I have a love/hate relationship with macarons. Usually, with the right recipe, I don't have a problem, and I am the first to cut corners on overly verbose steps. They say that if you make the batter right, you don't have to bang the trays very hard, you don't have to wait for the shells to dry, and you shouldn't have to keep the oven door open while they bake. I agree that there are too many myths in baking, but every once in a while, I'll forget that a certain step of the recipe simply can not be skipped or glossed over. And macarons are my downfall in such cases. I once spent 2 days making 25 (yes, twenty-five) batches of macarons, trying to figure out why they were cracking. I hope that this post will help you make your own perfect macarons, with minimal hassle.
Firstly, macarons simply can't be made without a piping bag and a pastry tip. I have a piping bag fitted with a tip solely dedicated to macaron piping. Since there is no fat in the batter, I rarely have to use soap to clean it, and a simple rinse is enough.
Secondly, you can't have ANY water in your water. This means that all utensils must be dry. I pat the piping bag with a dry paper towel pretty thoroughly, even if it hasn't been touched in a while, just in case. Mixer bowls, whisks, sifters, and rubber spatulas have all been guilty of water drippage at one point or another.
Thirdly, make sure that you have a scale for measuring out ingredients. This is my most common downfall. Most bakers know that one egg white is approximately 1 ounce. This is common knowledge, and bakers never think twice about subbing out recipe measurements, because it's mostly true. Maybe because the macaron batter batch is so small, maybe because moisture level is crucial in the batter, you simply can't convert the ounces to eggs in this recipe. Don't assume that one ounce of egg white is the white of one egg. Measure it out, save the extras if you have any for the next batch.
Lastly, it's important to not let your macarons toast in the oven. An extra minute in the oven can be the difference between an airy texture and a crunchy shell that shatters when bitten into. If you do happen to hold it in the oven a little too long, which is sadly all too easy to do, you can resurrect the shell by filling the cookies and refrigerating for about 2 days. It delays the indulgence, but at least you won't be vacuuming macaron shells all day.
Ok, here's the recipe:
Firstly, macarons simply can't be made without a piping bag and a pastry tip. I have a piping bag fitted with a tip solely dedicated to macaron piping. Since there is no fat in the batter, I rarely have to use soap to clean it, and a simple rinse is enough.
Secondly, you can't have ANY water in your water. This means that all utensils must be dry. I pat the piping bag with a dry paper towel pretty thoroughly, even if it hasn't been touched in a while, just in case. Mixer bowls, whisks, sifters, and rubber spatulas have all been guilty of water drippage at one point or another.
Thirdly, make sure that you have a scale for measuring out ingredients. This is my most common downfall. Most bakers know that one egg white is approximately 1 ounce. This is common knowledge, and bakers never think twice about subbing out recipe measurements, because it's mostly true. Maybe because the macaron batter batch is so small, maybe because moisture level is crucial in the batter, you simply can't convert the ounces to eggs in this recipe. Don't assume that one ounce of egg white is the white of one egg. Measure it out, save the extras if you have any for the next batch.
Lastly, it's important to not let your macarons toast in the oven. An extra minute in the oven can be the difference between an airy texture and a crunchy shell that shatters when bitten into. If you do happen to hold it in the oven a little too long, which is sadly all too easy to do, you can resurrect the shell by filling the cookies and refrigerating for about 2 days. It delays the indulgence, but at least you won't be vacuuming macaron shells all day.
Ok, here's the recipe:
Here's an image of the colored, beaten egg whites just after they are added to the almond mixture:
As you see, at first it doesn't look like they will come together:
But slowly, you see that they do:
But you're not done until the mixture looks like liquid taffy:
Add to the piping bag:
Here is an image of the macarons just after piping, but before banging:
Here's what they look like after banging. You see that they are flatter and they no longer have little tails:
And here's the final product:
I generally fill my macarons with whipped cream or jam. Here they are with some jam:
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