Go Back
Macaron recipe / how to make macarons
Print

Macaron recipe / how to make macarons

Delicate, crispy on the outside, moist on the inside, almond-flavored meringue and creamy fruity or nutty filling – that's what delicious macarons are made of. According to this macaron recipe you can make the popular French pastry in the form of colorful double cookies with almond meringue yourself.
Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 40 pieces

Ingredients

for the meringue (for approx. 40 macarons or 80 macaron shells)

  • 250 g ground almonds
  • 250 g powdered sugar
  • 90 + 90 g egg whites
  • 250 g sugar
  • 75 ml water
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • food coloring (alternative)

for the berry filling (enough for about 20 macarons)

  • 110 g frozen raspberries or blackberries
  • 130 g butter (room temperature)
  • 65 g powdered sugar

for the pistachio filling (enough for approx. 20 macarons)

  • 110 g pistachios (roasted)
  • 110 g sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

Preparation of the meringue

  • Sift ground almonds and powdered sugar through a fine sieve and mix them together.
  • Add 90 g of egg whites and mix to a homogeneous paste.
  • Put water and sugar together in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly; the sugar should have dissolved before boiling. If it doesn't, take the saucepan off the heat briefly, stir it until the sugar dissolves, put it back on the heat and then boil it.
  • Alternatively, add any food coloring to the sugar syrup, stir it briefly and boil the sugar syrup over low heat (stop stirring) until it reaches 118 - 120 °C.
  • In parallel, start whipping the remaining 90 g of egg whites and salt with a food processor at medium speed.
  • Once the sugar syrup reaches 118 - 120 °C, take it off the heat and immediately add it slowly, in a thin stream to the whipped egg whites, continuing to whip the egg whites. Just before the sugar syrup reaches the necessary temperature, you can check if the egg whites already have a foamy consistency. If it is not, you can briefly turn the food processor on maximum speed. However, the egg whites must not be whipped into a solid mass when you add the sugar syrup. After adding the sugar syrup to the egg whites, continue to beat the mixture at maximum speed of the food processor for about 10 minutes, until the cream is firm and the mixing bowl with the meringue is no longer hot, but only warm when touched from the outside.
  • Add the meringue in batches to the almond mixture and gently and briskly fold it in in circular motions with a silicone spatula. You must keep making circular motions with the silicone spatula until you get a viscous almond dough that flows off the spatula in an unbroken strip. The dough should not become too runny, nor too firm. (Be sure to follow my tips and tricks for this here at the top of the post).
  • Fill the almond dough into a piping bag with a hole nozzle and place blobs about 2 inches in diameter on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving enough space between them.
  • Tap the baking sheet with the bottom straight down on the work surface a few times to remove any air bubbles from the blobs. Let the macaron shells sit at room temperature until their surface dries a bit and is no longer sticky. To check, touch a few macarons to the surface with your finger. The time to dry can vary greatly, depending on the room temperature and humidity. For me, it took 1.5 hours.
  • Preheat the oven to 150 °C top and bottom heat. Put the baking tray with the macaron shells into the oven and switch it to 140 °C. Bake the macaron shells for approx. 7 minutes, and they should have "feet". Remove them from the baking tray together with the baking paper onto the work surface and let them cool down.

Preparation of the berry filling

  • Defrost the raspberries or blackberries and drain them thoroughly. Puree them and rub them through a sieve.
  • Beat softened butter and powdered sugar for about 3 - 4 minutes until creamy white.
  • Add the berry mixture and whip to a homogeneous cream.

Preparation of the pistachio filling

  • Grind roasted pistachios finely.
  • Add sweetened condensed milk and beat until homogeneous.

Filling the macarons

  • Fill a piping bag with the filling and pipe some of it in the center of the bottom of a macaron shell. Place a second macaron shell with the bottom on top of the filling and press it a little so that the filling spreads to the edge of the macaron shells. Repeat the same with all the macaron shells.
  • Pack the macarons in an airtight container and let them sit in the refrigerator overnight.

Notes

  • Accurate weighing of all ingredients for the meringue is very important. This is the decisive factor for the success of macarons.
  • Be sure to sift ground almonds and powdered sugar to remove all lumps and coarsely ground pieces.
  • The temperature of the sugar syrup, to which it must be boiled, is very important. It must not be lower than 118 °C and must not exceed 120 °C. To reach the right temperature, use a kitchen thermometer.
  • Add the sugar syrup to the egg whites only slowly, in a thin stream and in no case too quickly.
  • After adding the sugar syrup to the egg whites, it is important to beat the mixture well.
  • The consistency of the almond dough is crucial for the success of the pastry. The meringue should be carefully but quickly folded into the almond paste. The dough should be stirred in circular motions with a silicone spatula until it flows off the spatula in an unbroken strip.
  • Be sure to let macaron shells dry until they are no longer sticky on the surface.
  • Macaron shells are done baking when they can be easily removed from the baking sheet, and their "lid" is no longer wobbly when touched.
  • The drying and baking times given in the recipe may vary.
  • The time to dry the macaron shells is not included in the preparation time.
  • Note the detailed tips and tricks for making your own macarons at the top of the post.