Holy Macaron-y, after 2 years of trial and error I finally made perfect macarons. Every time I made them they didn’t turn out looks wise (cracked, no feet, cracked and no feet…), they tasted heavenly every time, but when it comes to macarons, I’m a superficial girl. Finally, I got them right and I will tell you how I managed to make the perfect happy feet having macarons.
Ingredients
Shell
- 100g almond flour (ground almonds without skin)
- 200g powdered sugar
- 90g egg whites (aged), roughly 4 eggs
- 1/4 tsp. of cream of tartar
- 40g sugar (use very fine sugar if you can)
- blue and green food coloring (gel or powder, not the liquid kind)
Milk Filling
- 100g or cream cheese (room temperature)
- 100g powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp. dry milk powder
Before we get started I want to give you my list of tips for making perfect macarons, feet and all.
Tip 1
Make your macarons when you are not planning on serving them to a large crowd like bringing them to a party or making an edible gift for someone. I failed every time I made them to serve to others (again looks wise not taste wise). But when I just made them for me, they turned out perfectly.
Tip 2
Age your egg whites. That means you crack and separate the eggs in advance place the egg whites in a cup, cover with cling wrap and let them sit in the fridge. Mine ended up being about 2 weeks old, not on purpose but mainly because we were gone for the holidays. From what I read, aging the egg whites, which could also be called airing the egg whites, loosens the protein strands and makes the mixture more “stretchable” – that was your dose of food-nerdiness for today 🙂
Tip 3
Before using your egg whites let them come to room temperature. I took mine out of the fridge, poked wholes in the cling wrap to allow more air to escape and let it sit over night on the counter.
Tip 4
Use a food processor to grind the almonds and powdered sugar. I used a handheld device, because I am still looking for my dream food processor (I’m a foodie, I need to be careful which small appliance to commit to 😉 ).
Tip 5
Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar mix twice. Once to sift it and another time sifting it into the beaten egg whites.
Tip 6
Use cream of tartar in your egg mixture to stabilize the eggs.
Tip 7
When folding use the “10 second rule test“, no dropping food on the floor required. While folding the dry ingredients into the beaten eggs take a small dollop and drop it onto a plate. If the dollop melts into a round smooth blob within 10 seconds you are good to go. If the dollop stays pretty much as is you need to keep folding.
Tip 8
Let your piped macarons dry at room temperature until they are dry to the (gentle) touch. I picked an “ugly” macaron to test the dryness sporadically. Mine needed about 1 hour to dry.
Tip 9
If your oven has a vent that circulates the hot air around, use it. Set your temperature to 135C/275F. If you don’t have a fan set your oven to 150C/300F.
Tip 10
Make your macarons during a full moon facing east to ensure that…just kidding 😉 Making macarons is complex but it has nothing to do with magic (which I firmly believed for 2 years!).
Follow these tips and there will be feet!
I also recommend watching this video on YouTube, it is so much fun and was super helpful for me!
So, are you ready? Good, let’s get rocking.
1. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpad. Get a piping bag with a round tip ready.
2. Grind the almond flour and powdered sugar in the food processor and sift the mix into a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl start beating the egg whites on low speed, when foamy add the cream of tartar. Increase the speed to medium and start adding the sugar one table spoon at a time. Add the food color until you have the desired color (3 parts blue one part green, the color gets lighter as it bakes). Beat the eggs on high until you have stiff peaks and you can hold the bowl upside down without the mass landing on your face 😉
4. Sift the dry mixture into the egg mixtures. Using a spatula fold the mass together. First it will seem impossible but it will get more “liquid” as you keep folding. Make the “10 Second Rule Test” see above to check if you are done folding.
5. Spoon the mass into your prepared piping bag and pipe circles ca. 2-3cm in diameter. They will “melt” into a slightly larger smooth circle.
6. Let your piped macarons dry at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour until the tops are dry to the touch.
7. Preheat the oven to 135C/275F if your oven has a vent, if not set it to 150C/300F.
8. Place one baking sheet at a time into the hot oven and bake for 6-10 minutes depending on the size of your macarons.
9. Let the macarons cool completely on the baking sheet before removing them gently from the parchment paper or silpad.
10. Meanwhile cream together the ingredients for the filling and fill a piping bag with a round tip. Pipe filling onto one shell and cover it with a matching shell, repeat about 24 times.
Enjoy!
Hugs!
Dani
Dani, I love this post ! Your macarons look so yummy and perfect and your post made even me want to try baking some… and you know how I am when it comes to baking and cooking ! 😉 XO
LOL, I think you can totally pull these off!!!
Wow, move over Ladurée they look absolutely superb! I agree with Bridgee, they make me feel like baking. Great instructions. Mel 🙂
Perfect Mel, I hope you will try to make them. If I can do it, so can you 🙂
As the official household taster I highly recommend them…..though in typical guy fashion I never knew what was wrong with the previous macaroons, they tasted great!
🙂
Perfect outcome, Dani!!
The last shot is my favourite, I love close-ups.
I ate Macarons (bad ones) once and my allergy said HELLO lol..So I thought I better not make those even though I love their look a lot.
Colorwise though, you can do so many great variations with Macarons so I might try them (your recipe because it is so well written) and just give them away if I end up being allergic to them again.
Thanks for sharing, girl.
xoxo,
niner
Whoohoo!!! How gorgeous do these look? You nailed it Dani. Absolutely perfect. It took me quite a while to make a successful batch too. And the problem is that I make them so irregular that everytime kind of feels like the first time. Love your tips too!
Thank you so much for these tips, Dani!! Now I am indeed motivated to coninue my macaron journey again 🙂 And your photos are just great!!!
Such an eye candy post, Dani! The two years were worth it!!:-)
I just made these. They have feet, but the tops bubbled up (even though I ‘dropped’ them to expel any air bubbles.
So, they look average as. Oh we’ll.
Hi Bubblekins, glad you tried them 🙂 Use an oven thermometer to check if your oven is maybe hotter than the temperature set or try to fold a bit longer to get more air out 🙂
Beautiful macarons!! I made these previously(though not from your recipe) and it turned out great. But i always have issues with the fillings i made. They are usually too soft. So once i sandwich the shells together, the filling slides out!
This is my first time to see a filling recipe using cream cheese. What i would like to know is, does the filling ooze out of the shells side?
Hi Sue, this filling did not ooze out, my cream cheese was not quite yet at room temperature when I started with the filling 🙂
Dani
Beautiful. Thank you for the reply. 🙂
That looks so beautiful Dani! Love the colour! And the way you write 🙂
Thanks hun 🙂
They are beautiful…
Those look great! For the filling, do they need to be refrigerated? Also not that they would last long, but how long do they stay fresh for?
I would keep them in a cool place, not in the fridge though because there is too much moisture involved once you take them out…
I really like the color of macarons.
It’s my favourite 🙂
Tip number 10 made me smile 🙂 it sure does feel like we have to follow some kind of ridiculous rule like that in order to make beautiful macarons sometimes huh? Well, your blue macarons turned out gorgeous.Thanks for the informative post!
Ok, these are in the oven now… I’ve had so many failed attempts, I feel like I have PTSD opening the oven door. Fingers crossed :/
It worked!!! Holy moly, you’re a macaron goddess! The first batch were cracked and slipped off the foot, so i rapped the second batch and lowered the oven temp, and they’re perfect!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Yay, I am so glad it worked out…at the second try even, hats off!!! 🙂
These look so pretty and delicate! I am going to try this! About how many macarons did this recipe make?
Thank you for taking the time to share what you learned! My first sheet didn’t cook long enough but the rest turned out really well
https://instagram.com/p/5OAODeyi5j/
I recently tried my first macaron at a French bakery at pike place market. I was buying a pastry for myself and thought I’d grab one of the cute “cookies” for my two year old son. Needless to say, once I took a bight he didn’t get to have the rest of it. Since that day I drool and think of good reasons to drag my family the hour drive back up to the market to gorge myself on the perfect confections (oh, did I mention the one I had was lightly flavored with raspberry?) Your post has convinced me that I need to try to make them, perhaps professionally lol. Thank you, alyssa
Yes, you totally should do that! Keeping my fingers crossed for you!
Aspecto negativo do jogo do texto two. é que curso é viciante e você
pode perder muito tempo em gerir mensagens de várias mulheres.
You can find a brain blowing number of reasons why this gameplay has taken off in the recognition evaluations.
Controllers can go for anywhere from $30 to $seventy five
depending on what is integrated. I arranged for a hire car to take us down to Southampton where we got the ferry across to
Cowes on the Isle of Wight.
This is very attention-grabbing, You are an overly professional
blogger. I’ve joined your rss feed and look ahead
to looking for more of your fantastic post. Also, I’ve shared
your site in my social networks
You could definitely see your enthusiasm within the work you write.
The world hopes for even more passionate writers like you who
aren’t afraid to mention how they believe. At all times follow your heart.
Every weekend i used to pay a quick visit this site, for the reason that i want enjoyment, since this this website conations
really good funny material too.
As a photographer I take pride in hobby and my work,
its clear that you do together with your informative blog post.
I had been lucky to find it here. So I can find my way
back here, thank you for posting this information and That I’ve saved the website!
This is very attention-grabbing, You’re an overly professional blogger.
I’ve joined your feed and look ahead to in the hunt for more of your
magnificent post. Additionally, I have shared
your website in my social networks
Hi.. Looking forward to trying this..
Can u tell me, for the almonds flour..did u blanch the almonds first and then dry and grind?
Thanks in advance
You actually make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this topic to be really
something that I think I would never understand. It seems
too complex and very broad for me. I am looking forward for your next
post, I’ll try to get the hang of it!
After you and your doctor have realized what is the the source and the nature of this problem, the
dermatologist will find it easier to prescribe to you a drug
that is fit for your condition from inside and outside.
While the economy is in recovery mode and demand rises again for cosmetic services, hard lessons can be
soon forgotten. Dermatology is suitable for the acne patients
who have recurrent acne attacks.
Great beat ! I wish to apprentice while you amend your
website, how can i subscribe for a blog website?
The account helped me a acceptable deal. I had been tiny bit
acquainted of this your broadcast provided bright clear idea
Ahhh, mine have flat feet. Do you think I killed my egg whites. Perhaps I folded them to much or too hard. But they are tasty and I will try again.
And I guess I will have to visit Pike Place Market like one commenter said. It’s only 45 minutes away.
Hi, these look delicious! How many macarons does this recipe make? Thanks!
Excellent макаронс! Please tell what color you used for coloring – I just can’t look away before they are good! Thanks
I used Betty Crocker gel color 🙂