Basic Macaron Recipe
You can totally do this! Follow my simple instructions and video tutorial, and you’ll be enjoying freshly made French macarons from your own home kitchen! This basic recipe for classic almond shells couldn’t be more simple. (Naturally gluten-free.)
I feature recipes for French macarons pretty regularly here, because they are a little bit special, gift-able, and infinitely adaptable. There are so many different flavor possibilities, and it’s a lot of fun to come up with different kinds of shell + filling pairings. You can just let your imagination run wild; there are tons of different ways you can make them uniquely your own.
But for all the different ways you can make macarons, one thing always remains the same, and that’s the feedback I get from you guys. Over and over again I hear things like, “I just love macarons, but I’m too scared to make them,” or “they look delicious but I don’t think I am experienced enough to tackle that challenge.” Well, I have been listening, and I am here to tell you that yes, they can be a little bit finicky at times, but you can totally do this!
The macarons you see here are not perfect. If you look closely you will notice that some of them are lopsided. The edges aren’t as neat as they could be. There are some air bubbles. But if I can make them in an oven that looks like this, then you should have no trouble! And even if you do, I’m going to let you in on a little secret: lopsided macarons with air bubbles still taste every bit as good as the pretty ones!
So, are you in? Let’s do it!
Just like with a lot of other pastries, you’ll have the best results if you weigh your ingredients, because that’s a lot more accurate than spooning/packing things into a measuring cup. But that’s easy enough to work around, and the main idea is nothing you aren’t already familiar with. Basically, you have dry ingredients and wet ingredients, and you mix them together. The dry ingredients consist of ground almonds, powdered sugar, and a pinch of salt. The wet ingredients are egg whites and granulated sugar, with a pinch of cream of tartar to help keep the meringue from falling flat. It’s really that simple.
1) Use room temperature egg whites from whole eggs. (I have tried using pasteurized, liquid egg whites and have not been happy with the result.)
2) Make sure your mixing bowl and whip are really clean and you haven’t pierced any yolks when separating the eggs. (Any small trace of fat will prevent the whites from whipping up well.)
3) If you choose to tint your shells, use either gel paste or powdered color, and add it to the meringue before you begin folding in the almond mixture. (Liquid food coloring is not recommended.)
4) Don’t over- or under-mix the dry with the wet. (Stop folding when the batter drops from the spatula in one long ribbon- or maybe even a few strokes before. Remember that the process of filling your piping bag will work the batter even a little bit more, so I like to err slightly on the side of less folding.)
5) Pipe the rounds a little smaller than you want your finished shells to be. (The batter will spread as it sets.)
6) Handle them gently. (Some recipes recommend rapping them forcefully on the counter to force out air bubbles, but when I have done this in the past, it’s caused the shells to crack in the oven. Personally, I prefer bubbles over cracks.)
7) Dry times may vary based on the humidity level in the air. For me, here in the northeastern U.S., 45 minutes is usually good. (You’ll know they’re ready when you can feel a thin, dry membrane on their surface.)
8) Bake them at a low temperature so they don’t brown. (Bake times can also vary, but you can reach your hand in the oven at around the ten minute mark and give them a feel. Pull them when they’re set and let them cool on the baking sheet.)
9) When they’re fully cool, fill them with something delicious. (I prefer fillings that are a little less sweet. The shells themselves are quite sugar-y, so fillings like dark chocolate, salted caramel, and tangy curd are particularly good, in my opinion ;))
10) Eat them the following day. (One of the best things about macarons is the way the filling and the shell kind of meld together into a soft, almost chewy blend of flavors. They need several hours to overnight for this to occur.)
Here are some of my most used (and loved!) macaron-making tools:
Chocolate Walnut Macarons with Salted Caramel Filling
Hazelnut Macarons with Pumpkin Maple Cream Cheese Filling
Coffee Macarons with Nutella Filling
Blueberry Mascarpone Macarons
Strawberry Rose Macarons
Orange Walnut Macarons with Spiced Cream Cheese and Cranberry Filling
If you still aren’t feeling brave enough to take on macarons, hopefully this video will help. As you can see, it’s just a handful of simple ingredients and all the hard work is done in a matter of a few short minutes.
Or, you can watch the Live recipe demo in the recipe card below, which offers a little more in-depth insight with regard to technique:
Let me know if you still have questions, and I’ll do my best to answer them.
This post includes affiliate sales links.
Basic Macaron Shells
Ingredients
- 120 grams egg whites, (about 4 large eggs)
- 170 grams almond meal, (also called "almond flour")
- 200 grams powdered, (also called "confectioners" or "icing" sugar)
- 1/8 teaspoon (0.13 teaspoon) kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) cream of tartar
- 70 grams granulated sugar, (also called "caster's" sugar
- gel paste or powdered food coloring, optional
Instructions
- Set the egg whites aside to come to room temperature.
- Measure the almond meal, powdered sugar, and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Process the mixture finely, then sift, discarding any large bits. Set aside.
- Measure the granulated sugar in a small bowl.
- Add the cream of tartar to the whites, and mix on medium-high speed, using the whip attachment.
- When the whites hold soft peaks, start adding the granulated sugar, very slowly, while continuing to whip.
- When all the granulated sugar has been incorporated, continue to whip until stiff. Add color, if using.
- Add the almond meal mixture to the meringue, and fold together, until the batter drops from the spatula in a long ribbon.
- Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip, and pipe 1 1/2-inch diameter rounds onto parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Allow to dry for 45-60 minutes, or until thin, dry membrane forms on the surface.
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F, and bake the macarons (one sheet at a time) until set (approximately 10-15 minutes). Do not brown.
- Allow to cool on the baking sheet, then carefully peel from the parchment and sandwich with filling.
These look so perfect!! I definitely need to try them!
Thanks Annie! I hope you do! Enjoy!
I’ve never made macarons before, but you make it look so easy. Great tips.
It really isn’t that hard. They have a bad reputation for some reason!
Eeeekkk thank you Allie! I can’t wait to try this. I have always wanted to conquer macarons but they are a little tricky. I love your videos, I was watching them the other day during my lunch break, so glad you added another one!
Hooray! Thanks so much for watching and I hope you find this one to be helpful. If you’re going to be really nitpicky about the way your macarons look, then yes, they can be a little tricky. But 9 times out of 10 they come out great so really they’re nothing to be afraid of! Good luck!
Love your video and the recipe, too!
Thank you so much Betsy! So glad you clicked over 🙂
Beautiful photos in this post! Loved the video too, I definitely need to work on my piping skills, I tend to drip batter all over the baking sheet (and the kitchen counter, floor, etc. :)).
Oh I know! I have done that plenty, believe me! The batter is gloopy so it’s hard not to, lol! Thanks so much Nicole!
Allie, thank you SO much for putting this together! I have a crazy fear of making macarons but with your guidance I know I can conquer it 🙂
They aren’t nearly as hard as people make them out to be. I swear their bad reputation is so undeserved. So happy you liked Amy and I hope you do give them a go!
I’ve never made macarons and I am bookmarking this to keep open when I finally do attempt them! Great guide and I always trust your baking knowledge 🙂
Aw, thank you Medha! Wishing you lots of success when you finally do get around to trying!
I have never made macaron’s but now I have to try your recipe. Delicious.
They really are! The more I make them the more I love them. Thanks Janette!
I’m going to give this recipe to my husband! We really needed this this past Christmas Eve. My husband very helpfully (I don’t think) decided to try making some macarons for the first time while I was trying to prepare Christmas dinner veggies. They were a total flop and he was very disappointed, but really wants to have another go. I reckon this is the help we need! Thank you, Allie!
Haha that is so funny Helen! Boy husbands have such a way with “helping” at the most critical times, don’t they? Well hopefully he’ll have better luck next time 😉
I love eating macaroons – so delicate and crispy on the outside, creamy inside, and totally intimidating to make! I have been wanting to make macaroons for years, but I’ve always been afraid of just being too heavy-handed with them. You’re video tutorial is fantastic! You make it look like I can actually make them myself! 🙂
You can! You can actually be kinda rough with the folding especially at the beginning. It’s more about the timing than anything I think. You just have to know when to stop folding but that ribbon trick is so helpful! Thanks so much Kathleen!
Macarons are totally on my list of things to try this summer! I love all the tips and will have to refer back to them when I finally take the macaron plunge! 🙂
Oh yay! I think you’ll find yourself totally addicted once you’ve made your first batch. That’s the way it went for me! Thanks Renee and good luck!
Love the wonderful tips you’ve included in this post! And the video is awesome! Now I need to make some macarons 🙂
Thank you!!!
It’s like you read my mind. I needed this SO badly! My new goal for this summer is to make semi-successful macarons!
This is going to be the summer of bucket-list baking for me I think! There are so many things I want to try and master. I hope you have lots of success with macarons~ once I started making them I loved it so much I just couldn’t stop 😀
I’m not sure how possible this is, but is there anything you can sub for the almond flour? (if not, no worries) It’s just that two people in my house are seriously allergic to tree nuts, but I REALLY WANT TO MAKE THESE!
Also, what do you suggest filling them with? Ganache? Jam? Thanks again for another fantastic recipe Allie!
This is such a great question- thank you for asking it! I was just talking to a friend about this today. Do you know Samina from The Cupcake Confession? She has a recipe for nut-free seed-free macarons that is just brilliant. I just did a quick search of her site and this was the first link that came up: http://thecupcakeconfession.com/rose-raspberry-cheesecake-macarons-nuts-seeds-big-news/. I have never tried it but I think it sounds fantastic! As for fillings, the possibilities are truly limitless. I love ganache, salted caramel, lemon curd, any kind of buttercream. Jams are good and I’ve even done pastry cream and cream cheese frosting! For this batch I really didn’t want to go to a whole lot of trouble making filling so I just used Nutella and it was delish! Good luck sweetie!
Oh my gosh, this is truly perfect timing, I just bought a kitchen scale and intend to spend all weekend mastering macarons this weekend. THANK YOU so much for sharing these tips and the video, I’m sure they will help immensely! 🙂
Oh my gosh it must be fate! Girl you are going to rock those macarons out! Good luck and enjoy!
Such a great post girl! I’ve always been scared to make them, but am hoping to tackle my fears this summer! Now it’s just time to dream up flavor combos!
I’m sure you will come up with the most amazing ideas! You are soooo talented in that way! Thanks so much Rebecca- good luck and let me know if you run into any snags and I’ll do my best to help ya 😉
Thanks for these helpful tips, Allie! I’ve wanted to make macarons for so long now. You have me feeling more confident to do so!
Hooray! You can totally do it girl!
Allie, lovely lovely post and LOVE the video!!! great tips! and your macarons always look perfect!!! I also pick and drop my baking sheet just a few times. I heard this also helps to form the feet. Where can I get the macaron outlined sheet? are you using one under the parchment?
Wow you have a keen eye! You know, all I did was trace around the cap of one of my spice jars with a pencil on a sheet of parchment. I slide that under the parchment layer that I’m piping on as a guide, and then I reuse it over and over. I keep it in a cupboard haha! Thanks so much Alice and I remember your macarons coming out gorgeous!
I’ve been wanting to try macaroons for a while. Now I know where to go for the easy steps. Thanks friend!
Happy Wednesday!
My pleasure dear and happy day to you!
Thanks for the wonderful and helpful tips, Allie! The video was also great. Macarons have been on my “to bake” list for a while!
They were for me too- and once I finally started I just couldn’t get enough! They are lots of fun. Good luck and hope you enjoy!
How do you get the shells to be so white? I do not add any food coloring or flavoring and mine always come out looking cream.
It might just be the pic, Sarah. These were a pale cream color too, could have just been the way the light was shining on them when I was snapping the pics. But do be careful not to overbake them or they will come out darker.