Macarons 101: Planetary Alignment Makes Perfect

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MACARON MAKING 101

Ever since my brother got back from a trip to Europe a few months ago, I have taken it upon myself to work on perfect (or at least surviving) making French macarons.  I whole heartedly blame him for this, because he introduced me to them when he got back.  They can be temperamental, and even if everything is done right, a batch still might not turn out.  Hence, practice does not make perfect, planetary alignment does, because some things are just out of our control.

French macarons are a sort of slightly chewy meringue-like sandwich cookie that is essentially a blank canvas for a rainbow of colors, flavors, and fillings.  I have now made at least 7 batches of these, and all though they have all produced at least something edible, they have been varying degrees of "correctness."  I have tried a few different recipes, read and researched from very reputable and experienced sites, and done a good bit of trial and error.  I feel that I have done enough now that I can recommend a recipe, as well as techniques.  I do however recommend that you read the links at the end, because they are INCREDIBLY comprehensive, and if you know what to expect, your results will be that much better. Knowledge is power.  Use it.  And anyways, if you like baking, these sites will be an incredibly interesting and colorful read.  

I will put the disclaimer out there that what works in my kitchen, is what works in my kitchen.  It may not work for you and your oven, but don't be afraid to read the trouble shooting guides at the end and get back on the macaron horse so to speak.  I did, and I am utterly addicted.

Macarons are not particularly time intensive, and they do go better if you use the right equipment, do the prep work, and know the recipe. I am going to give you the recipe that has worked reliably for me.

The picture below was the first batch I ever tried.  I made chocolate shells with peanut butter and strawberry jelly filling.  I got about 8 completed sandwiched cookies out of it.  They were flat, uneven, had small feet ("feet" are the ruffly looking edges that give them their distinct look), and were all sorts of size, none of them resembling the perfect circle I was striving for.  I used a recipe from a book on macarons that was brought back from France.

Try #1

This batch below was made with the same first recipe.  They came out a smidge taller, tasted yummy, but still werent the tall picture perfect ones I have seen.  The filling for these was chocolate coconut milk ganache for the purple ones, and a salted caramel and caramel 7 minute frosting filling for the yellow ones, with a sea salt sprinkle on the shells.  These were down right addictive I must admit.  So I got closer, but still not close enough.

Try #2 and #3

I found a fantastic blog, that I will say is required reading before tackling macarons for the first time.  It is Not So Humble Pie, and her Macaron 101 tutorial that is just incredible.  The recipe I am using is from her, and it is one she used scientific inquest to derive the best ratio of ingredients from all popular recipes.  I have used this recipe for all subsequent batches, and it has not failed me yet.  I have gotten tall, beautiful shells, pretty ruffly feet, and better consistency.

The one area I have problems on is hollow shells.  It is not the end of the world, they still taste good, it just makes them more fragile, and is not considered the "perfect" macaron.  These things can be so tempermental though that even a batch with hollow shells is considered a win for me if I can get them off the baking sheet :)

The teal macarons below are plain shells with chocolate ganache and black raspberry jam.  These were the first batch that actually looked like ones I had seen in the store.  I practically jumped up and down when I looked in the oven and saw they had risen nice and tall, had pretty feet, and weren't cracked on top. (Truly, I was in my kitchen jumping up and down.  I was going to make these stinking things until I got them right!).

Try #4: New Recipe

Thrilled that this new recipe gave me much better results, I decided to try yet again.  Now when you do your required reading, you will learn all about hollow shells, how eggs need to be "aged", how humidity may or may not ruin a batch, etc., etc.  All though I strive for perfection, I have two kids three and under, and don't have the time to absurdly nit picky.  So what I am going to give you instructions for is what worked for me, it is simple, not fussy, and has given me many wonderful batches without fail.

Try's #5 and #6 were very successful.  They had a better shape, they looked like they should, and I was very pleased with the results.  The brown one is a chocolate shell with cookie butter (gingerbread cookies in a peanut butter-like spread), and the yellow one is a lemon shell with lemon curd filling.  These were a little messy, so if you use lemon curd, don't put too much filling, or they will be slipping and sliding everywhere. To give you an idea of how unpredictable they can be though, I made these batches one after another, (same day, 2 hours apart), and one set came out with hollow shells, and the second batch came out with perfect shells.  Go figure.  I do believe that over or under mixing the batter does play a roll in this.

Try #5 and #6

An now we have come to today's batch.  These don't look particularly stunning in this photo, but it is mostly because I am too lazy to take them out from the container I had already put them away in, so forgive me.  These lime green beauties are for my son's 1st birthday party.  They have an Andes mints filling.  They are good!  If you do that as a filling though, work fast, it solidified before I went back and put the second half on, that is why they aren't filled with filling all the way to the edge.  They came out the most uniform (although I still can't get them perfectly round), but they did have some what hollow shells.  Oh well, they still taste good.  As long as they come off the parchment paper, I consider it a successful batch.

Try #7

Before I give you the recipe, I want to let you in on a few things I have noticed over my batches, that may not be mentioned in the required reading posts:

Keeping Shells from Cracking on Top

• The troubleshooting sites recommend doubling up the baking sheets to keep the macaron shells from cracking on top while baking.  If I didn't double them up, mine cracked, but I could remove them easily from the parchment when they were done baking.  If I did double them up, they did not crack, but I couldn't get them off the parchment.  To get the best of both worlds I put a oven rack in the middle of the oven, and one below it.  On the lowest one I placed an empty baking sheet.  I then put the baking sheet with the macarons on the middle shelf.  This has given me batch after batch of uncracked tops, and easily removed shells.

Aging Eggs

• I don't.  They all say you need to, but I don't.  The best results have come from using three large eggs, straight from the fridge.  I tried weighing out the egg whites, getting the exact amount, quick aging them in the microwave.  They don't help.  The best batches have been with three eggs, from the fridge.  Give it a try first.  If it works, you have saved yourself time, money, and headache.

Hollow Shells

• I don't have a good reason for this.  Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't.  It is most likely from over or under beating the mixture.  If it happens, then try to mix the batter a bit less the next time, see what happens.  Hollow shells are not the end of the world though.

Dry and Crunchy All the Way Through

• The final macaron is supposed to be crisp on the outside, and chewy on the inside from what I understand.  This is almost impossible to achieve by baking alone.  A secret from bakers is that they over bake the shells, and then he age the macarons after they are filled, for 24-48 hours before serving.  Any macaron you get from a bakery most likely was made a few days before.  This aging allows for the macaron shell to absorb some moisture from the filling and results in the correct texture.  For this reason, you should make your macarons a few days ahead of when you want them.  They get stored in the fridge, or will last for a good long time in the freezer.  This is true unless you are using a very wet filling like ice cream or whipped cream, then those should be eaten immediately or you will have disintegrated shells, and that is just depressing.

REQUIRED READING

Before proceeding, read these blog posts.  They are invaluable reference guides, and are much more comprehensive then what I have here.  I figure, why reinvent the wheel if you don't have to.

Macaron 101: French Macarons from Not So Humble Pie

Macaron Trouble Shooting Guide from Not So Humble Pie

A Macaron Trouble Shoot Guide from Food Nouveau

How to Make Macarons: Illustrated Guide by Food Nouveau

Macaron Templates by Food Nouveau

All right, now that you know more about French macaron's then you ever wanted to, here is the recipe that I have found works the best, and the process that works in my kitchen.  

BASIC FRENCH MACARON

(Adapted from Not So Humble Pie)

Ingredients:

120g almond meal**
200g powdered sugar
3 large egg whites
30g granulated sugar

Sprinkle of salt (or cream of tarter, or lemon juice, see directions)
Food coloring gel

**Almond meal from somewhere like Trader Joe's has the almond skin ground up in the meal, adding a speckled look to the final product.  If you are doing light colored macarons and do not want any speckling, get slivered almonds and pulse them up in a food processor to break them down into rough meal, and then add the powdered sugar and pulse until it is a fine powder.

Equipment:

2-3 baking sheets lined with parchment paper

Food scale

Fine mesh sifter

Stainless steel or copper bowl

Piping bag and any fairly wide round tip, or a gallon ziploc bag

Macaron piping templates

Note: Prep is important!

Line 2-3 heavy gauge aluminum baking sheets with parchment. Prep a piping bag with a round tip. I place the bag into a tall drinking glass and cuff the bag's opening over the top, this makes the bag easy to fill hands-free.

Weigh out almond meal and powdered sugar and sift together to remove any clumps. (If you own a food processor, I highly recommend blending the ingredients and then sifting, but I made my last batch with just sifting and they came out great, your choice.)

Place the egg whites into a large mixing bowl (stainless steel or copper), if you're using stainless feel free to add a pinch of salt, 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar or couple drops of lemon juice to help strengthen the whites (I use salt). If you're using copper you need not and should not add any additional acid (more on this below).

Weigh out the granulated sugar. 

Begin beating the eggs on low speed. What you're doing here is unraveling the egg white's proteins (these are what will capture the air bubbles you whisk in), they're bundled up and you need to gently unwind them. A light touch does this far better than scrambling them on high speed. Once the egg whites are very foamy, begin sprinkling in the sugar as you beat. Increase the speed to medium, if necessary, and beat the meringue to stiff glossy peaks. (If they start looking grainy, clumpy or dry, you've gone too far.)  You should be able to turn the bowl upside down and have them go...No where.

Add the food coloring (for the full recipe it usually takes 2-4 drops of gel, for a half batch 1-2 drops does the trick).  Add all of the almond/sugar mixture and fold in until no streaks remain. The resulting batter has been said to resemble molten lava.  

Pour the batter into your prepared piping bag and pipe rows of batter (this is where the templates come in real handy, just place them UNDER the parchment paper, and don't forget to take them out before baking) onto the baking sheets, giving them space to spread.  If you do not have a piping bag and tip, then fill a gallon ziploc bag and cut the tip off, leaving about a half inch wide opening with which to pipe.

Tap the pan on the counter to bring up any air bubbles and quickly pop them with a toothpick.

Allow the cookies to rest on a level surface for 20-60 minutes, until they are no longer tacky to a light touch. If you have problems with burst shells, you may need to allow them to rest longer.  If it is humid, it may take much longer, if it is hot, it may not take very long.

While they rest, place an oven rack in the middle of your oven, and one below that.  On the lower one place an empty baking sheet, this acts as a heat shield.  Preheat to 275-310°F (I've had the most success with about 295°F). I do not use fan-forced (convection) heat. If your oven tends to brown the cookies, consider placing a rack in the top of the oven with a baking sheet on it to shield the cookies.  Mine do brown slightly, but I don't mind, I would rather them be baked all the way through and removable from the parchment paper then not.  

Bake the cookies for 16-22 minutes, or until firm and they come off the parchment or silpat easily and fairly cleanly.  When you push the outer edge down lightly, the feet should not move or squish.  If you take them out and let them cool for a few minutes, and they don't come off the parchment paper at all, or they rip the insides out, then make sure you bake the next batch a few minutes longer.  Don't be afraid to bake them until they are done.  Aging fixes over baked shells, under baked shells can't be fixed.

When they are done, take them out, let them cool a few minutes and move them to a baking rack or clean piece of parchment.  Match like sizes and shapes in pairs, and fill with desired filling.  Put the matching side on and let them set up for a bit so the filling doesn't run out.  Store in an air tight container in the fridge, or place in freezer.  Enjoy after aging for 24-48 hours, unless using a very moist filling that you are planning to consume immediately.

FILLING IDEAS

• nutella
• chocolate ganache
• white chocolate ganache
• any fruit jam or preserves
• cookie butter
• lemon curd
• caramel
• buttercream frosting

SHELL FLAVORS

The shells can be flavored with things like cocoa powder, flavor extracts, or zest.  The blogs listed in the required reading section have many ideas and specific recipes.

• lemon flavored= zest of one lemon, added to the egg whites along with the dry ingredients and food coloring addition.
• chocolate flavored=add 2 Tbs dutch process cocoa to the powdered sugar and almond meal before sifting.
• peppermint=2-3 drops peppermint extract added with food coloring.

FINAL THOUGHTS

At first look these may seem intimidating.  Even at second glance they might.  Challenging or not, they are actually fun to make, and allow for unlimited creativity when it comes to colors, flavors, and fillings.  They aren't very expensive to make, so even if a batch doesn't come out, try, try again.  Arm yourself with knowledge, research the different ways certain steps affect the final result, and do what works for you.  Just because it worked for me, doesn't mean it will for you.  Make it work for you.  I am more than happy to answer any questions, and if I don't have the answers, I will find it for you.