Oh the French macaron….the world’s most finicky cookie! Let’s face it, these cookies are hard! They can seriously drive you crazy! I too have had my battles. But this foolproof French Macaron Recipe will come to your rescue!
The trick with these cookies is patience and to follow the steps exactly!
In fact, before you set out, it might be easier to watch my French macaron recipe video below in the recipe card then give them a go.
HOW-TO MAKE A FOOLPROOF MACARON
(Preview Video. Full-Length Video in Recipe Card Below!)
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There’s nothing quite like seeing the success of smooth macaron tops, with bottoms that don’t stick to the pan, complete with feet, come out of the oven!
And believe me it took several tries, and endless revisions, to get it right! Yes, I too have “been there!” did I mention these cookies can drive you crazy?!
Are French Macarons Really That Hard to Make?
In a word, YES. There’s just so much that can go wrong! Between the under-mixing and the over-mixing issues, the baking time, the cracks, the lack of feet….and the list goes on!
As a result, I set out to see if I could create a foolproof French macaron recipe. A recipe that may take some practice, but in the end would cause less problems and less hassle for us all. And friends, here it is!
And as the old adage states, if first, you don’t succeed….yep, try, try, again! BUT FIRST, check out my Top 10 Troubleshooting tips!
DO YOU HAVE TO MAKE FRENCH MACRONS WITH ALMOND FLOUR?
Yes. Almond flour or Almond Meal is the same thing and I find it’s the perfect nut for creating the right chewiness in the cookie.
Some people have had success with cashew flour and pistachio flour, but I can’t say it worked for me. I ended up with horrible cracks, whereas with the almond flour it’s smooth sailing!
Bob’s Red Mill brand is my favorite brand of Almond Flour that I highly recommend.
A few other tips for a foolproof French Macaron before you begin.
TIP#1: DON’T USE COLD EGGS
Be sure to start with room temperature eggs. If you forgot to take your eggs out just set them in some warm water for 5-10 minutes.
TIP#2: BE GENEROUS WITH THE FOOD COLORING
I prefer the gel food coloring, I think it’s easier to control how many drops you put in. But the color tends to fade with baking so add a shade or two darker of coloring past the desired shade, when they bake it will fade.
TIP #3: IT’S ALL ABOUT THE FOLDING
You’ll gently fold the almond flour mixture into the egg whites with a rubber spatula. This is usually where it can all go wrong. Getting the sense of when to stop is really a thing that just comes with practice.
Under mix and your macaroons will be lumpy and cracked when the bake with no feet, over mix and your macarons, will be flat and won’t have feet, the mark of a well-made macaron.
SO HOW MANY STROKES DOES IT TAKE?
In my experience 65-75 turns of your spatula when folding, is about the right amount of time.
But again, it can be tricky, depends on how strong you are, Ha! So it can take a few tries to get it right. But when you do, the trumpets will blare and you will feel SO accomplished!
TIP:
To assure that your buttercream does not separate make sure your raspberries are at room temperature! If they are fresh out of the fridge, the juice won’t combine with the butter at all!
More French Dessert Recipes!
Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a rating and review below
Beth's Foolproof Macaron
Learn how to make a foolproof macaron using my 6 foolproof tips! A great cookie recipe for Valentines Day or Baby or bridal showers!
Ingredients
- 3 Egg Whites (at room temperature)
- ¼ cup white sugar (50 g)
- 2 cups powdered sugar (200 g)
- 1 cup almond flour (120 g)
- pinch of salt
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar (2 ml)
- RASPBERRY BUTTER CREAM
- 1/4 cup salted butter (60g)
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar (75 g)
- 1 cup (150 g) fresh raspberries, worked through a sieve to extract 3 tbsp of juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300F degrees
- Beat egg whites until foamy, then add salt, cream of tartar and white sugar for 8-10 mins.
- Whip until they form a peak that stands upright. Think Seattle Space needle.
- Then add the food coloring.
- Sift almond flour, and powdered sugar. What remains will be the larger lumps of almond pieces. Just discard those, or use them to snack on 🙂 You want a really fine powder mixture to create a smooth and pretty on top to your cookie.
- Fold flour/sugar mixture into the egg white mixture. About 65-75 good strokes.
- Transfer batter to a pastry bag.
- Pipe out 1 inch rounds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Tap the pan hard at least 2-3 times to release the air bubbles. This will prevent the tops of your macaroons from cracking.
- Let them sit out for 20-30 mins, or up to an hour if you want. This will allow them time to dry out a bit before hitting the hot oven. They should be "tacky" to the touch, but not stick to your fingertips. This is another important step to assuring your macarons develop feet! When they dry out they can't spread out in the oven, and are forced to rise up. That's what creates the feet!
- Bake for 20 mins. DO NOT UNDER BAKE, even if they look done! Otherwise they will stick to your tray.
- Meanwhile mix the buttercream. Whip butter with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Slowly add sugar. Then place sieve on top of a bowl the same size. Work raspberries through the sieve with a spatula, pushing them through, mashing them around until you extract their juice. You want 3 tablespoons of juice.
- Add juice to buttercream, and whip until combined. Transfer to a pastry bag, fitted with a small tip (about ¼ " in diameter)
- Reverse cookie shells on their backs, and pipe a small mound of filling on one of them. Top with the other shell et Voila!
- If not eating right away, keep refrigerated.
Notes
- Be sure to start with with room temperature eggs. If you forgot to take your eggs out just set them in some warm water for 5-10 minutes.
- The color tends to fade with baking so add a shade or two darker of food coloring past the desired shade, when they bake it will fade.
- In my experience 65-75 turns of your spatula when folding in the dry ingredients, is about the right amount of time.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 115 Total Fat: 5g Saturated Fat: 2g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 3g Cholesterol: 8mg Sodium: 33mg Carbohydrates: 17g Fiber: 1g Sugar: 15g Protein: 2g
When you fold. Do you only cut down middle and fold around. Or do you take the spaatula and deflate it by smashing the spatula on the inner bowl. Also do you add almond mixture in thirds or all at once? Thanks
Great questions! OK first up the folding. The idea of folding is to mix the dry ingredients as gently as you can without deflating the egg whites ( a deflated white will create flat macs with no feet). This is best achieved by turning the batter around by scooping under it and lifting it to the top, repeating this process 65-70 folds or until the ingredients are mixed in. And yes best to do this in thirds, not all at once hope that helps!
Great recipe. What was odd is that some macarons did not have hollows, but most did. Wonder why some would have it and not.
If you pipe does it matter how its done? If you didnt hold it inch away or angled it or adding a little more on top after.
First time making macarons! I was excited but knew I was in for a temperamental cookie. I baked at 300, and most of my macarons spread, which is very disappointing but I knew anything could happen.
I tapped my pans on the counter, they sat out to dry for 45 minutes and they basically exploded…but only some. I turned my oven temp down to try and save the ones that haven’t spread. I did 71 mixes or folds with my batter.
Any suggestions?
How long do these stay good for in the fridge? Can you freeze them?
They are good for about 2 days in the fridge, after that, they start to turn hard. Unfortunately, these don’t freeze well. The shells get a bit too damp when thawing which makes them a bit too sticky. These cookies are a bit “high-maintenance” ha!
Great recipe. My first time trying it came out perfectly! Thank you!
Does it make a difference if using a silicone mat vs. parchment paper?
Personally I prefer the parchment paper but I know some folks swear by the silicone mat. So I guess it’s a personal preference? 🙂 But try both and see what you think? One benefit of the mat is that you can find ones where the circles are drawn for you so you get really precise shapes. So that could be a selling point! 🙂 Here’s a link to that type of mat https://amzn.to/35GxhXz
Tried your macaroons recipe came out great👍My first attempt an was really happy with the outcome. Thank you again 💐
YAY! So glad it was a hit! 🙂
Can i make this with almond ground instead of almond flour? Or is it the same thing?
Yes exactly same thing 🙂 It can be called almond meal too! Again, the same thing :). I hope you enjoy!
Hi Beth,
I’ve seen some recipes that include freeze dried raspberries in the shell of the macaron. How would I go about doing that with this recipe?
(I would just like a bit of raspberry flavour in the shell as well). Thanks!
Ahh OK I would grind them up finely in a food processor and then combine with the dry ingredients you sift. But take out an equal amount of almond flour to compensate for the freeze-dried, maybe 2 tbsp on each end. I’m only guessing as I haven’t actually tried this 🙂 but if you try it let me know how it goes because now I’m curious! 🙂
Love this recipe. Made it for the first time today and it came out perfect! I did forget to color the dough, so I colored the filling. My husband says it was great!.
YAY! So glad it was a hit! 🙂
Love this recipe! Made it my first time making macaroons and they turned out perfect! I tried a different chocolate recipe today and it was awful! Definitely will be using yours from now on!
YAY! So glad they were a hit! 🙂
Great recipe.That is the first time I have made a perfect macaron.Very well explain
YAY! So glad to hear you had success! 🙂
I’ve struggled with these for a while and tried all different recipes. This one is so amazing! Thank you I will forever use this recipe! 🙂
How many grams are the egg whites? I live in the PH and i’m afraid the eggs sold here are smaller compares to the ones you use. Baked macarons 3 times already and all were either cracked but with feet or wrinkled with no feet. Will try this recipe next.
Not sure if it’s because I’m in a different country with different ingredients but I followed this recipe with utmost precision and got an incredibly stiff, dense mix. I know right away that the batter itself isn’t right so I’ll scrap it and try again.
I made these for my daughter and they turned out great. Thank you for your video it was great.
YAY! So glad they were a hit! 🙂
If I wanted to make a chocolate version, what do you suggest I change? I tried them as is and added 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder. But the macroons came out cracked and wrinkly looking. Should I reduce the amount of almond flour if I am adding the cocoa powder?
Exactly I would reduce the amount of almond flour to compensate for the additional cocoa powder 🙂 If you add 2 tbsp, reduce 2tbsp of flour and see if that helps?
I tried this two separate times and the macarons keep sticking to my mat and the tops are hollow. They have feet, I tried baking them longer and it doesn’t seem to help. My oven temp is accurate. I specifically did not over beat my egg whites or overmix my batter and watched your video several times. I allowed them to dry before baking for 45 minutes. Can anyone tell me what I’m doing wrong? Thanks in advance 🙂
You might actually be under mixing them. If not enough air gets into the eggs they will fall to the bottom of the shell and cause the bottom to get sticky like you said. Try beating the eggs a little longer. But if they start to get a doughy or clumpy consistency they are over beaten but it can be easily fixed just add one more egg white, it doesn’t have to be room temp. And mix until the clumpyness goes away.
My first attempt at making French macaroons and these turned out perfectly! Thanks for the great recipe!
YAY! So glad it was a hit! 🙂
I have been trying to make Mac at all for several different weddings for cookie tables. This recipe is the best!!! I made them again tonight for another cookie table for this weekend and they came out perfectly!!! I have tried several other recipes with very mixed results. This is the second time for your recipe Beth, and they turned out so well both times. Tonight I left the windows open and let the summer heat in and they still developed feet and looked beautiful!!
Amazing! Bravo!! I’m SO happy to hear that! These cookies can be so tricky! Ha!
I have wanted to attempt Macarons ever since travelling to France years ago but was too scared. I followed this recipe EXACTLY and they turned out almost perfect the first go! Might have to adjust the oven temp as they were a tad hollow but a day in the fridge they filled in. Everyone is getting Macarons for Christmas this year. I will use this recipe again and again! Thank you! Look forward to getting creative! Also how fun are they to make!?
My first batch spread out a lot, they didn’t make cute little buttons, but more like oozy puddles. I also noticed when I mixed the almond flour and powdered sugar (each sifted individually) it got a little clumpy again. So when I make this again, I’ll mix them together first, then sift the whole mixture into the egg whip. As I was browsing the produce section for raspberries, I decided to try orange as a filling. I will def try this recipe again. Thanks for all your tips, Beth!
My daughter and I made these this morning and they turned out to be picture perfect. Really. My daughter is in the garden doing a photo shoot right now! LOL! We did cheat on the raspberry filling. We used a bit of unsweetened, seedless, raspberry jam instead of fresh berries. Thank you so much for the helpful tips and for the priceless time spent with my daughter!
Aww you bet! I’m so glad it helped! These cookies can be tricky! Ha! Bravo! 🙂
First time ever making these and they turned out perfect!!! Thank you for the recipe! All the tips definitely helped make perfect macarons!!!
Hi,
Thank you very much for this great recipe!! I finally manage to have all the cookies to be almost perfect 🙂 but I had only one issue. When I baked them for 20 minutes the colour has changed to a bit brown like they were overbaked. Could you please advice on that? What have I done wrong?
Thank you in advance!
Ah OK yes that usually happens if the oven runs hot. Try pulling them out 5 minutes sooner next time or turning down your oven 10-15 degrees F. Hope that helps! 🙂
Thanks! I’ll try that next time! 🙂
I followed your recipe exactly, turned out excellent for first try. Very happy with my results. Thank you so much
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Thank you for the great recipe. I succeeded on my first try! The only issue i had was the buttercream was too runny. What could have happened? What consistency should we have before we pipe? Any tips? Thanks again!
Oh sure sounds like you may have added too much juice? Next time just add a little at a time, until you get the consistency of a frosting. You can also pop back in the fridge to harden up and then whip again until fluffy 🙂
Thanks so much for the great recipe! Helped my friend celebrate her 12th birthday with them. We altered and used lemon extract instead of vanilla and made lemon frosting with blueberry pie filling in the center.
Oh yummy! That sounds fantastic! 🙂 I’m so glad to hear you had success! YAY!!
I tried many recipes and by far this one is the best
Even if I had to make it twice since I burnt the first batch
Also the tips were very helpful
The recipe is great, Thank you
Everything was great
But maybe make a bigger batch of icing since I had to double it
Lastly forgot to say that I switched the icing to vanilla because I fond it did not taste good
Your r cope was SO helpful, especially the specifics about how long to beat the whites and how many folding turns. Success at last!
I think the cold weather does effect the macaroons as mime were little wierd the recipe was great though and works many times for me! 🙂 very satisfied!!
Hi Beth,
I am currently busy with your recipe, but I think the cold weather might be affecting my batch 😭
Inside its about 15 deg Celsius, the batter just won’t mix, won’t get to the lava stage. It stays stiff and uncompromising.
I know living in California, you may not have this issue, but have you ever heard of anyone having this issue?
Amazing Recipe! Only one I could get right😄
I watched your video several times and then started making the recipe-you made the process very easy! I am very happy to tell you that my first attempt came out perfectly – feet and all! I did bake them for the 20 minutes, but I do think that my oven was a little under 300 degrees which I will adjust the next time. The macarons are absolutely delicious – thank you!!
YAY! So glad to hear you had success! Bravo!!
OMG!!!!! This actually worked. I have made about 10 batches of macarons using different “foolproof” recipes and this is the first one that gave me those distinctive feet and luscious middle. I will be using this recipe from now on.
YAY! I’m so glad you had success! They cookie can be so tricky! 🙂
i’ve tried countless macaron recipes and have failed the same amount. . this recipe provided my first success! i need to tweak a few things as it was humid and my oven runs hotter. thank you for sharing your tips and recipe!
YAY! So glad o hear you had success! BRAVO! 🙂
This is the only recipe I’ve ever had success with. I tried a different recipe two days ago and it was a disaster so I made more using your recipe. I guess don’t change things if it works! Highly recommend!!!!
I had feet on my macarons!!! 👣
After many failed attempts I got brave and tried your recipe. Success!
Thank you for the clear and easy recipe and tips 😉
YAY! So glad it was a success! Bravo!! 🙂
Fourth macaron recipe I’ve tried and it WORKED. They look just like the photo. I followed the recipe exactly and couldn’t be happier. Thank you!!!
YAY! So glad to hear you had success! BRAVO!!
Made but didn’t rise. FLAT but have feet
Great straightforward recipe! Anyone with hollow shells – let them “mature” for a few days in the fridge. Mine were hollow at first, but two days later were full.
Thank you so much for this recipe. Worked great!
Perfection, first try.
What size piping bag and tip do you use ? Certain brand ?
Thank you !
Oh sure I like the Wilton products for bags and tips. The Tip I used for this was 3/4″ in diameter. Hope that helps!
I keep getting hollow macarons! They are beautiful otherwise. Help!
Oh no! OK sounds like your oven may be too hot which is making them dry out too quickly. This trouble shooting guide will help 🙂
Thank you for your several tries and endless revisions. I followed you’re instructions and got it right the first time! The batter didn’t spread, I got feet!! I modified the flavor and put 2.5 tbsp cocoa powder in the macaron batter. Then I filled them with a ring of cream cheese frosting and a dollop of chocolate ganache. I was able to make 27 macarons with this recipe. I’ve been watching so many baking shows where macarons are made and have been looking forward to trying them myself.
Hi Beth, macaron first-timer over here! I followed your recipe to a T and thoroughly watched your video twice, and my macarons came out PERFECT!!! Thank you so so much for providing such a great recipe with super helpful tips, will definitely be trying out your other recipes!