Macarons are a French delicacy I am completely crazy about. Since I can’t always be in Paris close to my favorite pastry-chef, Pierre Hermé, I have decided to make my own. It’s not an easy task, and it needs a lot of patience. I learned how to make them in Paris, but when I came back I searched around the internet for some recipes providing the perfect ratios. I learned the hard way that macarons are capricious little wonders: add a bit of this or that, and your delicate balance tips over; I’ve seen my share of overbaked, flat, cracked or overinflated numbers coming out of my oven. No recipe is universal, and the most important thing is to go slow. Try cautiously with your own instruments, ingredients and oven. You will have to try more than once before achieving perfection. If they were so easy to do, wouldn’t everyone make them?
When I was looking around for recipes, I found plenty but few had illustrated steps to guide you through what’s OK or not in terms of texture, color and result. Since you can’t always have an experienced teacher showing you the first time, I figured I would allow you to benefit from my apprentissage and help you get to a happy result more quickly.
No single source can be given as a base for my recipe. I have gathered dozens left and right, tested and tasted and ended with my own proportions. Now I (almost) always make them successfully, so this is a good base to start with. I will guide you through the rest.
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Having trouble making macarons? Since first publishing this post, struggling macaron-makers have asked me every question under the sun. After over two years (and hundred of comments!), I’ve decided to close the comments on my macaron posts, but I’m not leaving you an excellent resource: I’ve gathered the most frequently asked questions I’ve been asked about macarons in one single post: A Macaron Troubleshooting Guide: Useful Tips and Advice to Master the French Delicacy. If you’re having any trouble making macarons, chances are you’ll find answers in that post. You can also read through the comments left below, I did my best to reply to all of them and many (if not all!) macaron issues are covered in there as well.
If I missed something, send me a note and I promise I will keep on editing the troubleshooting post once in a while!
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I have put together a short 5-minute video that shows you the key steps in making French macarons at home. There’s nothing like having someone show you the way – at least, that’s how I learned. The video, along with this post’s detailed instructions and pictures, should allow anyone wanting to make this French delicacy at home succeed.
Watch the video below, or better yet, click here to view it in high-definition on YouTube. You’ll be able to read the instructions more easily and see all the important details much better.
See also my “All About Macarons” page for more resources and links.
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Looking for the right tools that will help you make macarons successfully? Visit my new macaron store for my recommendations for the best macaron-making tools, ingredients and books.
Note: The following window provides a preview of the items I added to my store. Click here to go straight to the store and view all of my recommendations.
Full disclosure: This store is powered by Amazon. When you buy tools, ingredients and books through my store, I am earning a small referral fee that helps me keep on producing quality content for Food Nouveau. Thanks for your contribution!
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Macarons: Basic Recipe
These ingredients will make the cookies. This is the base and what’s hardest to master. You should try to successfully bake a couple recipes of basic macarons before trying to mix in other flavors.
3 egg whites (from large eggs), separated at least 24 hours in advance and kept in the refrigerator
210 g powdered sugar
125 g almond meal
30 g regular granulated sugar
What you need – equipment:
It’s best to gather all the equipment you really need before starting. Yes, I did have to buy some of these tools before making my first macarons. The good thing is that none of the following tools are specific to making macarons so your new gadgets will help you make many other great desserts. Please, do take this excuse and go shopping. :)
Kitchen scale (yes, you do have to measure in grams, it’s more precise)
Food processor (really nice to have but not mandatory)
Hand or stand mixer with whisk accessory (mandatory unless you’re very courageous and/or strong)
Sifter or fine sieve
Big stainless steel bowl (cul-de-poule)
Another big mixing bowl
Spatula
Pastry bag and round tip (1/2 to 3/4 inch opening)
Large baking sheets, preferably 2 to 4 of them
Parchment paper
Various food color (liquid, gel or powder are all good)
A couple of days before you plan to make your macarons: Prepare your eggs. Separate them, putting the whites in a clean airtight container and reserving the yolks for another use. Now, your egg whites must “age”: they need to spend at least 24h (up to 5 days) in the refrigerator before you use them.
The morning of the day you plan to make your macarons: Take your egg whites out of the refrigerator and leave them to temper at room temperature for several hours.
Making the cookies:
Measure the powdered sugar and almond meal and put them in the bowl of your food processor. Finely grind the two together for a minute or two. Stop the processor, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, and process again for a minute.
Yes, you need to do this even though both ingredients are already powdered. This step blends the sugar and nuts perfectly together and gets rid of bigger bits that often remain in packaged almond meal.
You can grind your own almonds, just make sure they are peeled. And that you very finely grind them (add the powdered sugar to the almonds when they are coarsely ground to make sure you don’t end up with a paste).
If you don’t have a food processor, you can still make macarons, but make sure to really thoroughly blend the almonds and sugar together. The consequence is that the texture of your macarons won’t be as soft and smooth.
After processing the powdered sugar and almond meal, you have to sieve the mixture. This is really important (especially if you don’t have a food processor) as it will get rid of the remaining bigger bits and ensure a smooth batter. You will see some of the almond refuses to pass though your sieve (see picture below). Don’t try to force it through; it’s ok to throw it away. The quantity shouldn’t be significant enough to unbalance your recipe.
Here’s what I generally have left after I sieve half of my almonds-sugar mixture:
Set this bowl aside and take your bigger stainless steel bowl out. This kind of bowl is called a cul-de-poule in French and they are so useful in a kitchen that, if you don’t have one already, you simply really should invest in a couple of them (different sizes). Stainless steel bowls helps egg whites get fluffy and firm.
Make sure your bowl is cold. Stainless steel usually remains cold by itself, but if it’s not, rinse it under cold water (or stick it in the freezer for a couple of minutes) and dry it before continuing. A cold bowl also makes egg whites happy.
Make sure your granulated sugar is measured and close to your working area. Put your egg whites in the bowl. Start beating them at medium/high speed with your mixer. Once they start to get bubbly and white and you see your whisk is lightly leaving marks, add a tablespoon of the granulated sugar.
Continue beating and add the remaining sugar slowly over the next minute or two. Your eggs will now be white and fluff but not stiff enough. Continue beating at high speed until peaks form and remain up when you take out your whisk (stop your mixer before trying this!). When the egg whites are ready, you’ll notice that they seem dense and creamy and not as bubbly anymore. Here’s what they look like:
Now is the time to put your electric appliances aside. Your egg whites are delicate and you must treat them gently. If you wish to add color, now is the time to do so. I made lemon macarons. I added 15 drops of yellow liquid food coloring and the very finely grated zest of one lemon. Gently fold in the color using a spatula: slide your spatula on the side of the bowl under the egg whites and bring the bottom up to the top. Repeat this until the color is evenly blended. Now is not the time to be in a hurry: DO NOT whisk at any cost as it will deflate your egg whites and your batter will be ruined. At this point, the color of your batter (if you added food coloring) should be at least as intense as you want the final macaron to be. It will intensify and brighten a bit when you add the almonds/sugar mixture.
The batter is now matte, light and fluffy:
Continuing your folding motion, start mixing in your dry ingredients a little at a time (you should add the whole thing in 4 or 5 additions). Carefully blend everything together, always sliding your spatula to the bottom of the bowl and back up to make sure no pockets of dry ingredients remain.
When your batter is evenly blended, it will look shiny and creamy:
Prepare your baking sheets. Double the baking sheets (helps macarons rise and cook more evenly) then cover each with a well-measured sheet of parchment paper. I have tried silicon mats before and I don’t think they work well with macarons. Their rubbery texture seems to cling to the delicate and somewhat sticky cookies so that you more often than not end up with empty shells (the tender insides remaining stuck to the silicon).
Now is the time to fit your pastry bag with its tip. I like to use disposable pastry bags that I wash 3-4 times before getting rid of them. I find that plastic pastry bags are more flexible and easier to work with than textile bags. They are also really easy to clean just by letting hot water run through them and they don’t stain.
To make the transfer from bowl to pastry bag easy, I stand my pastry bag in a measuring cup, folding or twisting the tip to make sure the batter doesn’t come out too quickly. If your pastry bags are long, fold it in half to make sure the batter gets to the bottom of the bag.
Take your bag out of the cup, keeping the tip folded or twisted so that the batter doesn’t come out. Unfold the larger end of the bag and twist it shut close to the batter to push it down. As you lay your macarons on the cooking sheets, you will continue this motion (twisting the larger end of the bag with one hand) to put constant pressure on the batter and ease its way out on the sheets.
Now is the time to work your magic: you have to hold the tip of your bag with one hand to guide it, and hold the larger end with your other hand to push the batter down. Place your tip close to the parchment paper and twist the end of the bag so as to push the batter down and out to form 1 to 1.5” disks. You can set your macarons pretty close together as they won’t expand while cooking. When enough batter is out, stop twisting the end of the bag and swiftly lift your tip up to stop the batter from coming out. This is tricky: you will need practice. Mastering this technique will ensure your macarons are uniform in size and round.
Now, don’t panic. Your macarons have a pointy tip that makes them look like lazy Hershey’s Kisses. Not to worry: as they rest before cooking, they will smooth out. You can help them though: lift your baking sheet up a bit and firmly bang it on the table a couple of times. This will even the caps and take the air bubbles out of them.
If you’re a perfectionist like I am, now is a good time to edit your macarons to make sure they will be perfectly round. I use a small silicon spatula to make oval caps round or smooth down tips that won’t come down. This step is absolutely not mandatory; imperfection can be very charming.
The next step will once again test your patience: you have to let your macarons rest on the baking sheets at room temperature for at least 20 minutes (some say a couple hours is best but I’m not that patient). You just have to. This step will “dry” the caps and help them rise later when they cook.
Halfway through the wait, preheat your oven between 275 and 300°F (135-150°C). Every oven behaves differently. I have a gas oven and 300°F (150°C) is generally good for me. In some ovens, this temperature can be too hot, especially for light-colored macarons (you don’t want them to brown). I prefer to play it safe, cook them at a lower temperature and leave them longer in the oven. You will have to test your own oven and stay close to it to watch over your macarons as they cook.
I baked these lemon macarons at 300°F (150°C) for 14 minutes. Your cooking time could be anywhere between 13 and 18 minutes. From 12 minutes on, watch closely, and avoid opening your oven door before that. Your macarons are ready when they look dry and matte and seem firm on their crown when you lightly tap on them. Overcooking the macarons will make them too crunchy and feel like meringue. Undercooking them will make them separate when you try to lift them off the sheets. I know, it’s tricky! After a while, you will know your oven and get better at figuring when your macarons are done. In any case, please play it safe when setting your oven temperature. Excessive heat is the macaron’s worst enemy: they will cook too quickly, cracking like meringue and browning, hiding their beautiful color.
When they are done, take the sheets out of the oven and let them cool on a rack. If you need to reuse your baking sheets for the next batch, let them cool 5-10 minutes in the baking sheet and then lift the parchment paper out of the sheet to set it directly on the cooling rack (this is why it’s good to have more than 2 sheets).
Once cooled to room temperature, your macarons are ready to be assembled.
When they are perfectly cooked, they should lift easily from the parchment paper, have a flat bottom and a beautiful puffy crown. If they stick a bit, help them up with a thin stainless steel spatula so that they don’t separate or break. If they’re a bit overcooked, they will be hollow under the cap. You can still use them, you’ll just have to put more cream to assemble them (yum!).
Match the cap sizes that fit best together. For the filling, the possibilities are as great as your imagination is. For lemon macarons, you can fill them up with lemon curd as I did, or with a lemon-flavored buttercream. If you made pink cookies, fill them up with good-quality raspberry preserves or, if you feel decadent, with a mixture of mascarpone cheese and preserves. The only thing that’s important is to make sure the filling is firm enough to not drip out from the macarons. A great macaron should be able to stand on its side and not lose its filling.
Using an icing spatula (or just a regular butter knife) spread your icing on one cookie. Place the other cookie on the icing and press gently to stick them together.
Once all of your macarons are assembled, in an ideal world, you would put them in an airtight container, in the refrigerator and let them rest for another 24 hours. Yes, you need patience once again. They won’t be bad if you eat them right away. Letting them rest with their icing in really reveals the fine texture of the macaron. The humidity of the icing will get into the crispy caps and that’s what will make them crisp on the outside and so tender on the inside. Try to be patient, trust me, it’s really worth the wait. The good thing is that it’s a great dessert to make in advance and it will for sure impress your guests. They will be at their best if you eat them in the next 4-5 days.
Yes, these French cookies are a really fancy delicacy. No, they’re not easy to make. Yes, they require time, patience and practice to master. But it’s worth it really, and less expensive than a plane ticket to Paris.
Cool
Dear Marie,
Thank you so much for publishing this post and guiding me on my first attempt at macarons! All in all I consider it a success, smooth domed tops with frilly little feet. However I tried baking the first batch at 140°C for 14min which was good although not that puffed. The second batch I made at 125°C for 15min which stood a little taller.
Both batches became slightly brown with the second batch even browner than the first! However, constantly checking the first batch tells me when it wasn't slightly brown, the shell wasn't quite firm to tap on although it was still steady on its feet.
Some questions I have:
1) The second batch had a lower temperature (although that may not be exact as i didnt' use an oven themometer) but the shells rose up more. Could that have been the longer resting time ~40min?
2) Should I have let the shell harden up outside of the oven rather than leaving it in there for awhile longer to prevent macaron browning? Is the shell supposed to feel hard and make sounds when scratched inside the oven?
The colour difference for this batch isn't a HUGE deal, as pink just turned into a sort of orangey colour but I'm sure it would matter for other flavours :)
Thanks again!
Have you ever tested your oven temperature with a stand-alone thermometer? Although you think the second batch was baked at a lower temperature, you oven may have been warmer because it had been on for a long time. You should test your internal oven temperature (the oven dial or digital displays are not always accurate!).
My batter keeps on becoming too runny, what do i do to fix it? This is the second time i try it out, and i fixed my egg mixtture problem, so what am i doing wronge?
Hi there Marie!!!!
THank you for the troubleyou have taken to explain and demonstrate macaron making. Mine arefianlly turning out decent. Quick question, Can I reduce the almonds to 100g and if I do so what ingredient increases and how much?
It’s best to keep the original recipe as is – unless you feel adventurous (you’ll need lots of trial and error to get your new recipe right if you change it!).
I love your blog and troubleshooting guide. Your pictures are very helpful and all of your work, attention to detail and care really shows. I am about to start my third attempted batch. My first batch failed because I used two stacked cookie sheets to bake–except my cookie sheets are very heavy. As a result, the bottoms did not bake–but the tops did–so they oozed from the bottom. By the time I figured it out and removed the bottom cookie sheet, it was too late to save them.
For my second batch I made them too big and too tall. They were yummy–but they took forever to bake.
I finally downloaded the link you gave for the macaron piping templates. When I saw how small they are I realized I had been making my macarons too big–and that was also why they were not baking in the time you recommended. I am now going to use the template and see how they come out.
Just a suggestion, at least one of your photos should show a scale or ruler to compare the size of your macarons to something–like a coin or a finger–that would have helped me–even though I thought I was making them 1.5" wide–they were actually a little wider and too tall.
I'm also going to use Bob's Red Mill almond flour instead of my own ground almonds. That may help, too! Thanks for all the inspiration!
I used templates which are downloadable for free right here. This should help you achieve a uniform macaron size! Additionally, check out this troubleshooting entry about “standard” macaron sizes.
Hi,
I just finished making my macarons and the end result was very bad :( the egg white became to liquidy at the end so the macaron on the paper spread out too much. What did I do wrong.
Thanks for the help!
Great recipe!
Check out this troubleshooting entry for help about a runny batter.
Hi there, after many failed attempts at making macarons, i finally came across your blog…..i read and re-read all the information you have provided. I am happy to say, i made the perfect batch of macarons! Thank you very much! love your blog!
Really happy you succeeded making macarons! Thank you for your feedback.
thanks for this recipe!!! :)
[...] I did extensive research before trying these but primarily this recipe is based on this recipe from foodnouveau blog. [...]
:) hi – first of all, thank you for sharing this. I had a question when we sift only half of what is process, does that mean we only use half of the almond and sugar mix?
No, you’ll use it all – it’s just easier to sift it one half at a time :)
Hi. I just baked and it turned out bad . Is it because I used red colouring that meant for icing ? Thanks !
Check out this troubleshooting entry for more info about what food coloring to use to make macarons.
Hi, love all this info, I read it so often to see what more I can learn. I've made several batches, some are perfect and some are a failure. What's been happening is my oven is at 325, electric oven, the first 5 mn they rise beautifully with feet, then after they keep on rising and all over a sudden the feet are too large and the whole thind defleats. I let them rest for 30mn before they go iun oven. Also my colored ones are coming out with spots an loosing their nice bright colors. PLEASE HELP!!!! Thx
Please read through my Macaron Troubleshooting post for help.
I made macarons using your recipe, which by the way was so easy to follow along, and they turned out so so so amazing! They added a special touch to my aunts baby shower and I plan to feature them at my birthday in a few days in leu of birthday cake. Thank you for the great instructions, pictures, and video. You rock! :)
By the way, I often take pictures of the food I make with my ipod touch but I'm in need of a better camera. What kind of camera do you use to take your food pictures?
I use a Canon Rebel XSi, similar to this model.
I have tried everything! every single recipe in the internet, dozens of batches, but my macarons end perfect from the inside, chewy and moist, but from the otside they are feetless, cracked and mostly flat .
My beaten egg whites are stiff, not soft and not too hard, my batter ends up perfect, the peak disappears in the first 10 seconds (lava like), I have tried many different temperatures I have underbeat, over beat, over cooked and under cooked, I have tried so many macaronage techniques, and my macarons still go wrong.
Please read through my Macaron Troubleshooting post for help and tips that will surely help you understand what’s going wrong.
I have a question about the templates. If I pipe on them, do you recommend sliding them out from underneath the parchment before baking? Or can you bake with the template underneath (since technically, the paper would not burn in an oven only set at 300*F?
BTW, I really appreciate this tutorial. You are definitely going in my permanent bookmark page. :)
nevermind, just saw it in the video. Not sure how i missed it the first time! :)
Always remove the paper template from underneath the parchment paper BEFORE baking.
Thank you for your comment, I’m happy this post is helpful to you.
what filling are you using? give me some suggestions…
Check out this list of recipes for inspiration.
My daughter-in-law requested that I make these for her baby shower. I tried another recipe first and the macarons were a total failure. My son told me it was OK, I could make something else, but his wife really wanted macaron. Your recipe was successful and I'm extremely appreciative.
Do you have any recommendations for flavoring the cookies? How would you make coffee or chocolate cookies? I am very comfortable with buttercream and don't need help with that.
Thanks!
I’m happy my post helped you make macarons for your son’s wedding. That was a big challenge, they’re not easy to make! Have a look at these recipes for flavor inspiration.
I love the recipe, I would like to make these for my wedding, I did read tha it can be made ahead of time, but how far in advance? when freezing do they need to be covered ot just in a container? How about the butter cream? I am hoping to fill them with a white chocolate, passion fruit butter cream. Can that be frozen too?
Thank you
Hello Nathaly, while chocolate & passion fruit sounds delicious and very appropriate for your wedding! Your macarons can be frozen, assembled with the buttercream filling, store in an airtight container (if using a deeper container, separate macaron layer with wax or parchment paper to make sure they won’t break rubbing against each other). They keep surprisingly well in the freezer, I have kept them up to a month without problem. I have read that they can keep for up to 3 months, but I wouldn’t go that far – you don’t want frost bites on your macs, especially if you don’t have a chest freezer to store them in. Aim for preparing them 1.5 to 1 month in advance and you’ll be just fine. Take them out of the freezer last minute – they need just 20-30 minutes at room temperature to defrost! The closer to serving them you defrost them, the fresher they will taste.
Good luck with the planning of your wedding!
First of all, thank you so much for this wonderful guilde. I Followed your instructions and made a couple batches of perfect (at least to me) macarons.
On my last attempt however, my macs rested normally and upon baking started forming feet after 8 mins. But shortly after, the feet started to spread out like they were too liquid and the macs turned out hollow inside.
I baked them at 140c like I always do. I was baking pineapple tarts earlier at a higher temperature but I allowed the oven to cool before baking these. I didn't change a thing except adding some liquid coloring so I'm quite perplexed as to why this happened. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Hello Marie,
I tried leaving a comment on your "troubleshooting" page and it didn't seem to work. I've been struggling with the hollow shell and I'm wondering if you have any tips.
This is what I've been doing:
- aged egg whites for 24+ hrs in room temp
- beaten egg whites till stiff peak (6-8 mins), also tried beating only till medium stiff peak(5 mins)
- sifted almond/icing sugar mixture twice
- folded batter no more than 50 strokes until it flowed like ribbon
- rested macarons for 30-45mins
- tried baking them at various temperatures from 280F-320F in the middle/top/bottom of the oven. With and without door ajar
- used oven thermometer
I'm not sure what I did wrong. I made 8 batches and every batch turned out completely hollow, and the texture is chewy, not moist and cakey. The tops and bottoms are nice and I got feet everytime. Do you have any tips?
Thanks for all these detailed posts on macarons, they're very helpful!
Hello Helen, reading your post, it sounds like you’ve done everything right. But macarons can be very finicky… sometimes, a technique that works for you once can even turn on you the next!
If the shell is hollow and the texture is chewy, it may be because they’re overbaked. Have you tried filling the macarons and letting them rest for at least 24 hours before sampling them? The resting period can do wonders to the macaron texture. Try it, perhaps all you need is a little patience!
I am determined to master the macaron and your video has given me some insight into what I might be doing wrong. I've been making at least a batch a day for the past couple weeks with very inconsistant results. The two main problems are undercooked sticky centers, and a small, insignificant foot. I let them rest for 30 min and bake at 300 for approx 20 min, I've also started leaving them in the oven with the door ajar to cool. Out of a dozen batches I've had 5 that didn't end in the trash. How do I get that big beautiful foot?
Check out this troubleshooting entry for help with getting those feet.
Where did you get your pastry bag tip from? I love the clear tip on the clear pastry bag look. Very chic look when taking pictures of colorful batters!
I bought my pastry tips in Paris. It doesn’t matter if they’re clear or not, what’s important is the size of the opening. Check out this troubleshooting entry for more info and buying links.
I don't normally comment on people's food/recipe blogs but after following your detailed macaron recipe i had no choice. In one word: AMAZING!
I had failed on numerous occassions and had almost given up on these delicacies but then I came across your blog and amazingly, I have my first batch of successful macarons!
Thank you so much!
I’m so happy my post helped you succeed!
Where do i get the almond meal in the US? and where can i get that macaroon paper template???
You’ll find almond meal in pretty much any grocery store, either in the cake section, the bulk section, or the natural foods section.
The macaron paper template can be downloaded here.
This looks quite good for an macaroon recipe, i was thinking of opening a restaurant and i could perhaps use this recipe.
Good idea, I hope you’re successful in making macarons for your restaurant. If you are, you’ll certainly become very popular!