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:
easy macaron recipe
|
Macaron trouble-shooting & FAQ
|
nut free macarons
|
orange choc macarons
|
 macaron ice cream sandwich |
SEE ALL RECIPES |
chocolate macarons
|
fun with macarons
|
Salted Caramel Macarons
|
My Cookbook
Stores that sell my book listed by country:
http://bit.ly/ARcookbook
All recipe quantities in the book are in grams, ounces and cups.
we respect your email privacy
Thank you for the recipe and having the video was very helpful. I made lemon macarons and they were delish and perfect . First try !
Hi Ioana, That’s fabulous!!!
How much macaroons does this make?
Hi Sara, it does depend on how large you pipe them. If you make them the same size as Ann, the recipe makes around 40 shells or 20 filled macaroons.
hi Ann, I want to make theses for my mom’s birthday and i don’t know how big they should be when you pipe them on to the cookie sheet and also how big they should be when they come out, hope you get a chance to reply would love for theses to turn out!
Hi,
if your mixing is done properly, that is if your mixture is not too runny, they won’t spread when they are baked.
I make great macarons, judging from the reactions of the people who have tasted them (according to some people, they are better than one of the most famous macaron maker in Paris!!! nothing less!!!), and I like them to be of a size that makes it easy to eat them in one bite. If you make them too big, there will be crumbles, or they’ll crunch and make a mess.
I’d say no piping them to just under one inch is fine (3cm on this side of the ocean).
X
I loved the video! I tried another recipe and came close but had a few of the problems addressed in your video. AND I also have the cookbook! Mine must be a little older because there are f’s in place of s’s, but the wording is almost exactly the same as yours above. “TAKE a pound of double refined fugar, beat it, and fift it through a fine fieve. Put if into a bowl, with the juice of two lemons, and beat them together.” I guess they used “s” when it was a plural? Thank you.
That’s awesome Inez.
Actually this was an alternate form of “s” that was used except at the end of words. In other words, the modern “s” was only used at the end of words.
I’ve been using your recipe in my high school cooking class. To date the macarons produced by various students have been better than I had hoped possible. Then today, my student with the magic touch made them and they were truly sublime. Thank you for finding and sharing this fantastic recipe.
Thanks Rebecca, That is great to hear. You have obviously helped test this recipe in an environment that can be very challenging!
Ok, so I tried the recipe 3 more times. The last time, I realized the reason the batter was so dry. The conversion to American measurements is incorrect. 4 oz is 1/2 cup, not 1 cup. So, now that I have the batter looking like a batter and not a paste, I am praying that they bake up the way they should. If they do, I’ll post a pic. Otherwise, I’m going with I am not suppose to make macarons.
No feet, not coming off the parchment, but are burning. Guess I’m not meant to make macarons.
Hi Pat, Ann does her own measurements to avoid confusion with the differences between cups etc between countries. Better to rely on her quantities. It is worth checking out the macaron trouble shooting page here: https://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/macaron-recipe-faq-troubleshooting/ . We find most problems are the result of oven temperature issues, either too high or too low or even an uneven temperature. It sounds like yours is definitely too hot.
Hi there these cookies lookinh delicous so there isnt coconut in a macaron cookies
Hi Hollie, a coconut macaroon is a completely different recipe.
How many macarons does this recipe make?
Hi Rosegirl325, this recipe makes about 40 shells or 20 filled macarons.
Hi Ann,I just wanted to ask if it is possible to overwhip the meringue..because you whipped it for quite a long time ,Thanks
I’d remove the “cup” measurements and use only weight. Invariably, somebody is going to come along, measure using cups, screw up, then whine about your recipe being bad.
WHAT DID WE DO WRONG?!?!
I think you tried to bake the entire thing in the oven, you put the filling in after you take the cases out.
Mine did the same thing. But I had temp wrong at first.
Hi Sam, Ann and I agree that this mix looks incredibly strange, but it is hard to tell what went wrong from just a photo, though it looks like the tops were cooking well and then the bases have bubbled up. Where you using this recipe or the nut free one?
They turned out awfull, were so soft and heavy – we followed the recipe perfectly we cant think what went wrong. Could maybe be that the measurements were in cups and not converted correctly?
Hi Holly, It sounds like they were not cooked through. Check out Ann’s troubleshooting page and have another go. If the batter looks right then the cooking process is possibly the issue. https://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/macaron-recipe-faq-troubleshooting/
I have tried three other recipes for macarons and all of them have failed, including the howtocookthat recipe. For some reason, when they came out of the oven they had holes all over them, no feet, and when I touched them they felt very soft, and had no shell. What happened? Please respond soon, I need help!
Did you let the batter uncooked sit out for at least 20-30 min?
Hi Nastas, It sounds like they weren’t cooked enough. The holes you describe are sometimes caused by colouring. If you used colouring, leave it out next batch and see if you get a better result. Check out Ann’s trouble shooting tips here: https://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/macaron-recipe-faq-troubleshooting/
how many does this recipe make? please respond thanks
Hi Florence, the recipe makes around 40 shells or 20 filled macarons.
u call that easy
Fantastic. I tried a different recipe before and it didn’t work out but this one worked perfectly.
This is my second ever successful bake (I’m new to all this) but these turned out great! Looking forward to experimenting with colours and flavours next.
Thanks!
That is great to hear Rich. Happy Baking!!
My macaróns look like they are perfect while baking but all of the sudden they fall…the feet squish out. Any ideas?
Hi Mindi, Yes it sounds like they need cook a little longer as they are not cooked through. Check here for tips and tricks: https://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/macaron-recipe-faq-troubleshooting/
Hello,Thank you for the recipe, as well as the troubleshooting steps, what an amazing idea!!
I have to make 500 Macaroons for my son’s wedding. Could you please tell me how many Macaroons/ recipe?
Thank you again, Violet
Your measurement is confusing me. 1 cup or 120g? 1 cup is usually 250g/ml right? Why 120g?
Hi ASDFGHJKL, If you were measuring water then it would be equal to 250ml or 250grams. This recipe calls for 1 cup of almond meal which has a different weight and isn’t measured in mls.
I’m supposed to make macaroons for a fancy wedding, and they expect it to be professional but inside i am freaking out. Can you help me bump these macaroons up a bit with ideas for different fillings and decorations
Hi Noura, You will find about half a dozen links at the base of the blog page that give a stack of ideas.