French Macarons
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The French method of making macarons involves beating egg whites until soft peaks form and then adding in the sifted powdered sugar and almond flour. This method can be a little tricky and I have failed a few times in hopes to bring you a simple recipe that you can make at home for macarons.
Let me just start out this post with a big old disclaimer! I am not an expert at making macarons, this post was part of a monthly baking challenge that I participate in to push me to try new this and let me tell you, these little pink cookies stretched me! I learned a lot through trial and mostly error with these ones. So I am happy to share with you my mistakes and hopefully help you master these sweet, little treats. They are an adventure to make.
Steps to make Macarons
To make these macarons start with room temperature egg whites. If you just pulled the eggs out of the fridge, place them into a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes. Separate the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat with the whisk attachment until the eggs are foamy, about 2 minutes.
Once the eggs are foamy, add in the granulated sugar and food color gel, continue to whisk the eggs until they are shiny and soft peaks form when the whisk is lifted from the bowl.
The best recipe that I found was one that weighed out all of the ingredients, including the egg whites! I suggest you measure out the ingredients as this is how I have written this recipe.
In a separate bowl sift together the almond flour and powdered sugar to make sure there are no lumps. Using a spatula, fold the dry mixture of almond flour and powdered sugar into the egg whites. Keep folding about 30-40 times, until a thick, stringy mixture has formed. You want the dough to be able to hold a shape and not just spread out all over the pan when you pipe these onto the baking sheet.
A few tricks I tested to make sure these macarons were mixed enough are:
- Using the spatula, make a figure 8 with the dough into the bowl without the dough breaking. If the dough breaks, mix it a few more times until you can make a full figure 8.
- Spoon a bit of the dough onto a small piece of parchment paper, it the dough holds a small peak and doesn’t just spread out flat on the pan, the dough is ready for piping.
Once the dough is to the right consistency, spoon it into a piping bag fitted with a 1 inch piping tip. Pipe the dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Make the cookies into a 1 1/2 -2 inch circle. The easiest way to make sure you are getting the cookies to all be the same shape and size is to use a template under the parchment paper. I just printed one that I found online.
Now that the cookies are all piped onto the baking sheet, pick up the baking sheet and drop it onto the counter top gently a few times to release any air bubbles that are in the cookies.
Set the cookies aside and let them sit for at least an hour before baking. They will form a film across the top of the cookies that you can feel by gently sliding your finger across the top of the cookie.
Heat the oven to 300ºF and bake for 10-15 minutes, until cooked through. They will puff up and form ‘feet’ along the bottom of the cookies. The cookies are done if they pull easily from the parchment. Allow to cool before frosting.
Strawberry Lemon Frosting
For these macarons I made a simple strawberry lemon frosting. The frosting is made by using my simple sugar cookie frosting found here. I adjusted the recipe by substituting lemon extract for the vanilla, adding 2 tablespoons of strawberry preserves and 2 teaspoons of lemon zest. Follow the rest of the recipe as directed to make the frosting.
There are so many flavor options when making macarons, so go ahead and have your own adventure, just be sure to tell me about it.
French Macaron Recipe
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French Macarons
Ingredients
- 100 grams egg whites (about 4 egg whites)
- 50 grams granulated sugar (1/4 cup)
- 200 grams powdered sugar (1 1/3 cup)
- 110 grams almond flour (1 cup)
Instructions
- Prepare a baking sheet by lining with parchment paper.
- Place egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until foamy. Add in the sugar and food color gel, continue to beat until soft peaks form and the egg whites are glossy.
- In a separate bowl sift together the almond flour and confectioners sugar. Fold the almond flour mixture into the egg mixture until the dough makes a figure 8 when lifted with a spatula without breaking.
- Fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1 inch tip with the macaron dough. Pipe the batter onto the prepared baking sheet into 1 1/2 inch circles. Once the baking sheet is full, pick it up and drop it a few times on the counter to release any bubbles from the batter.
- Allow the cookies to sit out at room temperature for at least 1 hour before baking
- Bake the cookies at 300ºF for 10-12 minutes until they are set and can be easily removed from the parchment paper.
- Allow to cool before placing frosting in the center and sandwiching.
Notes
- Use a printed template to make sure all of the cookies are the same size
Nutrition
The French method of making macarons involves beating egg whites until soft peaks form and then adding in the sifted powdered sugar and almond flour. This method can be a little tricky and I have failed a few times in hopes to bring you a simple recipe that you can make at home for macarons.
