This is an in-depth beginner’s guide to homemade French macarons. This post includes a kitchen-tested recipe, plus plenty of success tips, descriptions, overview of techniques, list of tools, and links to my favorite macaron resources and other recipes on the web.
Let me start today’s tutorial with the following:
- Is this the one and only way to make French macarons? No.
- Is this the most complete, perfect French macaron tutorial out there? No.
- Is this a great place for macaron beginners? Yes.
Like many home bakers, I was a French macaron beginner a few years ago. These beautiful little cookies had always been a baking bucket list recipe for me. I started baking them after tasting the world famous Ladurée bakery macarons—talk about perfection! We originally published a French macaron recipe on my website in 2015. My homemade macarons weren’t nearly as flawless as the professional ones, but they worked for me at the time! However, the results weren’t always consistent. With 6 additional years of practice, I found a few small but very helpful improvements. Today’s recipe includes those updates.
Macaroons Are Not Macarons
Macarons and macaroons are two completely different cookies. Macaroons have an extra O in the name and are coconut cookies. Macarons are delicate sandwich cookies. Here are my coconut macaroons. See the difference? Though they are both cookies made with egg whites, they are much different.
They are both, however, gluten free dessert recipes.
What Do These French Macarons Taste Like?
French macarons are delicate sandwich cookies with a crisp exterior. Each individual cookie is known as a macaron shell. The shells are made without any chemical leaveners and get all of their lift from properly beaten egg whites. If you follow the recipe carefully, the cookies have a unique nougat-like, chewy texture. They should not be hollow. You can flavor macarons many ways, but this recipe is for plain macarons. They taste like sweet almond—and they’re delicious! You can always have fun with different flavorful fillings such as vanilla buttercream, lemon buttercream, salted caramel, or chocolate ganache.
If there’s one thing to know before baking French macarons at home, it’s this: these cookies require precision, patience, and practice. I’m going to do my best to prepare any French macaron beginner. You can do this!
There are a few methods for making macarons including Italian, French, and Swiss. Swiss isn’t as common (I’ve never made them that way), but Italian macarons are pretty popular. The process is a little more involved than the French method, but the results are considered more reliable. If you’re looking for a recommendation, I really like these Italian macarons found on Chelsweets.
Today’s recipe uses the French method. You need 5 ingredients.
Overview of Ingredients in French Macarons
EGG WHITES: The bulk of French macaron batter is meringue made from properly beaten egg whites. For best and most consistent results, I strongly recommend using fresh egg whites instead of liquid egg whites from a carton. It’s imperative that NO egg yolks make it into the recipe. Like I taught you in our Swiss meringue buttercream recipe, any fat (yolk) in the egg whites will prevent them from reaching stiff peaks, a crucial step for the successful outcome in any French macaron recipe.
- Age The Egg Whites: It’s helpful to “age” the egg whites in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours prior to starting this recipe. Why? Egg whites that have been separated and set aside in advance have a chance to relax, which improves their elasticity during the whipping process. Elasticity is certainly beneficial when you’re trying to whip egg whites into a lofty volume. Some bakers skip this step, saying that it’s a waste of time but I’ll tell you this: most of my failed macaron batches did not include aged egg whites. I recommend taking the 5-10 minutes to separate your egg whites, cover, and refrigerate them 1 day in advance. It doesn’t hurt. Bring them to room temperature before you begin the recipe.
CREAM OF TARTAR: My old recipe doesn’t include this ingredient, but I started adding it after I began making successful batches of marshmallow meringue frosting and chocolate swirled meringue cookies. It just provides a little extra insurance. Let me explain: the acidity in cream of tartar helps the egg whites hold onto air and, like the sugar (explained next), helps prevent the egg whites from collapsing. If you’re making snickerdoodles or angel food cake, you already have this ingredient on hand. It’s sold with the spices.
SUPERFINE SUGAR: In 3 additions, beat superfine sugar into the egg whites + cream of tartar. Without sugar, the protein molecules in egg whites will collapse. What is superfine sugar? Well, it’s regular granulated sugar that’s ground much finer, but not quite as fine as confectioners’ sugar. It’s also known as caster sugar. Superfine sugar’s granules are the best size to provide optimal structure for French macarons. Granulated sugar is simply too coarse, while confectioners’ sugar dissolves too quickly in the egg whites.
- I have a hard time finding superfine sugar in my local grocery store, so I make my own by pulsing regular granulated sugar in a food processor or blender. It takes about 10 seconds—very easy.
FINE ALMOND FLOUR: Almond flour is the ONLY flour that works in this French macaron recipe, however if you have an almond allergy, you could try these nut free macarons by Stella Parks. (I have not personally tried them.) Make sure you use almond flour, not almond meal. Almond flour is much finer and made from blanched, skinless almonds. Almond meal is coarser and contains almond skin.
- You can make your own almond flour, but be very careful because almonds can quickly release their oils, clump up, and turn into almond butter. It might be easier to just pick up a bag of fine almond flour. It’s very common in mostly all grocery stores these days—I use and love Bob’s Red Mill brand.
CONFECTIONERS’ SUGAR: Confectioners’ sugar adds bulk and sweetness to macaron batter. In this new recipe, I use equal parts confectioners’ sugar and almond flour to produce sturdy, more reliably successful macarons.
GEL FOOD COLORING (optional): Tinting macaron batter is completely optional. If you don’t tint it, the macarons will be a natural beige color. (And you can have fun with a colorful filling.) Avoid using liquid food coloring because it will change the consistency of your macaron batter. Instead, use 1-2 drops of gel food coloring.
- In the pictured macarons, I made 3 separate batches and used dusty rose, aqua, and fuchsia.
- Powder food coloring should be fine, but I haven’t tested it. Use a very small amount.
Crucial Tools
This list contains affiliate links to the products we personally use and love.
- Glass or Metal Bowls: Plastic bowls are porous and can hold onto grease and residue, which will prevent your egg whites from whipping properly. Set yourself up for success by using glass bowls or metal bowls in this recipe.
- Egg Separator: Not crucial, but certainly helpful. Here is the egg separator I really like.
- Food Scale: The recipe below is written in grams, so a food scale is imperative. Anytime I make macarons using cup measurements, they fail. You can certainly find French macaron recipes online given in cup measurements, but for true accuracy (and so you don’t waste your time, effort, ingredients, or money), I strongly recommend using a food scale. Here is the one I own and love.
- Electric Mixer: An electric mixer is helpful for whipping the egg whites into stiff peaks. You can use a handheld or stand mixer (whisk attachment). I do not recommend whipping egg whites by hand. It requires a lot of arm muscle and at least 30+ minutes of mixing.
- Fine Mesh Sieve: To obtain a shiny and smooth macaron shell, you must run the almond flour and confectioners’ sugar through a fine mesh sieve. You can use a hand crank sifter if you have one, but I prefer using a mesh one.
- Piping Tip & Bag: You need a piping bag and tip to pipe the batter. You can use a disposable piping bag or reusable piping bag. (I use and love this reusable piping bag.) For the piping tip, use a round tip such as Wilton 12, Wilton 1A, or even Ateco 806. I use the same piping tip to pipe the filling, too.
- Baking Sheet & Liner: I own, love, and swear by these half sheet pans for baking all my cookies: Calphalon rimmed baking sheets and USA Pan half sheet pan. See more of my recommended baking pans on my Best Baking Pans page. It’s important to line your pan. You can use a silicone baking mat, parchment paper, or even a fancy macaron-specific silicone baking mat. I usually use sheets of parchment paper.
Video Tutorial:
Step-By-Step Photos: How to Make French Macarons
Do your prep work. This includes (1) making superfine sugar with a food processor if you can’t find it at the store. I always make my own—see recipe note. Prep work also includes (2) wiping down the bowl you’ll whip the egg whites in with vinegar or lemon juice. Grease or fat prevents your meringue from setting up. And finally, (3) age your egg whites as described above and in the printable recipe below.
Making superfine sugar:
Zero out your scale, weigh your egg whites, cover, and refrigerate them for 24 hours. Bring to room temperature before using.
Now it’s time to start the macaron batter.
Add cream of tartar to your aged room temperature egg whites (below left) and beat until very soft peaks form. This takes a few minutes of beating. At first the egg white and cream of tartar mixture will be foamy, then the bubbles will begin to tighten and the beaters will leave tracks (below right) as the egg whites build volume:
Now add your superfine sugar in 3 additions and beat until stiff glossy peaks form (below photos). What are stiff peaks? After several minutes of mixing in all the sugar, the egg whites will form stiff glossy peaks. This means the whites have stiff, smooth, and sharp points in the bowl or on the lifted whisk attachment/beaters. Stiff peaks do not droop down. You can literally turn the bowl upside down and the egg whites will not move or spill out. (You can watch me do that in the video tutorial.)
Now you can add your optional gel food coloring. It’s important to add gel food coloring to the egg whites directly, instead of the finished macaron batter. (Finished macaron batter more easily deflates.) Fold the coloring in very slowly. You can also beat in the food coloring with your mixer on a low speed.
Set your stiff egg whites aside.
Sift the almond flour and confectioners’ sugar together in a large bowl. The bigger the bowl, the more room you have for the macaron batter, and the easier it will be to manage. Use a spoon to help work any larger pieces through the sieve. You don’t want to discard a lot of that because then you won’t have enough dry ingredients in the batter.
Sifting guarantees a nice light texture.
In 3 separate additions, begin slowly folding in the beaten egg whites in a circular motion. I always eyeball the amount. (Tip: The amount of egg whites you add at a time doesn’t have to be perfect because what you’re really looking for is the consistency of batter after the 3rd addition, known as macaronage and explained below.)
After only 1 addition, the batter will be very thick and dry:
The batter will begin to loosen up after you add the 2nd and 3rd addition:
After that 3rd addition of egg whites, you’re at the macaronage stage. You need to keep folding and deflating air until you reach the perfect consistency.
What is Macaronage?
Macaronage is the process of working macaron batter into a shiny and flowy consistency that easily pipes into smooth macaron shells. You may have heard this term before and rightfully so—it’s a crucial step in this macaron recipe. During this stage, you want to be sure not to overmix or undermix the batter. Undermixed and thick batter can produce lumpy or hollow macarons. Overmixed and thin batter can produce cracked macarons or macarons without feet.
Balanced macaron batter after achieving that perfect macaronage is best understood through visuals. Use my video above as a guide starting at the 3:10 minute mark. The photo below should be helpful as well. Drop the macaron batter off of your spatula in the form of a figure 8. The batter will stream off of your spatula like honey and the figure 8 should take no more than 10 seconds to sink back into itself. If it takes less, your batter was overmixed and is too thin. If it takes longer, continue slowly folding the batter to deflate more air.
It’s best to go very slow so you don’t accidentally overmix.
Spoon the macaron batter into your piping bag fitted with your piping tip.
How to Fill a Piping Bag with Macaron Batter
It can be pretty difficult to fill a piping bag with macaron batter since the batter is so drippy. My trick is to use a big cup and you can watch me do this in the video above. Fit the piping bag with a piping tip, then place it in a large cup, folding the top of the piping bag around the rim of the cup. Spoon batter inside, then lift the piping bag out of the cup and twist the end to seal in the batter.
Pipe the batter in 1.5 inch or 2 inch circles at a 90 degree angle on the lined baking sheet. To guarantee your macarons are all the same size (helpful for sandwiching), it helps to have a template or drawn circles on your parchment. You can find free templates online—do a quick “macaron template” internet search—or purchase a macaron-specific silicone baking mat. I usually just trace something about 1.5 inches in diameter (like a medicine bottle cap or small round cookie cutter) with a pen on parchment paper then flip the parchment over. You can see the traced circle through the parchment, which makes an easy template for uniform circles.
Or just eyeball it! I promise no one will be offended by uneven macaron circles.
Bang your pan on the counter a couple times to pop any air bubbles. (You can see plenty of air bubbles before I popped them in the photo above.) Use a toothpick to pop any smaller air bubbles. Why is this necessary? Air bubbles will create cracks in your macaron shells. Pop any that you see.
Dry The Shells
There’s one more crucial step before you bake the shells. Let the piped circles sit out until they are dry and no longer tacky on top, usually 30-60 minutes. This time allows the top to firm up and form a skin, which helps the macarons rise UP and form their trademark ruffly “feet.” Your macarons will over-spread and will not have their signature feet if you skip this step.
Do not let them sit out for longer than they need to because they could begin to deflate.
It’s hard to tell in the photo, but these circles are no longer tacky on top and are ready to bake:
Bake at 325°F (163°C) for 13 minutes. All ovens are different and the actual temperature inside your oven may not match what the display reads. I highly recommend an oven thermometer.
Macarons Are Done Baking When…
As the macaron shells bake, they should form feet. To test for doneness, lightly touch the top of a macaron with a spoon or your finger (careful, it’s hot). If the macaron seems wobbly, it’s not done and needs another 1-2 minutes. If it seems set, it’s done. Basically, bake until the macarons don’t move around when touched.
Let the shells cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to continue cooling. The macaron shells may stick to the parchment paper/baking sheet if you try to remove them too early. If this is happening, let them cool on the baking sheet a little longer before removing.
After cooling, the shells are ready to fill and sandwich together. I have plenty of filling suggestions in the recipe notes below. I usually halve my recipe for vanilla buttercream. You can spread the frosting on the underside of half of your macarons with a knife or you can use a piping bag/tip. Just use the same round tip you used for the macaron batter.
Troubleshooting French Macarons
- Hollow Macarons: It’s always so frustrating to bite into a macaron only to have it filled with… empty air. There are a few culprits leading to this disappointing outcome. If your macarons are hollow, the batter was likely undermixed or overmixed. Pay attention to the proper macaronage. Additionally, make sure you pop and air bubbles in the piped macaron batter as directed in the recipe. And finally, play around with your oven settings. The oven could be too hot or the macarons could be under-baked. All ovens are different and what some bakers find helpful is lowering the oven temperature down to 315°F (157°C) or 300°F (149°C) and extending the bake time by a few minutes.
- Macarons Have No Feet: Avoid over-beating the egg whites and over-mixing the macaron batter. Make sure you let your piped macaron batter dry/sit out before baking. It should no longer be tacky. See “Dry the Shells” above.
- Cracked on Top: If your macarons are cracked on top, they may have been over-baked, the batter may have been overmixed, air bubbles in the piped batter may not have been popped, and/or the egg whites may have been over-beaten.
- Runny Batter: Your macaron batter will be runny if you overmixed it, deflating more air than intended. Macarons baked with runny batter will over-spread, aren’t likely to develop feet, nor will they have the intended chewy texture. This is why the macaronage step is crucial. Fold the batter together slowly and perform the figure 8 test a few times until you have the correct consistency.
- Imperfect Piped Circles: Don’t get upset over this! My macaron batter is NEVER piped into perfect circles. You can even see in these photos that some are larger than others. Using a template helps, but so does practice.
5 Final Success Tips:
- Wipe down your egg white bowl and beaters/whisk attachment with vinegar or lemon juice to rid any grease or fat residue.
- Use large metal or glass mixing bowls.
- Bake macarons on a dry day. If it’s particularly humid, the piped batter will take awhile to dry and the shells may not develop feet.
- Pay attention to proper macaronage, explained and shown above.
- Do not make any ingredient substitutions or deviate from the instructions.
So, Are These Worth the Effort?
Yes. But, of course, we all have different taste buds and levels of patience. Once you understand the process, they’re perfectly doable. And it’s a lot of fun to play around with different fillings. Have fun and don’t stress out. Even the ugly ones can be delicious. Just load them up with a filling and no one will care! 😉
Further Reading and Fun Flavors:
- Cookies and Cream Macarons and Pistachio Macarons from House of Nash Eats
- Lemon Macarons from Indulge with Mimi
- Ultimate French Macaron Guide by Mike Bakes NYC (so helpful!)
- Chocolate Hazelnut Macarons by Sweet & Savory by Shinee
- Macaron Troubleshooting by Sweet & Savory by Shinee (incredibly comprehensive and helpful)
- The Art of Macaron Making on Bob’s Red Mill
- Sprinkle Macarons by Cloudy Kitchen
- Chocolate Macarons by Sugar Geek Show
- French Macarons Recipe Guide on Bigger Bolder Baking (includes a template)
See Your French Macarons!
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge! Feel free to email or share your recipe photos with us on social media. 🙂
PrintFrench Macarons
- Prep Time: 1 hour (plus aging egg whites)
- Cook Time: 13 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Yield: about 40 shells; 20 sandwiched macarons
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Description
Review this page, video, troubleshooting, and success tips and follow the recipe precisely for crisp, chewy, delicate French macaron cookies. Have fun with fillings! I provide some filling ideas in the recipe notes. We strongly recommend using gram measurements, but see recipe note if you do not have a kitchen scale.
Ingredients
- 100g egg whites (usually between 3–4 large egg whites)
- 1/4 teaspoon (1g) cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon extract such as vanilla, almond, coconut, etc. (optional)
- 80g superfine sugar (aka caster sugar, see note)
- 1–2 drops gel food coloring (optional)
- 125g almond flour
- 125g confectioners’ sugar
- desired macaron filling (some options listed in notes)
Instructions
- Wipe down a large glass or metal mixing bowl with lemon juice or vinegar. Add egg whites. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours, then bring to room temperature.
- Line 3 large baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Set aside.
- Add cream of tartar and extract (if using) to egg whites. Using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat together on medium speed until very soft peaks form. This takes a few minutes of beating. At first the egg white and cream of tartar mixture will be foamy, then the bubbles will begin to tighten and the beaters will leave tracks as the egg whites build volume. Once they begin leaving tracks, you likely have soft peaks. Stop beating. Add about 1/3 of the superfine sugar. Beat on medium-high speed for 5 seconds, then with the mixer continuing to run, add another 1/3 of the sugar. Beat for 5 seconds, then with the mixer continuing to run, add the remaining sugar. Beat on medium-high speed until stiff glossy peaks form. (This means the whites have stiff, smooth, and sharp points in the bowl or on the lifted whisk attachment/beaters. Stiff peaks do not droop down. You can turn the bowl upside down and the egg whites will not move or spill out.) Using a rubber spatula, slowly and gently fold the food coloring (if using) into the egg whites.
- Sift the almond flour and confectioners’ sugar together in a large glass or metal mixing bowl. Use a spoon to help work any larger pieces through the sieve. You don’t want to discard a lot of that because then you won’t have enough dry ingredients in the batter.
- Slowly fold the beaten egg whites into the almond flour mixture in 3 separate additions, folding until combined before adding the next addition. After you add all of the egg whites, pay very close attention to the consistency of your macaron batter. Continue folding the batter (which deflates air) until it thins out into the consistency of honey. What’s a more helpful cue is the figure 8 test. Drop the macaron batter off of your spatula in the form of a figure 8. The figure 8 should take no more than 10 seconds to sink back into itself. If it takes less, your batter was overmixed and is too thin. If it takes longer, continue slowly folding the batter to deflate more air, then perform the figure 8 test again. It’s best to go very slow so you don’t accidentally overmix.
- Spoon the macaron batter into a piping bag fitted with a medium round piping tip, such as Wilton 12, Wilton 1A, or even Ateco 806. The macaron batter is very drippy, so transferring to the piping bag can be messy.
- Holding the piping bag at a 90 degree angle over the baking sheet, pipe batter in 1.5 – 2 inch rounds about 1-2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. I usually pipe little mounds—see video tutorial above. The piped macaron batter flattens out. Bang the pan a couple times on the counter to pop any air bubbles, then use a toothpick to pop any remaining air bubbles.
- Let the piped macarons sit out until they are dry and no longer tacky on top, usually 30-60 minutes. This time allows the top to firm up and form a skin, which helps the macarons rise UP and form their trademark ruffly “feet.” Do not let them sit out for longer than they need to because they could begin to deflate.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C).
- Bake for 13 minutes. As the macaron shells bake, they should form feet. To test for doneness, lightly touch the top of a macaron with a spoon or your finger (careful, it’s hot). If the macaron seems wobbly, it’s not done and needs another 1-2 minutes. If it seems set, it’s done. Basically, bake until the macarons don’t move around when touched.
- Let the shells cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to continue cooling. The macaron shells may stick to the parchment paper/baking sheet if you try to remove them too early. If this is happening, let them cool on the baking sheet a little longer before removing.
- After cooling, the shells are ready to fill and sandwich together. I have plenty of filling suggestions in the recipe notes below. You can spread filling with a knife or pipe it using the same round tip you used for the macaron batter.
- You can eat right away or, as some professionals prefer, cover and refrigerate them 12-24 hours so the macarons and flavors can mature. Bring to room temperature before serving. (I usually just serve them right away!)
- Cover leftover macarons and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Cooled macaron shells and finished assembled macarons can be frozen for up to 1 month. Thaw at room temperature before filling/serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowls or Metal Mixing Bowls | Egg Separator | Food Scale | Fine Mesh Sieve | Piping Bag (Disposable or Reusable) | Medium-Round Piping Tip (Wilton 12, Wilton 1A, or Ateco 806) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mat, Macaron-Specific Silicone Baking Mat, or Parchment Paper | Cooling Rack
- Ingredient Substitutions & Weights: I do not recommend any ingredient substitutions in this recipe. Using weights (and a food scale) is the best way to guarantee success. However if you do not own one, use the following approximate measurements: for the superfine sugar, use 1/3 cup. For the almond flour and confectioners’ sugar, you need about 1 cup + 1 teaspoon each.
- Egg Whites: For best and most consistent results, I strongly recommend using fresh egg whites instead of liquid egg whites from a carton.
- Extract/Flavoring: I keep these macarons plain. Without flavoring, they have a sweet almond flavor. However, if desired, feel free to add 1/2 teaspoon of your favorite extract such as almond, vanilla, coconut, lemon, etc.
- Make Your Own Superfine Sugar: Add 80g of regular granulated sugar to your food processor or blender. Pulse about 10-15x until granules are much finer, aka superfine sugar. Weigh 80g superfine sugar—should be about the same amount you started with.
- Optional Food Coloring: Tinting macaron batter is completely optional. If you don’t tint it, the macarons will be a natural beige color. Avoid using liquid food coloring because it will change the consistency of your macaron batter. Instead, use 1-2 drops of gel food coloring. (I used dusty rose, aqua, and fuchsia.) Powder food coloring should be fine, but I haven’t tested it. Only use a very small amount.
- Almond Flour: Make sure you use almond flour, not almond meal. It is usually labeled as “fine” almond flour. Almond flour is much finer than almond meal and made from blanched, skinless almonds. Almond meal is coarser and contains almond skin. You can make your own almond flour, but be very careful because almonds can quickly release their oils, clump up, and turn into almond butter. It might be easier to just pick up a bag of fine almond flour. It’s very common in mostly all grocery stores these days– I use and love Bob’s Red Mill brand.
- Macaron Filling Ideas: The pictured macarons are filled with vanilla buttercream (I prepared a half batch). Other ideas are a 1/2 batch of chocolate buttercream, lemon buttercream, chocolate peanut butter frosting, Nutella frosting, cream cheese frosting, champagne frosting, strawberry frosting, or a full batch of peanut butter frosting. Cooled and thickened chocolate ganache or cooled salted caramel are great, too!
Adapted from Les Petits Macarons and Mad About Macarons
Great recipe and easy to follow tips. This was my first time and, while not perfectly round (my piping skills need work), they tasted wonderful. I tinted them green and filled with key lime buttercream for a St Paddy’s day treat!
My entire family loved this recipe. We turned ours into Mandalorian macarons. It was my first time trying macarons and they turned out perfect! Like always, you made them easy and not overwhelming, even with kids helping.
This recipe is amazing!! The video tutorial and step-by-step pictures were perfect. I didn’t think I was capable of making macarons, much less DELICIOUS macarons, but Sally makes it so approachable! I’m thrilled with how they turned out.
OMG!!! I’m a 13-year-old baker and I made these macarons for the first time today with your chai latte buttercream as a filling and vanilla extract in the cookie shells, and they turned out perfect! I assume it’s beginner’s luck, so I’ll be testing them out my second time around for St. Patrick’s Day with a green food coloring. Thanks!
This was so much fun to make! Thank you Sally for making this intimidating dessert so much easier. I followed the recipe completely and was so excited when my macaron shells came out of the oven with the feet! As a beginner to french macarons, this was a real accomplishment! I used Sally’s chocolate buttercream
This was my first time attempting to make macarons and this recipe was perfect. I took a batch or two to get the baking time right but the macarons turned out perfect with proper feet et all. So happy!
Wonderful recipe! The second time I made the cookies smaller and I didn’t have enough room on my baking sheets for all the batter. Can I keep the batter in the piping bag until I have a “free” cookie sheet to pipe them on? Or how do you recommend saving the batter if I can’t bake the whole batch at once? Thanks!
Hi Lorian, yes you can keep the unused batter in the piping bag as you wait for the baking sheet. That’s what I always do. So glad you enjoy these!
I tried this recipe. They were delicious, but half the batch cracked. Next time I’ll try reducing the oven temp as suggested. I filled them with Sally’s fav chocolate buttercream and I added ground candy canes and peppermint schnapps.
Really tasty! I think I over stirred so didn’t get the feet but easy to follow as a beginner. I’ll be making again!
I love to bake and am usually successful but I have shied away from making French Macarons. Your challenge and your detailed recipe and instructions gave me the courage to try. I made Raspberry Macaron with Raspberry Buttercream and Chocolate Ganache. They came out awesome. I was so excited to see feet! They were chewy/crunchy and delicious. Thank you so much for inspiring a world of bakers. I also love the weight measures, I know this is a more accurate way to bake.
Can I use lemon curd and vanilla buttercream to fill these? I want to make them lemony, and I was hoping that I could use lemon curd. I know that it is too runny to use by itself, and so I was thinking I would swirl that with the buttercream, but would that not work? Thanks!
Hi Zana! We recommend piping a circle of buttercream around the edge of the macaron, then filling the center with lemon curd. Enjoy!
Thank you so much! That helped so much! This recipe was so easy to follow, even though it is a hard thing to bake! I remember my mom came home once with them and they looked awful! But mine came out so amazing! I even forgot to add the extract and accidentally used almond meal instead of almond flour! This was such an amazing journey to make something this challenging! Thank you Sally for yet another amazing recipe!
This recipe was easy to follow and my macarons turned out pretty good! They were perfectly chewy and tasted great with vanilla buttercream icing. The only thing I would do next time to improve was to keep a closer eye on my oven temperature. I baked my first and second cookie sheets for the same amount of time however my second batch all cracked on top so my oven must have heated up! But they still tasted great!
First try at French Macarons. Recipe was easier than it appeared at first glance. Sally really talked me through it each step of the way and the video helped. I used the suggested almond extract and filled with caramel buttercream. Yum!!
I’m so happy I tried this recipe! I was super intimidated, but it was so easy to follow and I’m so proud of the outcome and my success! This was so much fun and such an impressive result. Thanks Sally!
I was speechless at first – I NEVER thought I could make the all-intimidating-French-macarons.
Advice: Follow Sally’s recipe to the letter.
Read the recipe, watch the video, then read the recipe two more times!
I was feeling confident until mixing the egg whites into the almond flour/ icing sugar. I kept trying to find that “honey consistency” and I was SOO nervous about over mixing. I think I slightly undermixed- but this is nitpicking and didn’t impact flavour.
I flavoured mine with almond extract. My filling was Sally’s Vanilla Buttercream. Absolutely wonderful. Thank you!
I’d attempted to make macarons before, but they ended in a total disaster. Needless to say, I was nervous to try this month’s baking challenge but gave it a go as macarons remained on my baking bucket list. Can I just say WOW? The detailed instructions, photos and video were SO helpful! My macarons came out perfectly (not hollow and with their signature “feet”) and were so delicious! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Sally, for taking the guesswork out of macaron baking!
Such a great tutorial. My first batch needed a little tweaking to get them just right (piped a little too close), but my second batch was perfect! I need to reduce my oven temp a little next time do they don’t get too dark on the top 🙂 thank you!
Perfect macarons. I’m astonished – I never imagined making something so fabulous, my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I started with the recipes as is, and I plan to try orange flavored cookies with chocolate buttercream as a surprise for my husband. When I told him I was separating eggs to make macrons he asked me if we really need more macrons (he’s concerned about us eating too many cookies or something, I don’t know) I responded, “of course we need more macrons.” Thank you so much for this recipe Sally, another winner.
I love how in depth this recipe is, I felt prepared going in to making these. I used to feel like macarons were just a fancy dessert that I wouldn’t have the skills or taste for, but they turned out pretty great! Your blog is awesome thank you 🙂
Oh my goodness! I was successful! This recipe was super easy-to-follow, and Sally gave me the confidence to bake something I was nervous to try. Not only did macarons look fabulous, but they also tasted amazing! I used vanilla extract and Sally’s buttercream for a filling. I look forward to trying new flavors!
I have tried macarons once before – they were a bit of a disaster. Your recipe was so much easier to follow. The video tutorial and pictures were very helpful. My two daughters (ages 7 and 10) helped make them and were so proud of themselves for how they turned out. They also tasted amazing 🙂
I have recently been on a journey to learn the art of making macarons. I have followed you on instagram for some time and always admire your work! This recipe has given my my best results so far! I even quadrupled the recipe and they still turned out perfect! So glad that this month’s challenge is for Macaron’s!! perfect timing
I love baking macarons, and playing around with different colors, flavors and decoration. Sally’s macaron recipe is no exception and turned out quite well. The instructions are easy to follow. For the most part, I followed them, instead of what I normally do, and had successful results. I filled them with a modified version of Sally’s strawberry buttercream. The success of a macaron often comes down to technique and finding what works best for you (and your oven). A couple things I normally do that work better for me – add the AF/PS to my meringue, pipe in one solid 90* squeeze (no swirling), maturing achieves the best flavor/texture. Happy baking! And experimenting – macarons are perfect for it!
First time, definitely not the last!
I’ve always been intimidated by French Macarons. I know they are a bit temperamental and it always seemed a bit beyond my skillset. Between my New Years Resolution to cook every baking challenge this year and the clarity of Sally’s steps, I tackled this head-on!
I appreciate the in-depth notes and clarity provided in this recipe. I’m usually a dry measurer (versus weighing ingredients), but I knew the importance of getting these ingredients in the right amounts, which is why I am glad you used grams. Much easier to get the right amount without guesswork. Between that and the highly useful “Crucial Tools” section, I felt well-prepared to make these.
I followed the directions and leaned into the photos/videos/notes when I was uncertain and they came out perfect. It may not be an everyday dessert, but I am so excited that I now have a solid recipe to rely on when I want to be a bit fancy. They were tasty and it’s going to be so fun to mix up the flavors and try different fillings going forward.
I’ve always been intimidated by the idea of making these! However the instructions are so clear and although I still think it takes a few goes to perfect your own macarons I am so thankful to have given these a try. The taste was superb even from try #1!
I routinely make macarons using the Italian meringue method as a means of using up leftover ganache from making chocolate truffles and bonbons. I never tried the French meringue method because I’d heard too many stories about how finicky and unpredictable this method is. So I thought I’d try it. I had no problems reliably making shells with this (much easier) French method. I use powdered food color so had to modify the process slightly and also strengthened the egg whites with 1.5% powdered whites out of habit. Some instruction for how to use powdered color would have been nice. I will be ditching the hot sugar syrup in the future for this easier method. The only advantage I can see for the Italian meringue method is I can pop the trays of piped shells immediately into the oven without first drying them without problems or flaws.
Loved this so much!!!!!! I have always wanted to make macarons and i finally found a great recipe!I think they came out pretty well for my first time ever! It was super fun to make the batter and the frosting(i used your vanilla frosting recipe haha) and i had lots of fun. When i’m in the kitchen, i’m in the baking zone lol. Thank you for sharing a macaron recipe that is so easy and fun! You are so happy and cheerful in your videos and you make it look soooo easy lol. Thank you!( did this after i made them and for an extra entry for the contest!)
I strongly believe that there is no holy grail recipe when it comes to macarons. They vary so much by small details that you really have to experiment and figure out what works for your climate and oven! That being said, this recipe is an excellent recipe for beginners! It includes all the important steps and having a video example is ESSENTIAL when making macarons because you really have to see what the macaronage process looks like to know what your batter should be looking like. I have come to develop and perfect my own macaron recipe but decided to try Sally’s as is for the monthly baking challenge and I think because I was used to my recipe, I made some minor hiccups when using this one. But the great thing about macarons is that even if you mess up your batches, they’re generally still delicious!!
I AM SUPER EXCITED!!! I made the Cinnamon Salted Caramel Macarons and they turned out beautifully! Not only do they look great, but they taste amazing!!! I’m so happy to say that I know how to make macarons!!! Thank you Sally for the precise instructions that led me to the perfect macaron!
Another great recipe! Not my first try at macaron’s, but I am by no means an expert – I found the recipe video to be helpful in making a good batch of these cookies and achieving the perfect “macaronage.” However, I ended up making this recipe twice after some issues with the first batch. I have two recommendations for ways to make sure your macarons turn out perfect, like mine did the second time, that are not listed above:
1. Sift the almond flour BEFORE weighing! My first attempt I did as the recipe suggested and pushed the large pieces of almond flour through my sifter. I ended up with grainy-looking tops to my macarons even though I bought superfine almond flour. the second time I made these I sifted my flour first, discarding the big grains, weighed out 125 grams, and the tops were perfect!
2. Mix the batter by sifting your dry ingredients into the meringue, NOT by adding the meringue to dry ingredients. This caused big lumps of dry ingredients in some of my macarons, even though I sifted the dry ingredients 3 times and incorporated in several additions. Any more mixing to break them up would have likely resulted in overmixed batter. In the past, I have had no problems making batter this way, and it worked much better the second time I made this recipe.
Pro tip: if you have too many macarons like I did, they are even better after they’ve been stored in the freezer and brought back to room temp!
Loved these tips and directions. I will keep trying to get them closer to perfect, but they were tasty. I think I’ll lower my oven temp next time. Loved them with almond extract.