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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nut free macarons
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orange choc macarons
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chocolate macarons
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Salted Caramel Macarons
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worked like charm, tried first time without resting and yes, thanks for busting that myth.
Perfect, glad to save you some time ?
First attempt! I didn’t get any feet on mine and a few cracked and were almost hollow inside, but this felt like such a huge success! They tasted great!
Hi Stephanie, well done, try doing one batch were you fold this much – scoop out a quarter of the mixture and pipe. Then fold a little more – scoop out another quarter of the mixture and pipe, and repeat twice more with the last one pushing into over folding. That way you’ll get a really good feel for how much folding is needed. Hollow is usually from taking out of the oven before they are fully cooked int he centre or opening the oven during cooking causing a drop in oven temp. Open for just a second and lightly press on top of one close to you – if it squishes they are not ready – close the oven quickly. If it doesn’t then they are good to come out.
Hello ma’am
I tried to make macarons but they flatten. And was really bad . I think i added too much sugar in the batter. Can i minimize the sugar level as your recipe calls for large amounts of sugar than almond meal. I dont want a sugary macrons so can i minimise sugar level?
Hi Disha, as you’ve discovered macarons are a finicky recipe and it’s best to stick the the exact measurements given. By all means experiment with altering quantities but I’d suggest doing so with 1/4 of a batch so you don’t have as much wastage.
Wow, what a find, the book from your mother. What is the title and who wrote it??
Hi Danielle, It says Universal Family Cook by Henderson
I made macarons, first time. Used a silicon macron tray, I put a metal tray under it, in case they spilled over. 4 out of 12 worked. They stuck to tray, dense, a mess! All went well till cooked. Would appreciate some advice please.
Hi Lynette, I have never used the silicone baking tray but know others that have. Was sticking to the tray the only problem? Apart from hat were they the right shape, not cracked etc. If so then just swap to non-stick baking paper and see how you go. The other reason some may work and others not is if your oven temperature is uneven – when you bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies for example do some burn while others are not ready? In that case you may have hot spots in the oven.
[…] , check out this website Howtocookthat they have a great recipe that I turn to every time when I bake […]
can I freeze these before I fill them?
Hi Chanalea, you can store the unfilled shells in an airtight container for up to a week. Apparently you can freeze them but I’ve never had any left over to try it with. ?
My macarons rise and its all good except the feet tend to puff up and out so i end up with bit of a lip. Whats going on there?
Hi Rebecca, see the video on this page – it answers that question for you https://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/macaron-recipe-faq-troubleshooting/ ?
Hi long time folllower, love the Chanel. Tried the recipe but struggling to get the egg whites to the stiff dry peaks. If I beat for ten minutes as stated they over whip and become watery…any tips? Whatbam I doing wrong? Cheers Nici
Hi Nicolette, whipped egg whites become watery at the bottom if left to sit. This happens much faster if they are not very fresh. Cream of tart tar can help stabilise the egg whites so you could add a pinch of cream of tartar before whipping.
Can we bake in microwave
aren’t icing sugar and caster sugar the same thing?
Hi Seneca, they are different grades of sugar and tend to be used in different ways. Caster sugar is a finely ground sugar crystals. Icing sugar is powdered.
No icing sugar is confectioners sugar and caster sugar would be American granulated. British granulated has larger crystals but if you put them in a blender for a few seconds voila caster sugar !
Is there anything i can use other then almond flour? where i live it is far too expensive.
Hi Emma, Macarons are based on Almond meal. If you can’t purchase it you could make your own from blanched almonds.
Hi, I just saw your macaroon recipe now.and I wondering how long I can store it?
Hi Egga, the unfilled shells could be stored for up to a week, however with any exposure to air or moisture the shells will gradually soften. Some people like to freeze their shells. I haven’t done this (they all get eaten within a day or so) but some of our followers have and say it works well.
Hi my ex boss is French he made them all the time wholesale, he froze them all the time for shops
Hi Ann, my Granddaughter has asked me to make the Macaroons for her baby shower. How long can I store them and where should they be kept. I haven’t made them before so will take your advise and do some practise runs to suss out both the texture needed and the oven temp. Thanks for the assist looking forward to your reply
Hi Coral, Yes it would be a good idea to have a few practise runs as Macarons can be tempermental. At best they should be eaten within a day or so of baking. Ann usually makes hers on the day they are required, however if you make them a day or two ahead but leave them unfilled , they should store well in an airtight container. Add you ganache or other filling on the day of service.
First try making macarons and they worked, I’m so excited! Thank you so much for making something I was scared of trying so easy
Great work Jackie!
Hi Ann!
I’ve tried a few macaron recipes in the past, and most have come out, well…subpar, to say the least. I have enjoyed your recipe the most! I just have a few questions. When I baked the macarons, half came out perfect, but the other half did not have feet and also had cracks (and these are all on the same tray, mind you). Do you have any idea what happened? Another question of mine was whether or not placement in the oven matters. I had seen something that said they should be on the top rack and more towards the front of the oven. Does this affect the macarons in any way?
Thank you!
Hi Jules, Macarons are finicky, so if the temperature in your oven varies you see it pretty quickly. I am guessing that is what is happening for you. One side might be a little hotter than the other.
So the macarons do not need to dry out as most of the recipes state. Is that correct? No need to let them sit to dry before baking? Thanks for the great video and recipes.
Hi Debbie, There is no need to ‘dry them out’.
Hi, I’ve made macarons from other people’s recipe, and I want to try your recipe. However, I’m confused by your instructions. From what I’ve seen from other’s instructions, they let the piped macaron batter rest on the bench before baking them. But, your recipe doesn’t state that you resting the macarons. So do I need to rest the macarons for your recipe?
Thank you.
Hi Nona, No you don’t need to rest the macarons. Ann has tested this and found it made no difference to the outocome if you did or didn’t rest the piped mix.
Hi.. I’m not sure what type of cream you are referring to for the making of the ganache.. Could it be whipping cream, heavy cream, or any specific cream?
Hi Susan, Here is a tutorial to help you as different terms are used in different countries: https://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/cream-use/
Unless she specifically mentions a different product, Ann uses what we call pure cream which has at least 35% fat content.
This is going to be my first time making these which I’m sure you have heard a lot. I am in the USA and have no idea what Caster or what icing sugar is. I’m sorry for repeating this questions but when I went to look through your questions it went from 1 to 39 with no way to get to the in between pages. I’m sacred to death to make them but my niece is having a bridal shower and I would love to make some for her. So please help. Thank you so much. Have a blessed day.
Hi Jodie, Watch these videos for some great tips. Caster sugar is the same as superfine sugar. Icing sugar is the same as confectioners sugar. Plan to have a few trial runs with macarons as they can be finicky and you need to know what works with your oven etc: https://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/easy-macaron-macaroon-recipe/ https://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/salted-caramel-macaron-recipe/ https://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/macaron-recipe-faq-troubleshooting/ https://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/fun-with-macaron-recipe-variations/