French macarons

Votes: 29

A macaron is a light, brightly colored, airy pastry made with a meringue base, egg whites, powdered sugar, and ground almonds. Outside of France, macarons are typically served as sandwich cookies with a layer of ganache, cream cheese, or jam. The name comes from the Italian "macarone," "maccarone," or "maccherone," meaning meringue. The top of the dessert is smooth, with a jagged edge on the sides (called the "foot"), and a flat base. The cookie is slightly moist and melts in the mouth.

Macarons are considered a street food in France and, like other fast food, are served at McDonald's. They come in a variety of flavors, from traditional honey, raspberry, and chocolate to the new matcha tea flavor. They also come in a variety of colors: the desired result can be achieved with food coloring and tinted syrup. Depending on the theme, macarons are shaped like kawaii animals, Easter eggs, or hearts, and are further decorated with artwork.

Time: 2 hours 40 minutes

This tutorial shows you an easy way to make macaron sandwich cookies with step-by-step photos.

The recipes use measuring containers with the following volumes:
1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.

Ingredients for the recipe:

Macaron sandwich cookies

1.75 cups powdered sugar
1 cup almond flour
3 whites from large eggs, room temperature
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
A pinch of salt
1/4 cup very fine sugar
2-3 drops of gel food coloring
1/2 tsp vanilla, almond, or mint extract
Special devices: 4 baking sheets, 3 silicone baking mats, fine sieve, pastry bag with a 0.6 cm round tip.

Ingredient Substitution Suggestions

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Recipes with similar ingredients: meringue, almond flour, powdered sugar, eggs, cream of tartar, mint extract

Cooking the dish according to the recipe:

Place almond flour in a measuring cup, scraping off any excess.

Preheat oven to 150°C using convection mode. Line 3 baking sheets with silicone mats.

Measure out the powdered sugar and almond flour, spooning them into a measuring cup and leveling the top with a knife. Transfer to a bowl and mix.

Rub the sugar and flour through a fine sieve to remove lumps.

Sift the almond-sugar mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, a little at a time, pressing with a rubber spatula to thoroughly combine. This will take some time, and up to 2 tablespoons of coarse almond powder may remain—discard it.

Beat the egg whites with cream of tartar

Using a mixer at medium speed, beat the egg whites with cream of tartar and salt until stiff peaks form. Reduce the speed to medium-high, gradually add the caster sugar, and beat for about 5 more minutes until thick and fluffy.

Transfer the whipped egg whites to the almond mixture in the bowl. Insert a rubber spatula halfway into the mixture and fold it in, rotating the bowl a quarter turn after each stroke.

Stir the dough until the ingredients are combined, the dough should flow in a ribbon

Add food coloring and flavor extract in the combination indicated below. Be careful not to overdo it. The dough is very soft and will only hold a small amount of liquid. Continue mixing and turning, scraping down the sides, for 2-3 minutes, until the dough is smooth and runs off the spatula in a thin, flat "ribbon."

Pipe the dough onto parchment paper using a pastry bag.

Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a 0.6 cm round tip. Holding it vertically and close to the baking sheet, pipe out 3 cm circles (24 per baking sheet). Tap the baking sheets firmly on the counter twice to remove any air bubbles.

Let the cookies sit at room temperature until the tops are no longer sticky, 15 minutes to 1 hour, depending on room humidity. Place a third, empty baking sheet under the first one (a double baking sheet protects the cookies from the heat).

Bake the macarons until the edges are wavy.

Bake the first batch of cookies for about 20 minutes, until they are shiny and rise by 0.3 cm (a "foot" will form). Transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the second batch, again using an empty baking sheet. Remove the cookies from the baking mats and spread a thin layer of filling between each cookie.
Macaron fillings

With almonds and raspberries

Color the dough with 2 drops of bright pink gel food coloring; add almond extract. Fill the cookies with seedless raspberry jam (you'll need 3/4 cup).

With mint and white chocolate

Color the dough with 2 drops of mint green food coloring; add peppermint extract. For the filling, melt 3 oz (85 g) chopped white chocolate with 2 tbsp (15 g) heavy cream and 1 tbsp (15 g) butter in the microwave. Heat in 30-second intervals, stirring, until smooth. Stir in 1/4 tsp (1/4 tsp) peppermint extract and 1 drop (1/4 tsp) peppermint food coloring.

With blueberries and cream cheese

Color the dough with 3 drops of blue-green gel food coloring; add vanilla extract. For the filling, combine 110 g of softened cream cheese and 3 tablespoons of blueberry jam.

Macarons with lavender, mascarpone and honey

With lavender, mascarpone and honey

Add 2 drops of purple gel food coloring and almond or vanilla extract to the dough. For the filling, combine 3/4 cup mascarpone cheese, 2 tablespoons honey, and 1 teaspoon ground dried lavender.

With pineapple jam

Add 2 drops of lemon gel food coloring and vanilla extract to the dough. For the filling, strain 3/4 cup of pineapple jam through a sieve, removing any large chunks.