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French Macarons Recipe & 14 Tips on How to Make French Macarons

Sharing with you a French Macarons Recipe that has been very successful for me. I am including a list of the tips for successful French Macarons that I adhere to and a video showing you my French Macaron recipe and step by step procedure for making these delightful treats.

Oh my heavens, I have been planning to share this recipe and video with you for months now…but as my good buddy Robert Burns said (oh, a mere 233 years ago), “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”

But, I will not allow myself to leave this chair until this post is written today so that I can get it into your hands and show you how to make French Macarons step by step yourself. (yeah, so that didn’t happen…I did leave the chair and it’s been 2 days since I started writing this post…welcome to my world of late)

Macaron vs Macaroon: What’s the Difference?

Oh, and let’s get this little bit of housekeeping out of the way, we are talking Macarons here, not Macaroons. French Macarons (with ending syllable sounding like on)are the little French treat comprised of air-filled, crunchy and slightly chewy tops and bottoms filled with some sort of yumminess while Macaroons (rhyming with moons) are heavier and often made with coconut.

A French Macaron Recipe is one of those that intimidate even the veteran home chef. And granted, they have earned their reputation as being a little finicky…egg whites need to just be at the perfect temperature, the pastry bag needs to be held perfectly vertical to your cookie sheet, and they need to ‘rest’ for a bit before they go in the oven, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

French Macaron Recipe: Tips for making macarons

I have included 14 Tips I follow to increase the likelihood of successful macarons towards the bottom of the post, as well as the video showing the step-by-step process I use to make macarons.  Make sure to check them out.

French Macaron Recipe: plate and serving dish full of Espresso Chocolate macarons

How to make the best French Macaron Recipe: Equipment Needed

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No beating around the bush here; any French Macaron recipe is a little equipment intensive. I would consider all of these, except the mats, necessary for successful macarons.

]So, given all the work that goes into whipping up a batch of these, why would you want to spend a couple of hours dedicated to this French Macaron Recipe?

Well, number one…pride.  And the challenge of it.  Honestly, I have made 4-5 batches using this French Macaron recipe and only had one sheet come out bad because I realized I didn’t ‘drop’ the cookie sheet to release the air…they ended up being a little puffy.  But that being said, they were still pretty good to munch on!

French Macaron Recipe: Espresso Chocolate Macarons packaged in a gift box

And two, three, four, five, etc…  Because they are just so…cool and a little impressive! Imagine serving them at your next party, or gifting them to friends, or as a party favor!  These little boxes held 2 macarons perfectly.

14 Tips on How To Make the Best French Macarons Recipe:

  1. Have all ingredients at room temperature
  2. Use a kitchen scale and measure all ingredients precisely
  3. For meringue, instead of caster or extra-fine sugar, you can process granulated sugar through a food processor.
  4. You can check to see if the batter is appropriately mixed by seeing if it ‘ribbons’ when held up by the spoonful and allowed to run off the spoon. Alternately, you could put a small dollop on a tray and if the peak ‘dissolves’ so that the top is slightly convex without any peaks.
  5. While I haven’t done it with this recipe and have always had success, for my next batch, I will be adding a pinch or two to the sugar when I add it to the egg whites for the meringue. The cream of tartar really helps stabilize the egg whites.
  6. Hold the piping bag perpendicular to the mat
  7. Let macarons rest for 30-45 minutes before baking
  8. Use an oven thermometer
  9. Use a convection oven if possible
  10. Put one tray in at a time…if you are not sure of your oven temperature reliability, you might consider only piping a couple for the first baking to make sure that they don’t turn brown while baking. This will slow down the process but will increase the likelihood of success.
  11. Don’t open the oven until you are ready to remove your macarons.
  12. If they stick to your mat, they are probably a wee bit undercooked…make a note to add a few more minutes the next time.
  13. The tops and bottoms can be baked in advance as they freeze beautifully!
  14. Jot down notes on your recipe when you nail down your perfect oven temperature and baking time.
French Macarons in a silver container.

French Macaron Recipe with Espresso Chocolate Ganache

lynn
An easy and reliable step by step recipe for French Macaron and Espresso Chocolate Ganache. Different flavors and color can be added as desired.
4.88 from 8 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour 48 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Additional Time 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Course Baking Recipes + Tips
Cuisine French
Servings 30 macarons
Calories 322 kcal

Ingredients
  

Macarons

  • 300 grams finely ground almond flour about 3 1/2 cups
  • 300 grams powdered sugar about 2 2/3 cups
  • 110 grams egg whites at room temperature, about 4 eggs
  • 110 grams egg whites at room temperature, about 4 eggs
  • 200 grams white caster sugar or granulated sugar run through a food processor about 1 cup
  • 1/4 tsp color optional
  • 2 TBSP espresso powder optional

Chocolate Espresso Ganache

  • 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips or broken up bar
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tsp instant espresso powder optional
  • 1 TB Kahlua optional

Instructions
 

Macaron

  • Weigh out almond flour
  • Sift and weigh out powdered sugar
  • Add almond flour and powdered sugar to the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times to combine. Do not mix too much or almond flour will get sticky. If using espresso powder, add now.
  • Weight out first 110 grams of egg whites and whisk slightly
  • Fold egg whites into almond/powdered sugar blend and fold together with the spatula until paste forms. Do not overmix. Set aside.
  • Beat egg whites on high in an electric mixer until 'bubbly', then add sugar.
  • Continue to beat until hard peaks form when you hold the whisk up…approximately 15 minutes. Check after 10 minutes and then every minute until a hard peak.
  • If adding food coloring add now and beat just until incorporated.
  • Gently fold half of the meringue mixture into the batter and then the second half. Continue to fold until mixture resembles a molten lava consistency or if it ribbons when held above the bowl with a spatula. Alternately, add a dollop to a plate, if the peak falls and the macaron is a slight convex, you are ready to go.
  • Fill a piping bag, fitted with a 1A tip, with macaron batter.
  • Carefully pipe similarly sized circles onto a silicone mat or parchment paper. If using a silicone mat, ensure that mats are clean and dry.
  • Hold piping bag perfectly perpendicular to the mat, gently pushing up and down (see video)
  • When finished, slam the baking sheets onto the counter a few times to get all of the air bubbles out.
  • If using sprinkles, add now while macarons are still damp.
  • Let macarons rest for at least 30-45 minutes before baking. Touch tops of macarons to ensure that they are dry before putting in the oven.
  • Preheat oven to 325'F. Convection ovens are great for macarons.
  • Bake for 10-14 minutes…1 tray at a time.
  • Let cool for 10-15 minutes and peel off the mat by bending mat away from the macaron.
  • Store in freezer or refrigerator.

Chocolate Espresso Ganache

  • Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl
  • In a small saucepan, heat the cream until bubbles appear around the edge
  • Remove from the heat and add espresso powder, stir to dissolve
  • Pour hot cream over the chocolate and let stand for one minute
  • Stir the chocolate until melted and smooth
  • Add the Kahlua and stir to incorporate
  • Let stand at room temperature

Video

Notes

Both macarons and ganache can be made ahead of time and stored separately. Freeze the macarons for up to 6 months and refrigerate the ganache for up to one month.

Nutrition

Serving: 2gCalories: 322kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 9gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 73mgSodium: 51mgFiber: 4gSugar: 22g
Keyword baking, macaron, recipe
Well, what did you think?Please rate this recipe here! It helps other readers and also helps to support our site.

So, if you want to try your hand at macaron baking, then give this French Macaron Recipe a try! Bookmark this page or pin the following image for your future reference.

STACK OF FRENCH MACARONS
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6 Comments

  1. Thank you so much. I have wanted to tackle this for some time, but frankly nervous about producing a successful great macaron. I feel very privileged to have found your blog and I love the way you describe and present your material. It makes the person on the other end “feel” like they can do it.

    1. Oh Laura, you just made my day! More than anything I do hope to encourage my reader family that if I can do it, so can you! And hearing from you that I might have succeded a wee bit filled my heart! I am privileged to have you as a reader my friend.

      Please do let me know how your macaron adventure goes!

      Hugs, Lynn

  2. Lynn my girl is always on the lookout for the perfect macaron recipe. I have to share this one with her and hopefully get to taste your wonderful recipe.

    1. Oh you lucky girl! Even better than baking macarons is someone to bake them for you.

      Just returned from a whirlwind weekend in NYC! Such a fun time. I know you are enjoying being back.

      Hugs, Lynn

  3. Thanks for this great post 🙂 I reaaally wanna try making macarons, but I get so disappointed if I fail in the kitchen and I’m really scared. One of these days I will try, though. I bookmarked this post – thanks for all the details. I’ll get back here once I tried them 😀

    1. Oh Vera, really enjoy making these treats…and what’s the worst that can happen…right?

      Do try them out and let me know just how great you did!

      Hugs, Lynn

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