the heat and slowly whisk in the cream, vanilla, and salt. (It is easiest if you add the cream, vanilla, and salt to a measuring cup before you take the sugar off the stove. That way, you can add the ingredients all at once.) If the caramel clumps, place the saucepan back on the stove on low heat and stir until it becomes smooth. Set the caramel to the side to cool completely. The caramel consistency will be quite liquidy when you remove it from the stove, but don’t worry; it will thicken up as it cools. Cool it completely before adding it to the buttercream. This recipe makes 3/4 cup of caramel sauce.
TO MAKE THE BUTTERCREAM. Add the butter to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream the butter on medium speed until pale in color and fluffy.
Add the confectioner’s sugar and mix until combined.
Add the vanilla, salted caramel, and salt and beat on high speed until light and fluffy — approximately 5 minutes.
Add the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a round tip once the macarons are cooled, pipe one cookie with the buttercream, and then sandwich another cookie on top.
Store the macarons in the fridge for a week or in the freezer for a month.
