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
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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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 macaron ice cream sandwich |
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chocolate macarons
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Salted Caramel Macarons
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hi Ann,
i’m so happy seeing your recipe, i would definitely try to do this one.
Hope it will turn out right.
God Bless.
xoxo
That is the best video for macaroons I have ever seen – thank you so much!
Hello Ann. I´m from Colombia and I’m living in a humid – hot region, I made the macarons for 7 times, and never work for me.
You said that the egg whites you used are not agged, but you did not say anything about the time you rest the macarons on the baking sheets.
You put them directly after you pipe them???
I have them cracked, I have them without a foot (never raise)…
Can you help me please???
Hi Margareth, I put them straight in the oven after piping, unless I do not have room in the oven then some sit on the bench waiting. I experimented with leaving them out for different lengths of time and it made no difference to the end result. This Saturday there will be a new video up on this post with FAQ on this recipe if you watch that it may answer these questions for you.
I used powdered colouring and weighed everything on a digital scale. Could the oven temperature be a problem, as I have never checked it with an oven thermometer?
Possibly, I will post a faq video for this recipe on saturday watch that one and see if it helps
Thank you Ann. I’ve been waiting for the video, and I will try for my 10 time!!!
Hey Ann.
We are waiting the video tutorial II of macarons!!!!
Hi Ann,
I made macaroons today, and they were hollow, cracked and had no feet. so far as I know I mixed them about right because the mixture looked like yours in the video. Also, I did rap them as instructed.
Help would be appreciated. I’m determined to get this right!
Hi Sarah, there is a new FAQ video coming out this saturday on this post that should help. What colour did you use? Gel / powder / liquid? Did you weigh the ingredients or use cups – if cups were they australian cup sizes -250ml for 1 cup? It works still with USA cups 237ml but works better with the 250ml size. On the FAQ video I explain how to do a’practice’ batch – this is what I would suggest.
hi do you know how to make vanilla fillings for macaroons?
hi do you know how to make vanilla fillings for macaroons? 🙂
Hi rainbow, I would just use whipped cream and flavour with vanilla essence and a tiny bit of icing sugar – but when using whipped cream you can only fill just before using or the shells absorb the moisture from the cream. Alternatively you could use white chocolate ganache with vanilla.
Hi Ann, do you have any filling recipes aside from ganache? Im planning to make a multicoloured macarons with different kinds of “filling flavours”. My kids are not a big fan of “super sweet” fillings. Any recommendation? Thanks
Hi Beth, You can use plain whipped cream – but you have to fill just prior to serving because the moisture int he cream will soften the macaron. You can also flavour cream by boiling it with different things just like you do when making ganache (see the ginger macaron or orange macaron post for instructions on that) but then instead of using it to make ganache sweeten to taste with a little icing sugar and put in the fridge to cool completely, then whip as normal.
Hi ! I was wondering,… Could I pipe the batter into a whoopie pie baking pan? The Baking pan that already has a round surface so that my macarons will all be even?
Hi Lisa, they may be very hard to get off the tray, try drawing circles on the back of your nonstick baking paper instead – or print a sheet of circles off the computer and put under your baking paper while you pipe – that way you can reuse it.
Has the video been removed from this site?
Thanks Ace, not sure why it disappeared but it is back now : )
so i tried to make these and failed big time. mine turned out really brown on the outside, had no foot and very pretty gooey inside. the look like flat ugly discs 🙁 haha i don’t know what i did wrong but I’m thinking possibly over mixed or wrong oven temperate. hope you can help i really want to make them work! also i use a hand held mixer with 3 speeds, does this alter my mixing time and is it the same for the 50 folds?
Hi Victoria, Not bad for a first attempt. They look slightly under folded (can still see the piping pattern on top) and overcooked, not sure why they are flat though. Make sure you weigh your ingredients (cup measurements are fine if you are using imperial cups -ie UK or Australia). Mixer should be on high speed. Watch the video for choc ginger macarons too as it shows the folding again. Oven temp is important – if they look done but are not yet quite ready move the tray down and put an empty tray on the top shelf to shield them from heat above.
Hi Ann,
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. My first attempt failed and then I tried yours! It was so easy to follow. Its brilliant!
Just a question though,, can I put two trays at a time? Because I put one tray at a time and the rest of the mixture was sitting in the bowl. The first batch took exactly 20 minutes like you stated and came off the baking paper cleanly. But I noticed that the second and the third times, I had to bake more than 20 minutes. Any suggestions please Ann?
Many Thanks
Bashini.
Beautiful Bashini, I pipe them all onto baking paper and then slide them onto a tray when I have room in the oven rather than leaving it in the bowl. I put one tray in and then when looking almost ready i move it to the lower rack in the oven and put a new tray in on the top rack.
Hi Ann,
Thank you so much. I will try that next time.
Many Thanks.
Hey Ann,
I like the recipe very much but I have a few questions. Whats the best way to make the perfect macarons, with or without almond meal? Is there any substitute for caster sugar in the recipe? (It’s not available in any of our grocery stores)
Hi Bakezilla, Caster sugar is just normal sugar ground more finely so it dissolves more easily when mixed with the egg whites (but it is not powdery like the icing sugar you can still see the crystals of sugar), just ordinary white sugar if you can not get caster sugar. The best way is with almond meal definitely but some people have nut allergies so need a nut free version.
Thnx a lot! I’ll make sure to send a picture when I make them. 🙂
Also what is rapping? Cheers
Rapping is to bang the tray firmly on the bench, I do that three times turn the tray and rap it three or four times on the other end too.
Hello!
I was wanting to make rosewater shells…. At what point do i add the rosewater and how much would you use?
Thanks so much!
Naomi
Hi Naomi, If you add liquid to the shells they will not work (even 1 teaspoon is too much) they will turn out lumpy and flat. Most people make rose water ganache – a white chocolate ganache with rosewater mixed in – as a flavoured filling. Try 200g white chocolate, heat up 100g cream and pour over the chocolate, leave for a couple of minutes and then stir until smooth. Stir in you rosewater to taste.
Hi Ann, thank you so much for sharing this recipe. The first time I tried making macarons didn’t work. Then I tried yours and they were perfect! Just a quick question though… Can put two trays at a time? I kept n baking one tray at a time and the rest of the mixture sat in the bowl. The second and third time, I had to bake more than 20 minutes. the first batch came clean off the baking sheet. Any suggestions please?
Here are my macarons..
Hi! Do you have a recipe for red velvet macaroons?
Hi Krystal red velvet cake is just vanilla cake with a little cocoa powder and lots of red colouring, with cream cheese frosting. You can get a more unique flavour by adding apple cider vinegar. To make red velvet macarons add a little cocoa powder to the mixture (taking out an equal amount of icing sugar) and use powdered red colour. The recipe for cream cheese frosting is here https://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/cream-cheese-frosting-recipe/ I am not sure if you could add the vinegar to the shells, vinegar works fine in meringues and pavlova so it may work in macarons but I have never tried it.
Hi,
I have no idea why my macaroons did not raise but they are super cute and delicious.
will try to make them again in the future…
Hi Natalee, Super cute, hello kitty macarons : ) if they have a flat foot like a frill around them then the oven temp is slightly too low – try checking your oven temp with an oven thermometer or turn up the temp slightly. What did you make your bows out of?
Hey Ann,
I used red gel food color and tiny paint brush. Just a simple free hand painting.
Hi there, I’m just wondering about the cracking problem. How many times do you suggest rapping on the bench? I did it 18 times after only 8 the first time but still no change? I mix for the whole 8 mins but it doesn’t look like your stiff dry mix? Help! I need to make 100 of these and need to perfect it! Thanks so much
Hi Hailey, I rap them 3-4 times firmly, turn the tray and rap the other side 3-4 times. Check you are not adding too much liquid colour. Are you using a stand mixer? If not it will not look the same and you will need ot be more careful when folding in as it may take less folds to get to the right consistency but it will still work just the same. I suggest doing a practice batch so that you can see exactly how much to mix, under-mix, pipe some fold a little more, pipe some, fold a little more … until mixture is all gone.
Hi ya,
Have just attempted this again. Some have still cracked and some haven’t- could this be happening because o the way I pipe them? I followed all your advice to a T. Thanks hailey
Hi Hailey, No I don’t think it would be your piping method, I have tried several different ways and none have effected cracking. You may have hot / drafty spots in the oven – is it fan forced? Are the ones that crack in front of the fan? Other possibility is a small amount of egg white not fully incorporated – if it is that you would get a few in a row – that were piped after each other.
Hi Ann,
Your recipe looks lovely and I’m dying to try it! I’m just wondering that if i over mix my macaroon mix is it useless or is there something I can do to fix it? Thanks for your help!
If you over-mix it there is no way to turn them into beautiful macarons but all is not lost. Either pipe them and enjoy flat macarons – or pipe mini ones as that tends to hide the fault a little. The amount of mixing is really important and practice is the only way to get a feel for it. So not to waste multiple batches I suggest you make one batch obviously undermix them, put a spoon in a ziplock bag and pipe a row onto a tray. Fold the remaining mixture 5 -10 more times (if you fold with a spatula rather than a spoon it is more gentle) then put some in a fresh bag and pipe out another row, continue this until you have run out of mixture and the last row should seem overmixed and a little runny. Bake as usual and that should give you a feel for exactly what works best.
Hi Ann,
I’ve tried for this recicpe for the third time and the mixing part was quite a success, but unfortunately I failed at the baking part. I baked them for twenty minutes in the middle rack of the oven but after twenty minutes, the macaroons seemed to be under cooked still, even after their feet are formed. I kept baking them for 5 more minutes many times later, still the macaroons stick on my non-stick baking paper.
Hey I’m not sure if this has been mentioned before, but can you use powdered sugar for both the caster sugar and the icing sugar? This recipe sounds great, by the way. Thank you!
Hi Noemi, you are the second person to ask that, I have never tried it so I am not sure – I am thinking that it may not whip to the right consistency so may not work but give it a go and let me know – perhaps do a quarter batch.