Have you ever made macarons?

I think the best treatise on macarons was written by Not So Humble Pie on her blog. Just google her. She wrote several posts about macarons and the different methods. Even comparing different meringues, silicone vs parchment, mix methods. She went all ATK about it.

I took a Williams and Sonoma class on how to make them. It's really hard, the oven has to be just the right temperature, it's not as simple as just setting the dial. All the ingredients have to be just right. The instructor explained to us everything that can go wrong. I love to bake and think I'm good at it, but macarons are a special thing to make.

I've made them several times. I even took a class at Sur La Table last summer with DD. They are pretty finicky, but cheap to make so you can ruin a batch without feeling too bad.

I used silicone mats. Parchment will work, but silicone works better. Use a template under the parchment/mat for the circles for consistency.

The egg whites should ribbon off your spatula. I actually have to rough mine up to get them to deflate a little. I don't let mine rest. After you pipe the macarons, pick your sheet pan up a few inches off the counter and drop it a few times. This settles the egg whites and gets out the bigger air bubbles.Then they need to set for about 30 minutes. The tops should be slightly crusted over when you tap them gently and not sticky at all. This is what gives them the foot (that little crinkle edge) and helps them rise. You can put them in front of a fan to speed up the process. On a humid day, this will take much longer than 30 minutes.

Different recipes call for slightly different methods. Many recipes were written to simplify the process and that slightly changes the recipe. Follow your recipe. I use the Sur La Table's basic recipe and just change the flavors. I don't think it's an authentic recipe, but it's what I was taught so I use it and I've only had one batch not turn out. We found a modification online where you add peppermint extract and it made the cookies way too wet. So if you find a peppermint Sur La Table recipe online, don't use it! That's the only batch that didn't turn out.

Less is more when it comes to the icing in the middle. You will use very little of it, but it freezes well. I've also just used jam and find it's rather tasty.

If they don't turn out, they are still tasty. But you just have meringue cookies rather than macarons! That's what we called the peppermint ones.

I make them all the time for my business. I made 100 yesterday, and have 200 to make for an event Sunday.

I don't let my whites rest.

I use the Italian Meringue version - my recipe has 2 measurements of egg whites. One measurement is mixed directly into the almond/icing sugar mixture without whipping (if I'm colouring them, I whisk the colour into these whites) - and for these whites I use the pasturized whites in the container at the grocery store. They don't whip as nicely, so for the other measurement, I separate my eggs. I don't rest my whites.

The trick with these is the mixing. Under-mix and they go wrong. Over-mix and they go wrong. I had a LOT of failures before I perfected them. I still have failures, cracked tops, spreading, no feet. They are a finicky little treat.

Watch a few youtube videos on the method - so you can see what it looks like properly mixed - it has a certain "flow" from the spatula.

I let mine rest a bit between piping and baking - I pipe them all, then turn my oven on to preheat. When the oven is  preheated, then I put them in. I usually rotate my pans halfway through baking (I have a commercial, electric convection oven).

I have macaron mats (silicone mats that have little raised rims for each mac to be piped into) - keeps them the same size.

Good luck!

One other tip - don't bother flavouring the cookie part - just flavour your filling.

After adding the filling and sandwiching them together - leave them sit for 24 hours in the fridge. The filling seeps into the shells and makes them oh so yummy! They really are best after 24 hours. They freeze nicely as well.

DD tried one time and while they were tasty, they looked terrible! And the ingredients were on the expensive side unless you were planning on making a lot of them. Can't say we will try again.

Great thread! Macarons are on my baking bucket list.

Mmm. Now I want macaroons, which I think are much better than macarons.

Yes and it's a steep learning curve, but I love them. My newest thing is vegan macarons. They're made with chickpea liquid (aquafaba). Now that I've tried them I don't think I will go back to egg whites because you cannot over beat aquafaba, whereas you can over beat egg white. I had converted to silicone for the reusability factor, but now I believe parchment is the key for me anyway. I have a blog full of photos of my macarons
my-pink-kitchen.blogspot.com

I have made spectacular macarons. I took a class with Helene Dujardin (Tartelette) a few years ago.

Age the whites for 48 hours.
Use parchment.
Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar.

Pipe the cookies and let sit for 30 minutes to get a shell (which allows for the "feet" to develop in the oven.)
* ETA- after piping, slam the pan down on the counter to force out the bubbles.

They are finicky...

Here's a blog post I made back then: Espresso macarons with mocha buttercream

Another recipe- rustic macarons with ganache filling

My DIL makes these beautifully. My favorite is lemon. Hers is passion fruit.

My son is an excellent cook, and his first and only try was a failure. DIL kept offering suggestions, and he, a typical guy, thought he didn't need help.

I so want to try making them. There are some really great tips here. Maybe I'll give it a try this weekend.

Over spring break I tried to make some.  I tried 5 times and only one batch got a foot.  It was a rainy day so I think that May have been the problem.    That's my story and I am sticking to it.  I need some for a shower so I bought some instead.