Homemade Macarons

These homemade macarons are a sweet meringue-based confection made with egg white, confectioners’ sugar, castor sugar, almond flour and food coloring.

Homemade Macarons
(Courtesy: Penny Jacques)

 

1 cup fine almond flour (100 grams)

1¾ cups confectioners’ sugar (180 grams)

3 egg whites (room temperature) (100 grams)

¼ tsp cream of tartar

¼ cup caster sugar* (40 grams)

4 -5 drops gel food coloring, any color

Fillings, such as jam, jelly, buttercream, ganache, curd, sweetened cream cheese and/or whipped cream

 

Before beginning the recipe, clean 3 bowls and mixer beater attachments to assure no residue is present.

Mix almond flour and confectioners sugar together.  Sift three times and set aside.

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar with an electric beater until frothy, about 4 minutes.  Gradually add caster sugar while continuing to beat whites.  Beat until whites form stiff peaks, another 4 minutes.

Add gel food coloring to achieve the desired color.  Continue beating for an additional 4 minutes or until stiff peaks return.

Add dry ingredients to egg whites.  Gently fold together with a rubber or silicone spatula by folding from the sides of the pan and dragging through the middle of the batter.  Make about 50 rotations until the batter runs smoothly from the spatula.  Test this by “drawing” a figure 8 with the batter that runs from the tip of the spatula.  If the figure comes out smoothly on the top of the batter in the bowl, it’s ready.

Gently transfer batter to a decorating bag and pipe 1½ “ circles onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spaced about 1” apart.  Drawing circles on the parchment paper beforehand will help to keep the macrons uniform.

Tap the baking sheet gently on the counter several times to bring any air bubbles to the surface of the batter.  Use a toothpick to gently pop bubbles.

Allow macarons to rest at room temperature for about 60 minutes or until no wet spots show and a film has formed.  You should be able to touch the cookie gently without disturbing the batter.

Preheat the oven to 300℉.  Cook on center rack for 13-14 minutes until set but not browned.  Allow to cool completely on the baking sheet (at least 20 minutes).

Turn cookies over and pipe desired toppings on the flat side.  Cover with another cookie, flat side down.

Refrigerate in a tightly sealed container for 24 hours.  Allow to set at room temperature for 20 minutes prior to serving.

 

Yield: 15 completed macarons,  115 calories per double cookie, fillings excluded

 

Hack:  Macarons can be refrigerated for up to 7 days

Hack:  Filled macarons can be tightly wrapped and frozen for up to 1 month, although some fillings may not maintain their desired consistency after being thawed.

Hack:  Unfilled macarons can be tightly wrapped and frozen for up to 3 months.

Hack:  To see more videos from Lily-Rose and her friends, check out our YouTube channel!  Don’t forget to like, subscribe and press that notification button so you won’t miss any new videos!

 

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6 Replies to “Homemade Macarons”

  1. Lily Rose is so incredibly cute. She was afraid at first of the loud hand held mixer but mastered it quickly. So brave and adventurous

  2. Hi Cynthia, it’s great to meet you. Your article is very comprehensive on the steps to making macarons. I’m not sure if I have ever tried macarons before. What do they taste like? I’ve had experience making other baked goods like brownies, cupcakes, and pie. I’m not sure if I’ve heard of caster sugar before. Is it different than regular sugar? Thanks for sharing this post with us. I’ll look back on this article next time I consider doing some baking 🙂

    1. Macarons come in all different flavors, although we made just a basic almond-flavored cookie here.  The cookie itself is soft, light and fluffy. The flavor of the cookie is further enhanced by whatever filling you choose to use.  In the video, we filled them with vanilla buttercream frosting and lemon curd.

  3. mmm. I love macarons and this recipe looks easy enough to follow. Some recipes have these crazy ingredients that are difficult to find, and are super expensive. I love simple recipes that have ingredients I usually have available without having to make an extra trip to the store. This looks delicious, I can’t wait to try them. 

    1. I was surprised how easy they were to make as I had always been under the impression that macarons were complicated.  Another myth bites the dust!

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