FRENCH MACARONS
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Macaron
Cuisine: French
Serves: 20 sanwiched macarons
Ingredients
  • 1¼ packed cups (165 grams) almond flour
  • ¾ packed cup (165 grams) confectioners' sugar
  • pinch of fine sea salt
  • 1 tablespoons (5 grams) powdered egg white
  • ¾ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
  • ½ cup (115 grams) aged egg whites (from 4 eggs)
  • ½ teaspoon (3 grams) cream of tartar
  • 4 drops (gel) or 6 drops (liquid) food coloring (optional)
Instructions
  1. Place almond flour, confectioners sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times until combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl between pulses with a spatula. If you don't have a food processor, you can skip this part and just mix everything in a bowl.
  2. Sift the almond flour mixture with a fine-mesh strainer in to a bowl (or waxed paper).
  3. Next, make the meringue. With a hand whisk, whisk together the powdered egg white and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer.
  4. Whisk in the aged egg whites and cream of tartar until the mixture is all combined.
  5. Set the bowl and whisk attachment on the mixer and whisk on medium speed until the meringue is glossy and forms stiff peaks, about 11 minutes.
  6. Once the meringue reaches stiff peaks, stop the mixer. To test it, take the whisk off and lift it up, the peaks should be stiff and looks like marshmallow fluff.
  7. Add half of the almond flour mixture into the mixing bowl. With a spatula, quickly fold the sifted almond flour mixture into the meringue. Bring the spatula down the middle of the batter. Scrape it up toward the left side of the bowl (9'clock), forming the letter "J". Rotate the bowl by 90 degrees and repeat the steps above. Add the rest of the flour. Continue folding.
  8. If you want to use food coloring, stop folding when the batter appears to be 90% incorporated, scrape the sides of the bowl, and fold in the desired coloring. I used 4 drops of yellow gel color to give the shells a pale yellow color.
  9. Use the spatula to lift some of the mixture up. When it's ready, it should fall right back into the bowl, with no stiffness, in one continuous drip. All together, I folded mine about 30 times.
  10. To pipe, spoon the batter in a pastry bag fitted with a ½-inch round tip.
  11. Pipe the batter on the silicone mat or parchment-lined baking sheet into quarter-size mounds. 1½ inches apart from one another. Holding the tip of the bag at a 90-degree angle ¼-inch above the baking sheet. Firmly squeeze it until the batter fills the circle on the piping guide and is about ¼-inch high. Do not move the bag and twist your wrist in a clockwise direction, without lifting it up. Once the batter stops flowing, stop squeezing the bag. Lift and move on to the next circle.
  12. Next, firmly slam the baking sheet down to remove access air and hopefully some of the "tails" will settle out. If not, just use your finger to gently tap them down. Don't be afraid to really slam them. You need to get rid of the access air.
  13. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  14. Leave the baking sheet on the counter about 20 minutes before you bake them.
  15. Bake for 9 minutes. Macaron shells are very delicate and subject to overheating, so after removing the baking sheets from the oven, immediately slide the silicone mat or parchment paper onto a cooling rack or your kitchen counter. Let them cool completely before attempting to remove them, because they are inclined to crack when warm.
  16. Fill them with your desired filling, using a piping bag or simply use a butter knife. Pipe or spread the filling on one shell, top with another shell and twist the sandwiched macaron slightly to secure the filling. That's it. Enjoy the French Macarons!
Notes
After a few tries, I found that using scale to measure the ingredients gave the best result, precision is the key in making good macarons.
They can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 days. Bring them to room temperature before eating them.

You can also freeze them, they freeze well if they are filled with ganache or buttercream. It’s not recommended to freeze macarons filled with pastry cream or fruit-based fillings, they will become too soggy when thawing out.
Recipe by Let's Cook Some Food at https://www.letscooksomefood.com/french-macarons/