How to Make Macarons Video: Step by Step French Macarons Recipe & Tips
Looking for cookie recipe ideas for your cookie exchange, housewarming gifts or dinner party? This easy macaron recipe will do the trick. I’ve been baking since grade school, and French macarons have become one of my favorite cookie recipes in recent years, as we often serve them at Jordan culinary event dessert stations. In this step-by-step video for how to make macarons, you’ll find tips and techniques for baking the perfect French macaron cookies with different flavors and a basic macaron filling recipe. I’ll also show what you need to make macarons. These delicate cookies aren’t as difficult to bake as you might think. The key is finding the right recipe and following each step I share–from sifting techniques and preparing your ingredients in advance to whipping the perfect macaron texture and piping precise cookie shapes onto baking sheets. This recipe is adapted from one of the best, Martha Stewart Living. (If you’re curious about the difference between macarons and macaroons, here’s a great explanation.)
Thanks to our friends at Foodista for sharing this recipe with all the home bakers in their community.
If you’re looking for a wine pairing with the macaron cookies, try the Jordan Cuvée by Champagne AR Lenoble or Jordan Chardonnay.
French Macaron Cookies Recipe
These delectable cookies in soft, sherbet-toned hues make a beautiful addition to any holiday dessert ensemble. Create an endless array of flavors and colors by simply adding different fillings and colorings. Recipe adapted from a Martha Stewart Living favorite.
Ingredients ~
For the cookie:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup almond flour (regular flour cannot be substituted)
- 2 egg whites, room temperature
- Pinch cream of tartar (optional)
- 1/4 cup super-fine sugar
For flavoring (choice of):
- Food coloring (for strawberry macarons, pictured)
- Flavored extract (pistachio used in green macarons, pictured)
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon (for cinnamon macarons, pictured)
- 2 Tablespoon TCHO cocoa powder (for chocolate macarons, not pictured)
For basic meringue filling:
- 6 egg whites, large
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions ~
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. The key to this recipe is in the preparation – have all ingredients measured and ready before you begin. Separate the eggs whites and keep at room temperature until ready to incorporate.
- In a food processor, pulse powdered sugar and almond flour. (If making chocolate or cinnamon macarons, the cocoa powder or cinnamon should be pulsed with the sugar and almond flour.) Sift combined mixture 2 times. Whip the room-temperature egg whites on high with a mixer until foamy and then add cream of tartar. Slowly stream in superfine sugar and whip until stiff and shiny, about 2 minutes on high.
- With a rubber spatula, gently fold in desired food coloring and/or flavor extract, sugar and flour mixture into whipped egg white mixture. (Only a few drops of food coloring or flavor extract are needed. Add one drop at a time with the mixer on until the whites reach the color you want; the color and number of drops will not affect the recipe.) Fold the ingredients as little as possible until it is smooth, shiny and slightly runny. If it holds its form, it is under mixed. Scoop into piping bag fitted with a small round tip.
- Pipe onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, holding the piping bag in one place while applying pressure. Release pressure when a 1” cookie has been formed and gently swirl the tip out of the mixture without forming a peak. This will allow the cookie to remain smooth on top. Let stand at room temperature 30-40 minutes.
- Bake in preheated oven at 325 degrees for 5-10 minutes, until cookies are firm and crisp. Be sure to keep a close eye on the cookies – they should not brown on top. Remove cookies from oven and cool.
- For a basic meringue filling, place egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Whisk until sugar dissolves and mixture reaches 160 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat, whip on high speed until mixture is cool and stiff peaks form, approximately 6 minutes. Beat in vanilla extract. Use immediately.
- Sandwich 2 same-size macarons with 1 teaspoon meringue, flavored buttercream or other desired filing. Serve immediately, or stack between layers of parchment, wrap well in plastic, and freeze for up to 3 months.
Preparation time: 1 hour(s)
Number of servings (yield): 12 (makes 36 cookies)
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They came out Picture prefect
You said we can frezze?
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I have tried 4 times to do this I don’t know what i am doing wrong but they come out hollow and the tops actually slide off while in oven… Ugg
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Do you have weight measurements for each ingredient if I’m using a scale? I want them to be perfect – thanks!
This is the same recipe I use but mine is in grams and it’s a tant pour tante recipe, meanin the almond flour to icing sugar is 1:1 ratio. The almond flour is 100 grams and the icing sugar is 100 grams. I have seen this recipe use 30g of granulated or extra-fine granulated sugar or 50g of either granulated sugar so it depends on how sweet you want them or if your meringue needs a little help to get fluffier. I can’t find my cream of tartar (chaos in my kitchen) so I use a couple splashes of lemon juice. Serves the same purpose….an acid which makes the meringue more stable. I hope this helps 🙂
Thank you so much actually i was wondering where can i change those stuff ti grams and where i get that tartar thing
Oh, also, for the cocoa powder or cinnamon, etc, I would use a level teaspoon or tablespoon of whatever is called for. I use grams like yourself, but for something like these flavourings, I would just grab a measuring tea or tablespoon and use it, or if you don’t have a measuring spoon, just a teaspoon or tablespoon from your cutlery drawer but don’t heap it. And by the way, the amount of egg whites required for this recipe in grams is 75g. If you just use 2 egg whites, it can vary from 60-66 grams but since I use the same recipe in weight I know it’s 75 grams of eggwhite, preferably aged in the fridge a couple days with cheesecloth on the top to allow the water to evaporate off. This gives you more concentrated proteins. Hope this helps Erica!!
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Dear Lisa,
I’ve tried the recipe for the second time. The taste is okay, the feet are comig out but unfortunately after I take them out of oven the surface of the cookies get “greasy”. I know almonds have a lot of fett in it but still. I really would appreciate if you Could give me some advice how I can prevent cookies from greasing?
Regards from Germany
Hey, the weather and moisture in the air can be a problem for maringue
Do you whizz both the almond flour and icing sugar together in a food processor before? This helps remove excess oiliness from the almond flour and the starch in the icing sugar helps lock it away. Also, don’t whizz it for too long in the food processor or the almond flour will start to turn into almond butter because too much oil is released. I have to whizz every bit of almond flour I get and place it in the oven on low heat (like 100°C) for about 5 minutes, then turn the oven off and let the heat left in the oven dry the almond flour out. Sounds like you may have coarser almond flour or even maybe almond meal. If your almond “flour” has visible dark skins left in it, it likely won’t work. If you just have a coarser flour, try whizzing it in the food processor for a few seconds at a time, 4 or 5 times and place it in the oven to dry as I described above. All the best!!
dont put almond flour with power sugar in food processor, its kind tricky if too long it will turn like butter ( i always scare to do it will wasting my almond powder)
just strain almond power by it self works good too, the rest of bigger chuck can use it for some thing else like frangipane ( almond paste)
also like one of them mention the weather don’t make it when its humid outside
good luck
Dear friend
Thanks for sharing this recipe.
I tried this instruction but my macaroon come out like meringue cookie with carack on top like volcano. Please guide me about this problem and tell me the exact amount of ingredient to gram.
Thanks alot.
It means your filling has air bubbles inside, which, when heating, they expand and blow you macaron. When you squeeze the macarons on the tray, tap the tray to the kitchencounter a few good times for air bubbles to dissolve before cooking, this should fix it.
Did you allow the pan of piped macarons to be dropped flat on a table 4 or 5 times and then dry until they are no longer sticky? Both should help. 🙂
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Thank you so much for posting this recipe! I’ve have tried this recipe countless times and it has never failed me even once! I have tried other recipes before this one and I’m telling you guys, this is the best recipe there is!!
If you want to freeze them should I freeze the dough or the baked cookie ready to eat.
Hi!!
First of all I would like to thank you so so so much for your tutorial. I’ve been able to make super beautiful macarons for the first time in my life thanks to your recipe and reply to comments.
I’ve recently had a stumble though. The last two batches of macarons that I’ve made look great even when they come out of the oven. But after a minute, dark spots start to show up on the shell and I’m not so sure why. I’ve taken a photo of it but don’t know if I can post it here.
Do you have any ideas? 🙁
These dark spots are comig from almod fett. Have the same problem here. Don’t know what to do 🙁
It sounds like they might be slightly undercooked. My second time attempting them, they came out looking really good at first, but within a couple of minutes they “collapsed” a little and got dark spots where the inside was still moist.
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I used this recipe and it turned out flawlessly, just like Cristina’s pie crust tutorial. She is fabulous!! She makes it look easy (and following her recipes, it actually is), and I love the information she provides about the rationale behind her techniques. I’m so thrilled to finally be able to make pie crust and French macarons!! Does Cristina still work at Jordan? I would love to see more videos from her!
Hi Katie,
Thank you so much. We will pass your kind words to Cristina. She is currently on a humanitarian mission; was working overseas for a year. She comes back to do videos with us once a year, and her sister is baking for us while she is gone. Let us know what topics are of interest to you. We posted her new pizza dough video this summer.
Hi! I have done this recipe several times but I never get it right. I know that this is an old video. I did follow your instructions, ingredients, baking are the same. Everything start to look wrong where they are in the oven, they start to rise and the feet start to form but then continue growning and then they go down and they look like a tortilla with feeds. Any idea?
I’ve tried her recipe and I find that it works. U may have overmixed. I have an oven thermometer and I go by that rather than what my oven tells me. Check the heat.
I don’t think this recipe’s baking time is appropriate for most home ovens. Best to put them in, monitor them and when they can come off parchment paper without leaving their “bellies” behind, they’re done. If the heat from either the top or bottom is too strong, try placing another pan way up on the top slot or down on the bottom or both 🙂
Hi, can you please tell me why do I get hollow shell on the top? Did I do something wrong?
Try cooking them hotter (for a slightly shorter time-span) to prevent hollows, and make sure the consistency is right (similar to flowing lava) before they are piped out. 🙂
Exactly right Amanda. Too many macaron baking websites suggest turning down the heat and baking longer. I feel this has what has caused me to have hollow macarons. They simply dried out and the inside sort of recrystallizes into this super crunchy, flat mass under an egg-shell delicate top. It has no give either so when I filled them, they couldn’t even reabsorb moisture and get more tender inside. I also say bake at higher temp for less time if this is happening to you. It should bake the shell but leave the insides moist and fluffy. 🙂
Hi,
I’m wondering why the almond flour I used for the macaroni is a yellowish beige color and the one shown in the video is white?
Thanks!
Elizabeth,
Sorry for the delay in responding. It is normal for the almond flour to be a yellowish beige color. Perhaps the lighting in the video made the one being used white, but it is always the color you described.
My macaroons are cracking on the top …not developing feet….what am I doing wrong?
Hi Marsha,
If your macarons are cracking AND not developing feet, it is very likely that you are over mixing your batter. Hope this helps!
Marsha,
Sorry for the delay in responding. It could be that the egg whites are a bit over-whipped. The other possibility is that once piped, they are not sitting out long enough to develop a thick skin to prevent cracking while baking. Try letting them sit out for at least an hour before baking.
In point number 7, you say: Serve immediately, or stack between layers of parchment, wrap well in plastic, and freeze for up to 3 months. Do you mean freeze the cookies for up to 3months? or you can make the sandwich with filling and such, then freeze.
thanks for your time.
Alejandro
She means you can freeze it in the freezer up to three months if there’s leftovers or just not ready for it now
Alejandro,
Sorry for the delay in responding. You can fill the macaron sandwich and have it ready entirely. You can freeze them for 3 months this way.
I just did this recipe but I found out that I had too much dry ingredients compared to the egg white. I think the sizes of eggs here in Hong Kong are different to the ones in US. Can you please tell me the weight of the egg whites needed for this recipe? Thanks
Michael,
Sorry for the delay in responding. We were closed for the holidays.
The weight of each egg white is about 36 grams and could go up to 40 grams….Hope that helps. Also, make sure that you are whipping the whites…that gives them volume, which is why those instructions are included in the recipe…hopefully you didn’t forget that step.
This is the same recipe I use but mine is in grams. The amount of egg whites in my weighted recipe is 75 grams. I hope that might help you 🙂
Do u add the food colouring while its whipping or do u fold it by hand?
You should fold in the food coloring with a rubber spatula after the egg whites are whipped…trying not to over mix. Hope that helps.
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hi i so do love macrons and i am definitely going to try this one and have not tried it before. i have a question though…i am living in a country (Kuwait) where it is usually difficult to get confectionery sugar…is it possible if i could replace it with icing sugar or could you suggest an alternative …any guidance will be much appreciated….Thanks Natasha
Hi Natasha, confectionery sugar and icing sugar are the same thing, so yes, you can substitute. Cheers!
Thank you so much for this great video. Can you tell me what size piping tip you used? Thank you!
hi! i’m really interested to make some lf these but just a few questions, do I bake these macarons in the top, middle or bottom rack? and what if my oven is a fan-forced oven? do I need to change the temperature?
Hi Joy, The middle rack is best; most even temp wise. And for convection oven, drop temp about 25 degrees.
I just made chocolate macarons and instead of the TCHO chocolate I used unsweetened cocoa powder do you think they are going to come out ok?
Hi I’m wondering when the recipe says it yields 36 cookies, is it 36 shells or 36 sandwiched macarons? Thanks in advance.
36 shells, or 18 sandwiched cookies. Yeah, lots of work for 18 cookies isn’t it? 😀
Cristina is a master demonstrator. She keeps your interest. But I noticed in the making of the pie filling you say 3/4c sugar the 1t sugar, but when mixing the ingredients you say 3/4 c and 3t of sugar confusing.
Did u make a video for the apple filling?
I know making instructional videos are time consuming, but yours are some of the BEST out there.
Hi Kevin,
Thank you so much for your kind words. We were alerted yesterday on Facebook to the apple pie filling recipe typo on the 3 tablespoons of butter and corrected it: http://blog.jordanwinery.com/2012/11/how-to-make-pie-crust-video-flaky-delicious-apple-pie-recipe/
Happy holidays,
Lisa
Hi, I noticed in several adaptations of macarons all over the internet that ovens can be slightly ajar when baking, does this necessarily need to be the case with this particular version?
That’s usually recommended if your oven builds up a lot of moisture. I just pull the door of the oven down here and there to have a peek and the steam has a chqnce to escape. I don’t think we ahould do this too much though or else our oven will cut in and send out loads of heat to rehat the oven and this can cause an imbalance of heat in baking macarons, and I never do it before they develop their feet.
your recipe is my go to recipe!
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Great video and very detailed steps! My macarons were a success 😀 Thanks for the recipe and demonstration!
hello, I love the video, I jsut have one question. My macaroon instead of baking “up” they expanded to the sides, I ended up with a flat macaroon. The top “crust” did form. What did I do? over folded the batter? maybe baked them too long?(6 min ). thanks
Hi Rebeca,
We’re glad you enjoyed the video. Here’s our chef’s thoughts on your dilemma:
My first thought would be a little too long on the whip which will weaken the
protein “mesh”; the other thought would be a slow oven recovery when
door is closed ( door may have been open too long?).
Hope that helps. Happy baking.
Hi Cristina!
I was wondering if you had to use superfine sugar, or if you could use possibly make superfine sugar out of fine cane sugar?
Thanks!
Aubrey
Hi Aubrey,
Cristina is on a humanitarian mission in Africa for at least one year. I will try to get an answer from our chef, but I’m not sure how long it will take. Thanks for watching our video.
Aubrey u can make ur own by throwing some into the food processor. Just pulse until u get that super fine sand texture! I make my own that way. Hope this helps.
Hi, I think it is a very good recipe and my macarons look great in the oven, they come up, they look firm, they have their feet but as soon as I take them out them get soft and lumpy. Not holding at all. Can you please give me your advice? Thanks.
Hi Zsuzsa,
Cristina is on a humanitarian mission in Africa for at least one year. I will try to get an answer from our chef, but I’m not sure how long it will take. Thanks for watching our video.
how many finished macarons (sandwiched) does this recipe make?
36 cookies as noted in recipe.
hi why is it my macarons has no feet and not shiny? please answer my question huhu:
chacha: I think you underfolded your egg& flour. That was my experience
Not rested to dry long enough or batter is too thin.
Hi There, Thanks for this wonderful receipt.
How can I convert it to chocolate macarons? What should I add or subtract? Please replay to me as soon as possible as I need it before Thursday. Thanks again.
For chocolate I would add about 2 Tbl. of good cocoa powder in with the dry; it can go into the food processor with the flour and sugar.
Hi. I’ve been trying a lot of recipes and every time, my macarons look perfect, but there is only one problem I cannot figure out. I have left comments on most recipes to find the answer I am looking for, but no one has answered me back. My macarons have great “feet”, barely any hollow inside, tastes great, slightly chewy, but I cannot seem to get it to crisp on the outside like the stores sells them. I have left it out to dry for 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, 60 minutes, and 75 minutes, and it doesn’t give me the slightly crispy skin after baking. Just about 30 – 45 minutes of drying, it does give me the dry skin, but after baking, i don’t get the crispy skin. I hear that the cookies have to mature after filling them for 24 hours, but the next day, it’s only chewy, but with a soft skin. could it be that there’s not enough sugar to make the outer skin crispy? or maybe i have to dry it longer? it has been frustrating me for over a month and i am urging to find out what i’m doing wrong to perfect the macarons. thanx. =)
Hi Esther,
The only possibility is that perhaps you could reduce the sugar in the recipe and
see if that helps. Or try baking at a slightly higher temp.
If your heat comes from the top, maybe move them to one rack up halfway through or maybe the whole way through after you see how he first attempt went. Also, you might want to “waft” your oven of moisture every now and then. I do it a few times but not until they get their feet.
my macarons they brown up fast and they are still raw! wht is the problem?
Hello Christina,
do I have to use the almond flour? could I use regular flour in this recipe? Thank You
Unfortunately not. The definition of a macaroon is that it is made using a nut flour, traditionally almond. Sorry.
Hello – I have been making macarons for the past 3-4 months (almost daily I might add) – I am between fianlizing two recipies and wanted your opinion re: powdered egg whites – one recipie I have been working uses them in addition to the aged egg whites and another does not – what are your thoughts? Also, I am between letting the macarons rest room temperature for 30 minutes v. starting to bake them at lower temperature then raising it mid-way through baking…so many variables!
Hi Beth,
Sorry for the delayed response, but Cristina is on a humanitarian mission in Africa for at least one year. I will try to get an answer from our chef; I’m not sure how long it will take or if he’ll have a recommendation. Thanks for watching our video.
Hi, would it matter if I don’t use cream of tartar in the mixture
The cream of tartar is optional.
Thank you for the video. I have a few questions:
Are the 325 degree and 160 degree, fahrenheit or celsius?
Butter: cold, just out of the regrigerator, soften or slightly melted?
Thanks.
325 fahrenheit (U.S. ovens) is what we recommend. That’s roughly 162.7 celsius.
There is no butter in this recipe that I can see; where did you find that? The eggs are room temperature in this recipe.
Thanks, Lisa. Sorry that I mixed up this with a recipe that I found somewhere else.
So, in the sentence “the Whisk until sugar dissolves and mixture reaches 160 degrees on a candy thermometer,” the 160 is also fahrenheit?!
Can I assume that, In another words, all temperatures in this site are in fahrenheit?
Thank you for the great works.
Correct. We are based in California, and we use fahrenheit in the U.S.
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My macarons are hollow and stick to the parchment paper. What am i doing wrong?
They stick if they are under cooked, generally. They work best using parchment and you can also lightly spray the parchment first. Slightly hollow is normal but if the batter has too much air they will be overly hollow. You can prevent that by mixing the batter by hand a little longer to make sure some of the air is broken down.
hello i am about to make the macarons but i have seen my oven doesnt go to 325 degrees it only goes to 260 what should i do
325 fahrenheit (US ovens) is 162.7 celsius. Try that.
i always make it bad while baking step, i followed the instruction but the result the macarons is brown. what solution do you have to solve this? please i need your answer
From Cristina: Each oven is slightly
different, so the temps I gave may not work for your oven. You can
try lowering the baking temp. Although, if you are baking in a convection oven,
keep in mind that the heat is more aggresive and the temperature should
always be lowered by 25 degrees for any given recipe. The macarons can be
very sensitive also, keep a close eye on them during baking- if they seem
close to being done they can quickly go from almost done to overdone.
Perfect! Your video along with the recipe helped a lot, after trying to make macarons twice with a diferent recipe, finally found a good recipe and instructions, thankyou!
So glad you enjoyed it. Happy New Year and happy baking!
I really enjoyed making these and learned a few things by trial and error – like how big to make the cookies and how long to keep them in the oven. I had no major issues (no cracks yay!), however I found the cookie a bit overly sweet, almost sickly. Any way to cut back on the sugar content but still retain the correct consistancy? Thanks for this great recipe!!
I would try using a filling that isn’t very sweet, perhaps a bitter chocolate ganache. Another way is to add a pinch of salt to cut the sweetness.
Thanks, Delilah.
Can you use less powdered sugar rather than the 1 cup?
The powdered sugar is really one of the main ingredients so if you cut it back, it will most likely alter the final product. You can try cutting it back a little if you want.
Your definition of 1 cup is equal to how many grams actually? Because different cups comes with different sizes.
Here’s an online research for converting cups to grams. http://allrecipes.com/howto/cup-to-gram-conversions/
Michelle,
Cristina is referring to a standard measuring cup.
Is it alright to use regular sugar instead of superfine?
Hello! This looks like such a lovely recipe and I feel like you understand the confusion we people get upon seeing all these different ways of making the same cookie (to let sit out, to not let sit out, how much of this, how long, etc, etc.)! I was wondering what to do since I don’t have a food processor. For the almond flour and powdered sugar, do you think I can just use a blender or is that not good? Thank you 😀
A blender will not be the same, but you can certainly try it. If you have a
good high quality blender it will do just fine. A blender that does not
have much power may just get clogged up.
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Hi , I would like to thanks for the recipe first. I have some enquires to ask. When i bake my macarons for 10mins , the macarons just stick on my non-greasy paper. So i thought its not baked enough so i bake it for 10-20mins which then my macarons turn brown and too crispy. What went wrong ? I tried for 3-4 times but i still couldnt get the macarons beautifully coming out from my paper. Thanks!
You should allow the macaroons to cool completely before lifting them off the paper. When they are warm they will still be slightly sticky, and will harden as they cool. If you did let them cool and they were still sticky, you were right in baking them longer. 10 minutes may have been too much time. Since they are sensitive, I would check them every 2-3 minutes.
If the stick, you can also place them in the freezer for a couple of minutes. The thermal shock between hot and freezing makes them unstick instantly and easily.
Hi 🙂 My macarons also stuck to my parchment paper. I thought of something to help me get my macarons completely and nicely off the piece of paper. Hold up the paper (and make sure you don’t drop it!!!) and dip your finger into water. Spread the water on the back of the paper where the macaron is (remember the entire bottom of the macaron, more like the paper itself, must be dabbed with water) then leave it for like 10-15 seconds. You should beable to peal the paper away from the macaron as the water somehow ‘melts’ / ‘softens’ the paper. 😀 have fun!!!
Thanks for sharing. Someone did just ask if there is a substitute for parchment. Cristina says:
No, parchment is all that you should use. The cookies will definitely stick to the pan, foil, glass or anything else.
Thanks! You definitely need to use the parchment paper.
REALLY NICE. THANKS!!!
After folding, my mixture is too thin. After I put it into piping bag, it simply dipping to the cookie sheet. It cannot hold the height as per what I saw on your video. Please advise which step I did it wrong. Thank you.
It sounds as if the batter has been over
handled, or overmixed. Remember that all the fat in the almond flour will
break down all the air in the egg with each fold. You therefore should
strive to fold it in gently and with fewer strokes. If you are very
gentle and your batter ends up thick and lumpy, no worries: just keep folding
until you get the right consistency.
Cristina has included several answers to multiple questions here. Thanks for watching!
In
regards to the question about substituting almond flour…
The almond flour is really the key ingredient in this recipe. But it
is basically just finely ground almonds. You could try to replace it with any
other type of ground nuts and see how it turns out, although I have never
tried it before.
Several asked if they should add regular flour to change the texture.
Some recipes will call for a few tablespoons of all purpose flour in addition
to the almond flour, but I have never really had much success with those
recipes. If you want to try the recipe using all purpose to see the
difference in texture, I would suggest finding a recipe that includes it
already since the ingredients are proportioned correctly.
As far as the flavor and colors..
Yes, you can use any extract or small amount of concentrate to create any
flavor combination you want, and all colors will work the same.
Questions about cream of tartar…
Cream of tartar is optional. If you don’t have it or choose not to use
it do not substitute it with any other leavening agent, just leave it out.
Question regarding the use of baking spray on the pan…
Most people will tell you not to use any baking spray because the moisture
in it may cause the cookies to spread as they sit on the paper. I have
occasionally used spray very lightly as extra insurance that the cookies will
come off the paper and had no issues . On the other hand, another method
recommended for removing them is that when they are still warm, flip the entire
piece of parchment over and place a slightly damp towel on the back of
it. The steam should make the cookies fall right off.
Question asking if @ 4:33 I combined buttercream with jam as I suggested on the
video…
YES!
One person wanted to know why, after letting her macaroons sit for 2 hours, did
they not form a skin? ( She was using another recipe)
The reason that this would happen could have to do with humidity or too much
moisture in the air.
this is probs a stupid question but is the meringue filling is the suff in the middle right?
its my first time making macrons and i want to get it right?
also can u put a flovor in that instead of the macron shell and any color?
Yes. That’s correct.
Lilem,
On our blog post, I posted a list of answers to several French macaroon baking questions sent to Cristina. Your question is included. Thanks for watching!
I try it tast too sweet if I want less how can do it?
i tried a recipe for macaroons and they turned out perfect the first time. The next 3 times i’ve tried to make it, using the same recipe, it didn’t turn out. They didn’t really form the skin. even after an hour. I don’t understand. Anyway, is it necessary to have the eggs sitting out for 2-3 days or is putting eggs out the day off and waiting awhile good enough? I’ve been so disappointed with trying to make these after the first batch being perfect.
I’m going to try this recipe next. I just hate wasting the ingredients.
Any suggestions?
Kelly,
On our blog post above, I posted a new comment with a list of answers to several French macaroon baking questions sent to Cristina. Your question is included. Thanks for watching!
hi there, I had made my first batch of macaroon yesterday. However, i have met some problems. I let the macaroons to rest for two hours, but there are no ‘skin’ to form on top of it. Can you tell me the reason of not forming the ‘skin’?
Thank you.
Jessica,
On our blog post above, I posted a new comment with a list of answers to several French macaroon baking questions sent to Cristina. Your question is included. Thanks for watching!
Hi Cristina,
Thanks for sharing
for almond flour, how many gram is for one cup of it?
Hi Maggie,
Conversions are available at http://allrecipes.com/howto/cup-to-gram-conversions/.
Try this: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_grams_are_in_a_cup
Hi Cristina,
thanks for all the tips and techniques.
when you said use high speed to whip the egg white, what speed number do you actually use?
also when you freeze the macaroon, will the moisture from the filling affect the cookie while defrosting?
Hi Jese,
When I whip the whites on high I will turn the machine all the way up. But if you are still preparing your other ingredients or getting your pan and piping bag ready, you can turn the speed down to buy you more time. The speed is really up to you as long as you end up with the desired result in the end.
As far as defrosting the macaroons goes, they seem to do just fine. Even when frozen, the cookie itself stays somewhat chewy and soft. So I find that they defrost and are ready to eat very fast. I even like them directly out of the freezer. So if you decide to freeze them for a later time that shouldn’t give you any problems. Hope that helps!
Cristina
Cristina,
Thank you for sharing this recipe, It is very rare to see baker like you to give away secret and technique. I am going to practice this and planning to make them for my daughter Graduation Party coming up. Wish me luck!
A couple viewers have asked questions on YouTube. Below are Cristina’s helpful answers to their questions.
Should I spray the parchment paper before baking?
Most recipes will not ask you to spray your parchment first. If the macaroons are baked just right they will just come off easily, but that is easier said than done. But a tip, if they stick they may be either overcooked (dry and crumbly) or undercooked (may actually stick and the bottom stays n the paper but the top comes off). If that is the case, you may want to adjust your baking time of temperature. Another tip that is often recommended is while they are still warm, flip over the entire sheet of parchment with the cookies attached, and lightly spray the back of the paper with water, or place a damp towel on it. In this way the steam will release the cookies. Having said that though, I see nothing wrong with lightly spraying the parchment beforehand just to be safe. But if you put too much it may cause the cookies to spread out so just use your good judgment. Hope that helps!
How do I add the chocolate flavoring?
This recipe came from Martha Stewart and her recommendation for the chocolate variation is to substitute 1/2 c. of the almond flour with 6 Tbl. dutch cocoa. Dutch cocoa is much darker and has less acid than regular cocoa powder so will give you a nicer color and flavor. Just add it in with the dry ingredients and follow the directions. Happy baking!
So I just made a batch. finished product was very airy and meringue like. Maybe I overwhipped the eggwhites? My almond flour did NOT look as smooth as yours in the video. Should I put it through the food processor? I also sifted the confectioners sugar.
Hi Ruthy~
Here is Cristina’s reply. Thanks so much for watching and testing the recipe!
Yes, I will pulse the powdered sugar and almond flour just a few times in the food processor to break down the almond a bit more, sorry if I failed to mention that in the video or instructions. Sifting it will also help….. As far as the texture goes, if they came out more “meringue-like” it sounds to me as though they stayed in the oven a minute or two too long, they should still have somewhat of a chewy and soft center. If they are slightly over-baked they will end up crunchy all the way through. It can be tricky since every oven is different, but I would say next time pull them out a little bit earlier. If you had over-whipped the egg whites like you mentioned, they would have been really dry and hard to fold your dry ingredients into. In that case, fold them more than you usually would with the dry ingredients to break down some of that air….. I hope that helps, let me know if you have any more questions, thanks for watching!
Cristina
Hi Ruthy,
Thanks for using our recipe. Cristina’s reply is below.
Yes, I will pulse the powdered sugar and almond flour just a few times in the food processor to break down the almond a bit more, sorry if I failed to mention that in the video or instructions. Sifting it will also help….. As far as the texture goes, if they came out more “meringue-like” it sounds to me as though they stayed in the oven a minute or two too long, they should still have somewhat of a chewy and soft center. If they are slightly over-baked they will end up crunchy all the way through. It can be tricky since every oven is different, but I would say next time pull them out a little bit earlier. If you had over-whipped the egg whites like you mentioned, they would have been really dry and hard to fold your dry ingredients into. In that case, fold them more than you usually would with the dry ingredients to break down some of that air….. I hope that helps, let me know if you have any more questions, thanks for watching!Cristina
Hi Ruthy,
Thanks for using our recipe. Cristina’s reply is below.
Yes, I will pulse the powdered sugar and almond flour just a few times in the food processor to break down the almond a bit more, sorry if I failed to mention that in the video or instructions. Sifting it will also help….. As far as the texture goes, if they came out more “meringue-like” it sounds to me as though they stayed in the oven a minute or two too long, they should still have somewhat of a chewy and soft center. If they are slightly over-baked they will end up crunchy all the way through. It can be tricky since every oven is different, but I would say next time pull them out a little bit earlier. If you had over-whipped the egg whites like you mentioned, they would have been really dry and hard to fold your dry ingredients into. In that case, fold them more than you usually would with the dry ingredients to break down some of that air….. I hope that helps, let me know if you have any more questions, thanks for watching!Cristina
Hi Ruthy,
Thanks for using our recipe. Cristina’s reply is below.
Yes, I will pulse the powdered sugar and almond flour just a few times in the food processor to break down the almond a bit more, sorry if I failed to mention that in the video or instructions. Sifting it will also help….. As far as the texture goes, if they came out more “meringue-like” it sounds to me as though they stayed in the oven a minute or two too long, they should still have somewhat of a chewy and soft center. If they are slightly over-baked they will end up crunchy all the way through. It can be tricky since every oven is different, but I would say next time pull them out a little bit earlier. If you had over-whipped the egg whites like you mentioned, they would have been really dry and hard to fold your dry ingredients into. In that case, fold them more than you usually would with the dry ingredients to break down some of that air….. I hope that helps, let me know if you have any more questions, thanks for watching!Cristina
Hi Ruthy,
Thanks for using our recipe. Cristina’s reply is below.
Yes, I will pulse the powdered sugar and almond flour just a few times in the food processor to break down the almond a bit more, but that instruction was included in the accompanying recipe with the video. Sifting it will also help….. Did you do either of those? As far as the texture goes, if they came out more “meringue-like” it sounds to me as though they stayed in the oven a minute or two too long, they should still have somewhat of a chewy and soft center. If they are slightly over-baked they will end up crunchy all the way through. It can be tricky since every oven is different, but I would say next time pull them out a little bit earlier. If you had over-whipped the egg whites like you mentioned, they would have been really dry and hard to fold your dry ingredients into. In that case, fold them more than you usually would with the dry ingredients to break down some of that air….. I hope that helps, let me know if you have any more questions, thanks for watching!
Cristina
Hi Ruthy,
Thanks for using our recipe. Cristina’s reply is below.
Yes, I will pulse the powdered sugar and almond flour just a few times in the food processor to break down the almond a bit more, but that instruction was included in the accompanying recipe with the video. Sifting it will also help….. Did you do either of those? As far as the texture goes, if they came out more “meringue-like” it sounds to me as though they stayed in the oven a minute or two too long, they should still have somewhat of a chewy and soft center. If they are slightly over-baked they will end up crunchy all the way through. It can be tricky since every oven is different, but I would say next time pull them out a little bit earlier. If you had over-whipped the egg whites like you mentioned, they would have been really dry and hard to fold your dry ingredients into. In that case, fold them more than you usually would with the dry ingredients to break down some of that air….. I hope that helps, let me know if you have any more questions, thanks for watching!
Cristina
Hello, Now that I learned the science of the macaron, I find them easy to make.. one thing I make sure is the egg white MUST be stiff enough, and they have to have that “skin”, otherwise there will be no feet.. I find piping the easiest part of the whole process. I do not use templates, I just eye ball them, when to start squeezing and when to stop.
thank you for showing us how to make them..
I have been trying SO many french macaron recipes too. This is the only one that worked, thank you! Everything was great except for the feet on the bottom of the macaron. What did I do wrong? I even let it form a “skin” overnight.
Hi, I let mine dry for at least 45 mins. to me 15-20 is not long enough to form a really good skin.. try again, you will get there.
Thank you! We’re excited to find so many fellow macaroon lovers.
Hi Kristyn,
The macaroon will form the skin within the 30-40 minute range. Allowing them to sit longer will not help improve the skin on top. The fat from the almond meal will eventually break down the air in the meringue. So if your cookies sat for a longer period of time (overnight) they will become somewhat deflated. So you may have let it sit too long and it lost what is called it’s “oven spring.”
Hope that helps!
Cristina
~ sent by Lisa for Cristina
How apropos, just last night I made a template of circles for piping macaroons. Planning on making them this afternoon. This is a first time for me thus I’m glad I can watch your video Lisa!
This is great! Thanks for sharing this. The cookies really are lovely. I could see making a gift of them.
Thanks, Robyn. Happy holidays!
These look delicious and would make a perfect centerpiece at a holiday party! Would you mind sharing them on the USPS Facebook? Here’s the Link: on.fb.me/ujGGtE
Thanks for your comment. The USPS page doesn’t allow status feed shares by other companies. Just tried and left a comment there. Sorry. Glad you enjoyed the video.