Easy French Macaron Recipe (Macaroons)
I am often asked why have my macarons failed?! Why are there no feet?! Why have the macaron shells cracked? And which recipe do you use for your macarons? So here it is… french macaron recipe and troubleshooting.
On a recent holiday I found a 200 year old cookbook on my mums bookshelf. It tells that King Henry VIII granted an estate in Leadenhall Street to a Mistress Cornewallies in reward for the fine puddings that she presented to him. Follow these easy steps to make macarons fit for a king. You will aquire such indulgence that is pleasing to the palate and if you’re lucky enough perhaps you too will be granted an estate!
The picture above shows the 200 year old macaron recipe. They called them almond puffs. Personally I prefer to make them using my electric mixer using the recipe below.
French Macaron Recipe Ingredients
4 large egg whites (or 5 small) approx 140g (4.94 ounces)
1/3 cup or 70g (2.47 ounces) caster sugar (also known as superfine sugar)
1 1/2 cups or 230g (8.11 ounces) pure icing sugar. IF you wish to use icing mixture INSTEAD of icing sugar you will need 1 3/4 cups or 275g (9.7 ounces) icing mixture
1 cup or 120g (4.23 ounces) almond meal
2g (0.07 ounces) salt (tiny pinch)
gel food colouring (optional) note too much liquid will make the macarons fail so if it is your first time making them try with no colour until you’ve got the technique sorted.
Macaron Recipe Directions
This recipe makes approximately 40 shells or 20 filled macarons
Preheat the oven to 150C (302 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sift the almond meal and icing sugar and salt together, discarding any almond lumps that are too big to pass through the sieve.
Place egg whites and caster sugar into a bowl and mix with electric mixer until stiff enough to turn the bowl upside down without it falling out. How long this takes will depend on you mixer.
Continue to whip for 1-2 more minutes.
Add gel or powdered food colouring and continue to mix for a further 20 seconds.
Fold the almond & sugar mixture into the egg whites. This is the most important step and where most first time macaron bakers have trouble.
It should take roughly 30-50 folds using a rubber spatula but obviously this will vary depending on your folding technique. The mixture should be smooth and a very viscous, not runny. Watch the video to see what you are going for. Over-mix and your macarons will be flat and have no foot, under mix and they will not be smooth on top. See the macaron troubleshooting post for examples.
Pipe onto trays lined with baking paper, rap trays on the bench firmly (this prevents cracking) and then bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes. Make sure you are using NON-stick baking paper or they will stick. Check if the macarons are done by quickly opening the oven and slightly pressing on top of one – if it squishes down slightly it’s not yet ready, close the oven so the oven temp doesn’t change. Taking them out of the oven too soon will mean the insides will drop and you’ll have hollow shells.
PLEASE make sure you watch the macarons FAQ and troubleshooting video. This way you can learn from the mistakes and questions of those who have made them before you.
Filling your macaroons
My favorite is flavoured ganache, but you can use jam and cream, butter cream or just eat them plain.
Ganache Recipe
100g (3.53 ounces) chocolate
30ml cream
Bring the cream to the boil and pour over the chocolate. Let stand for a minute and then stir. If it is not adequately melted then microwave for 20 seconds and stir – repeat until smooth. Allow to cool and thicken before piping onto macarons.
More macaron recipes for you:
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Macaron trouble-shooting & FAQ
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Hi there.
I followed your simple recipe and clear instructions, and my macarons turned out beautifully. However, some do not have feet. On the same pan, for example, some have feet and others do not. Any ideas about why?
Thanks,
Lindsay
I had a similar problem.. So out of about 30 cookies, 4 of them came out absoloutely perfect- no cracks little feet, the works. The rest were either cracked or had no feet. I feel like I banged the tray really hard 5 or 6 times, so I’m not sure what the problem was. And why did some have feet and some not? Although I will say, I was very impressed with the outcome as this is my first time trying and they taste delicious regardless of presentation!
Hi there. These are wonderful. Great clear directions. Some of mine, however, did not have feet, though I did not have any of the other problems in the video. Why do some have feet and not others?
Thanks!
Lindsay
how many macaroons does this make?
hi Carly 20 complete or 40 halves in the size shown
Hi there i adore macroons but I am a pure vegetarian so can egg replaced with something else. Thank you
Hi i was wondering my macarons after they came out of the oven the macarons flattened:( do you know why they did that
Hi!!
I’ve made your macarons and they came out perfectly! After my recent success I’m dying to try macarons with oreo cookie in the batter. can I just mix crushed cookies into the mixture or will I need a completely different recipe?
Could you use another nut flour, such as cashew, sunflower, or walnut meal instead of the almond. We have a almond allergy in the family.
Wow!
Thank you! I’ve been trying to make macaroons for years and never quite nailed them. You got me there: super excited to see the glossy shells and feet after probably 6 tries with various recipes over the years. These are the perfect ratios.
Hi Ann:
I just have one question do we have to put in the egg whites in the fridge and wait an eternity just to use them for this recipe or can we just put them in directly. Because i did try one recipe and at the last moment i realized i had to wait for the egg whites for 24 hours in the fridge to use them and it ruined alllllllllll of mu hard work 🙁 May i just say your website is OUT OF THIS WORLD it is the best i have seen and your instructions are so clear its amazing
Oven temperature listed as 150 – shouldn’t it be higher for baking the macarons?
That’s Celsius if you are using Fahrenheit do 300 degrees
about how many macarons does one batch make?
What does it mean by tray rapped? All my macaroons turned out to be cracked:(
It just means to tap the tray against the counter to pop any air bubbles. There are a number of reasons why they turned out cracked (overmixing, undermixing, oven temp. too high, etc.). It’s not something easily diagnosed unless someone is there to watch you as you make it.
Thank you:)
Why is the centre of me macaroons soft?
Thanks
Dear Ann, please tell me what went wrong with the macaroon i just bake it does not look as nice as yours. enclose with a photo of my macaroon. Thank you so much for a clear and easy instruction and video is superb. This is my first try.
hi amy definitely click through and watch the troubleshooting video, first thing to try is without colour as that could be creating your issue.
Hi Ann! I love your website! I live in Sweden and I can’t find anything called icing mixture. Do you know what icing mixture contains? Then I might could make my own and make your wonderful macarons. Please keep this website up! You are so good at this! Thank you! 🙂
Hi lotte, icing mixture is icing sugar – which is just really finely gorund sugar so it is a powder, mixed iwht a little cornstrach to stop it clumping.
Thank you! I thought it was something like that but I wasn’t sure, thanks again!
Hii! Can you please make macarons using italian meringue? thank you!
Hi, I’ve used and read your recipes and was able to create something very delicious so THANK-YOU.
I’m actually doing an assignment for uni and I wanted to use your website for referencing in terms of your recipe and your advice would this be possible?
Leanne, let them stand for 15-20 minutes before placing in the oven to allow a skin to form before cooking. If you do this you won’t get the cracking…
Well I tried this recipe twice and while they tasted delish, they cracked both times, I watched the video where at the end explained that if they crack its because you havn’t bashed the tray down enough to get the air out and tips flattened but I bashed it even more the second time I tried the recipe and the cracks were just the same. Any advice?
Wow! Never had these before! EVER! Wow, Ive been missing out!
Mine turned out Fantastic!!!! Instructions are clear but tricky to accomplish! Second batch was a little cracked on top, but no worries, one batch made like 5 dozen! Making these for my daughters graduation! Going to fill them with lemon buttercream!
Note to self; don’t make your own almond meal! Lol