Description
Classic French macarons featuring delicate almond meringue cookies paired with a smooth, rich French buttercream filling. This recipe guides you through creating the perfect stiff meringue, achieving the ideal lava-like batter consistency, and assembling elegant sandwich cookies that improve with age.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the Cookie
- 100 g egg whites, room temperature (about 3 large eggs)
- 140 g almond flour (1 1/2 cups)
- 90 g granulated sugar (just under 1/2 cup)
- 130 g powdered sugar (1 cup)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (5 mL)
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar (800 mg)
For the Buttercream
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (226 g)
- 5 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100 g)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp water (30 mL)
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Prepare Dry Ingredients: Sift the powdered sugar and almond flour together into a bowl to remove any lumps and larger particles which could mar the texture of your macarons.
- Whisk Meringue: In a very clean bowl, add the room temperature egg whites. Using an electric mixer, begin whisking until foamy, then add the cream of tartar. Slowly incorporate the granulated sugar while continuing to whisk until stiff peaks form and the meringue becomes thick and marshmallowy.
- Add Flavors and Fold Dry Ingredients: Incorporate vanilla extract and food coloring if desired into the meringue. Gently fold in one third of the dry ingredients, then carefully fold in the remainder with gentle motions to avoid deflating the mixture. The batter should be thick yet flow like lava and be able to fall in a figure eight without breaking.
- Pipe Macaron Shells: Spoon the batter into a piping bag fitted with a medium round tip. Pipe one-inch dollops onto a parchment-lined baking sheet (secured with a few dabs of batter). Tap the sheet against the counter several times to release air bubbles. Let the shells rest at room temperature for about 40 minutes to form a dry skin.
- Bake Shells: Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Bake the shells for 12-15 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through at 7 minutes. Once baked, let them cool completely on the tray before removing to prevent cracking.
- Make French Buttercream: In a saucepan, combine sugar and water. Heat over low while stirring until sugar dissolves, then increase heat and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, in a stand mixer, whip egg yolks until thick and foamy. When syrup reaches 240°F (115°C), slowly drizzle it into the yolks with mixer running. Continue beating until mixture cools to room temperature. Gradually beat in softened butter cubes one at a time until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla, salt, and coloring if desired, mixing for 5-6 minutes.
- Assemble Macarons: Pipe the buttercream onto the back of half of the cooled shells. Sandwich with the remaining shells. Refrigerate the assembled macarons for 1-3 days to allow the filling to soften the shells inside for optimal texture and flavor.
Notes
- The meringue must be whipped to very stiff peaks for success; it should have a marshmallow-like thick consistency.
- Sifting almond flour and powdered sugar thoroughly is critical to avoid rough textures; consider processing and sifting multiple times for best results.
- Use a kitchen scale for ingredient accuracy, especially for almond flour and sugars.
- Folding the batter requires practice; gently fold to achieve a flowing lava-like consistency without overmixing.
- Pipe macarons straight down onto the baking sheet; angled piping can cause uneven shapes.
- Add food coloring after reaching soft peaks in the meringue stage for even color.
- Stop squeezing the piping bag and pull up with a circular motion to finish each macaron for neat edges.
- Resting macarons in the fridge for 2-3 days improves flavor and texture.
- If shells are overbaked and too crisp, brush the bottom with milk before filling to soften.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 11 g (1 macaron shell)
- Calories: 63 kcal
- Sugar: 5.2 g
- Sodium: 18 mg
- Fat: 1.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1.2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 6 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 0.8 g
- Cholesterol: 0.7 mg
