Oh! Les mignons petits Macarons! [Oh! The little cute Macarons!] A familiar French exclamation for those sweet and elegant pastry aristocrats; So delicate to make, but an amazing euphoria of taste and happiness submerged you after the first bite! It’s like a magic!
To make the perfect one, you should master the basic Macarons recipe to find out mistakes, troubleshoot, and how to cook them depending on your oven and climate. By the way, the perfect Macaron has a soft and airy meringue texture, a moist and chewy interior, a crunchy-bright-thin shell, and it has a foot! Yes, a FOOT!!!
After that, you can proceed to the second step, the funniest one: Add your beautiful colors, and your preferred flavors then make “two by two” stuck together with Ganache, jams, cream cheese, Mascarpone, etc…An endless choice. This recipe yields 40 shells, regular-sized filled Macarons. It’s better to use a kitchen scale, to get a precise weight. You will need:
How To Make Macarons?
Ingredients:
For the macarons:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup almond flour
- 2 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- A pinch of salt
- Food coloring (optional)
- A piping bag, fitted with a 1/2-inch nozzle tip
- 2 solid baking sheets, lined with non-stick baking parchment
How To Prepare Macarons?
Instructions:
- Prepare the macarons:
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. In a medium bowl, sift together the powdered sugar, almond flour, and cocoa powder. Set aside.
- In a separate clean, dry bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer on medium speed until foamy.
- Add the cream of tartar and salt, and continue beating until soft peaks form.
- Gradually add the granulated sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time, while continuing to beat at high speed. Beat until stiff, glossy peaks form.
- If using food coloring, add it to the meringue and gently fold until evenly combined.
- Gently fold the dry ingredients into the meringue in two or three additions until the batter is smooth and shiny, but still thick. Be careful not to overmix.
- Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a round tip (or a zip-top bag with the corner snipped off).
- Pipe small rounds (about 1 inch in diameter) onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart.
- Tap the bottom of the baking sheets sharply, once, on the work surface to expel any large air bubbles.
- Let the piped macarons sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes to 1 hour, until a slight skin forms on the surface. This helps them develop their characteristic feet when baking.
2. Bake the macarons:
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
- Bake the macarons, one sheet at a time, for about 15-18 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through baking, until the macarons are set and firm to the touch. Avoid over-baking.
- Remove from the oven and let the macarons cool completely on the baking sheet before carefully removing them.
3. Assemble the macarons:
- Match up the cooled macaron shells into pairs of similar sizes.
- Spoon or pipe a small amount of ganache or any other filling of your choice, onto the flat side of one shell.
- Gently sandwich the filling with another shell, pressing down just enough to spread the filling to the edges.
- Repeat with the remaining macaron shells and filling.
- For best results, refrigerate the assembled macarons for at least 24 hours before serving to allow the flavors to meld and the texture to improve.
Enjoy your delicious macarons! They make a perfect treat for any occasion and the sweetest gift for your loved ones.