French Macaron Recipe
This basic recipe will give you perfect macarons that are light as air and taste absolutely delicious. Feel free to play around with colors and flavors once you’ve mastered the basic recipe.
Servings
25-30macarons
Servings
25-30macarons
Ingredients
For the shells
For the buttercream filling
Instructions
Making the shells
  1. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Sift together almond flour and powdered sugar twice. Set aside.
  3. In a clean medium bowl, beat the egg whites on low speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar and increase the speed to medium. Slowly add sugar one tablespoon at a time. Continue to beat the egg whites on high speed until hard peaks form. Stir in vanilla extract and gel food coloring, if desired. In a clean medium bowl, beat the egg whites on low speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar and increase the speed to medium. Slowly add sugar one tablespoon at a time.
  4. Continue to beat the egg whites on high speed until hard peaks form. Stir in vanilla extract and gel food coloring, if desired.
  5. Sift almond flour mixture over whipped egg whites, and gently fold it with a spatula until batter is just combined. Making french macarons is all about the technique. Run the spatula clockwise from the bottom, up around the sides and cut the batter in half. Count every fold for about 50 folds, and then start testing the batter on a small plate after every couple folds. To test, drop a small amount of batter on a plate. If the small peaks dissolve into the batter on its own in about 10 seconds, the batter is ready. If not, fold couple more times and test again. Be careful not to over-fold.
  6. Transfer the batter into a pastry bag with a round tip. Pipe about 1.5-inch rounds about an inch apart on prepared baking sheets.
  7. Tap the baking sheets firmly on the counter a few times to get rid of any air bubbles.
  8. Let the macarons sit out on the counter for at least 15-30 minutes, maybe up to couple hours, depending on humidity. When you lightly touch the macarons, and the batter does not stick to your finger, then it’s ready to go into the oven. While waiting, preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
  9. Bake the macarons one sheet at a time for about 18-20 minutes. It’ll take longer for larger macarons. The macarons are ready when they come off the sheet easily.
  10. Cool the macarons on the sheet for 10-15 minutes, and then transfer the macarons to a wire rack to cool completely. Cool the macarons on the sheet for 10-15 minutes, and then transfer the macarons to a wire rack to cool completely.
Making the filling
  1. In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks slightly with a whisk and add sugar . Continue to whisk until the mixture is pale and sugar is mostly dissolved. Stir in the milk. Transfer the egg yolk mixture into a small saucepan and heat over low heat, stirring frequently. Continue to cook until it’s thick like pudding, about 5 minutes. Transfer the mixture back to the bowl and bring it to room temperature. Stir in the butter in three batches. Add vanilla extract and continue to mix until smooth.
  2. To assemble, transfer the buttercream filling into a pastry bag and fill the macarons.
  3. Store the filled macarons in airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the filled macarons in airtight container for up to 5 months.
Recipe Notes
  • Bring the egg whites to room temperature, they beat easier.
  • Make sure your bowl for egg whites is super clean and free of any streaks of grease. Glass or stainless steel bowls are best, because plastic bowl tend to absorb oil. Even the tiniest trace of oil, or egg yolk will prevent the egg whites from whipping into fluffy meringue.
  • Use thick baking sheets to bake evenly and prevent browning from the bottom of the macarons.
  • If you over-mix the batter, the macarons will spread too much, won’t form feet and/or they will be hollow.
  • If you under-mix the batter, your macarons will end up with uneven surface and without feet.
  • To prevent browning the macarons from the top, place an empty baking sheet on a top rack. This way the heat from roof of the oven is blocked, preventing the macarons brown too much.
  • Bring the egg whites to room temperature, they beat easier.
  • Make sure your bowl for egg whites is super clean and free of any streaks of grease. Glass or stainless steel bowls are best, because plastic bowl tend to absorb oil. Even the tiniest trace of oil, or egg yolk will prevent the egg whites from whipping into fluffy meringue.
  • Use thick baking sheets to bake evenly and prevent browning from the bottom of the macarons.
  • If you over-mix the batter, the macarons will spread too much, won’t form feet and/or they will be hollow.
  • If you under-mix the batter, your macarons will end up with uneven surface and without feet.
  • To prevent browning the macarons from the top, place an empty baking sheet on a top rack. This way the heat from roof of the oven is blocked, preventing the macarons brown too much.