Macarons Recipe

My French macarons recipe is one of my most popular posts since I first started Preppy Kitchen! They are a beautiful, special treat to share with friends and family. While they can be a bit finicky to make, I recently updated the post to include more tips to make the best macarons, plus a comprehensive troubleshooting section to know what might go wrong and how to avoid issues.

To that end, my team and I recently retested this recipe numerous times to find all of the possible issues you could run into at home—we undermixed the cookie batter, overbaked the macaron shells, underbaked them, didn’t dry them long enough, and much more to provide solutions to every possible problem. I also refined the recipe with a few extra details, making it fool-proof so you can make perfect macarons the first time!

A reader, Christen, says: “This was my first time making macarons and they turned out just like the picture in the recipe. The video was so helpful and they are DELICIOUS. I feel like I’m back in Paris!” ★★★★★

What Is A French Macaron?

A macaron is a delicate French meringue-based sandwich cookie made with egg whites, almond flour, and sugar. The outsides are crisp, with soft, chewy centers. Macarons are naturally gluten-free and are usually filled with a French buttercream.

They are often confused with macaroons, as people accidentally pronounce them the same way. Macaroons, however, are chewy coconut-based cookies that are easy to stir together and often dipped in or drizzled with chocolate.

What You’ll Need To Make These

These are the main ingredients you need to make French macarons. You can find the full list of ingredients and measurements in the recipe card below.

Almond flour — almond flour is the key ingredient for the perfect macaron cookies. Use blanched almond flour, NOT natural almond flour or almond meal. Blanch almond flour is finer and has the almond skins removed. I recommend feeling the almond flour before use—just rub a bit between your fingers. If it’s very oily (leaving noticeable residue on your hands), don’t use it. I tested a batch this way, and the extra oil ruined the meringue, making the macarons very wrinkly and cracked.

Sugar — you need both powdered sugar and granulated sugar to make macarons. Powdered sugar is an important ingredient for sweetening the cookie batter and producing the right texture. The finer texture of this confectioners’ sugar helps it dissolve easily when folded into the meringue. Granulated sugar is used to stabilize the meringue by slowly adding it to the egg whites while beating.

Egg whites — in the recipe, I give a weight for the egg whites, and I recommend weighing them to ensure you have just the right amount. Some people claim that aging egg whites for macarons is important because older egg whites whip up better. I have tested this with fresher and older eggs and found that it had minimal impact, so I say it’s optional. If you do want to age them, separate the eggs, place the whites in a clean glass, and cover with plastic wrap. Poke a few holes in the plastic, then refrigerate them for two to three days before using. This will dehydrate them slightly.

Cream of tartar — while you only need ¼ teaspoon, cream of tartar is vital for a stable structure in the meringue. It strengthens the protein structure in the egg, stopping the meringue from collapsing.

Buttercream filling — to make the French buttercream filling for the macaron sandwich cookies, you need softened butter, egg yolks, white sugar, vanilla extract, a little water, and a pinch of salt. Save the egg yolks from separating from the egg whites for the batter!

Essential Tools

To make this easy macaron recipe, you need a few tools. Luckily, you probably already have them all in your kitchen!

Kitchen scale — I can’t stress the importance of using a kitchen scale for this macaron recipe. French macarons are all about precision, so it’s important to get the measurements exact. If you don’t have one, you can certainly still make this recipe. You just widen your chances of an ingredient being a bit off and the macarons not turning out exactly as they should.

Fine mesh sieve — you’ll sift the almond flour and powdered sugar to eliminate any lumps, which will affect the consistency of the macaron batter. Use a sieve with a medium to fine mesh so that it catches any large pieces but still allows the ingredients to fall through it.

Food processor and stand mixer — you need the food processor to pulse the almond flour and powdered sugar mixture into an ultra-fine texture with no lumps. A dry container of a blender can also work, but you shouldn’t skip this step. The stand mixer is used to make the meringue for the cookie batter and to whip the buttercream. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can use an electric hand mixer, or you can whip the egg whites by hand with a whisk.

Piping bag and tip — you will pipe the cookie batter for the shells and the buttercream to fill the sandwich cookies once baked. You need a medium round piping tip to pipe the batter (Wilton 1A), and a small round tip (Ateco #10) to pipe the buttercream.

Parchment paper or silicone mats — these prevent the shells from sticking to the baking tray, so they easily release after baking. Do not skip this!

Pro Tips For Making Perfect Macarons

The best time to bake macarons is on a dry day. A humid environment can cause your macarons to take a long time to dry out or not dry out properly. While you can bake them in higher humidity, the shells will need longer to rest and dry out.

Don’t skip sifting the almond flour. Any large clumps can make the macarons bumpy or bake unevenly.

Add any flavoring or food coloring before the meringue is stiff. This way, it has time to incorporate, and you don’t end up overbeating the egg whites.

Make sure your hands are dry when you test the macarons after resting. If they are wet, the added moisture will cause the shells to wrinkle during baking.

If your parchment paper won’t stay flat on the edges, or your oven has a fan to circulate air, lightly brush or spray the pan with oil, then place your parchment paper on top. You can also put a small dot of macaron batter on the pan underneath each corner of the parchment paper. This will hold the paper down. If the paper lifts up at all, it can cause the macarons to bake up with a slanted top.

How To Make Macarons

Below, I’ve highlighted portions of the recipe in step-by-step process images along with instructions for making French macarons. You can find the full set of instructions in the recipe card below.

Make the Batter

1. Prep the Almond Flour: Use a fine mesh sieve to sift the almond flour and powdered sugar into a medium bowl. Let it fall through naturally. You break up any larger clumps with your hands, but don’t force the mixture through the sieve. Discard any larger pieces that the sieve catches.

2. Place the dry ingredients mixture into the bowl of a food processor and pulse for 30 seconds to form an ultra-fine mixture. Stop after 20 seconds to scrape down the bowl. Sift the mixture again, and set it aside.

3. Make the Meringue: Add the egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix for about 30 seconds until foamy, then add the cream of tartar and continue to mix. While mixing on medium speed, add the granulated sugar in 1-tablespoon increments. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl every now and then to remove any sugar build-up.

4. Once all of the sugar is added, add the vanilla extract and gel food coloring (if using). I used pink this time! One or two drops will give you a lovely light color.

5. Mix for another 6 minutes or so, until stiff peaks form.

6. Mix the Batter: Carefully fold the almond flour mixture into the meringue in 3 batches using a rubber spatula. Move the spatula in a “J” motion through the batter as you mix in the almond flour. This folding technique helps to preserve the air you just whipped into the meringue.

Macaronage: The Essential Technique

7. Now it’s time for macaronage. Use your spatula to start gently pressing the mixture against the side of the bowl.

8. Continue doing this to remove any large air bubbles. Macaronage is an important technique to deflate the meringue and will give the batter a shiny, smooth, lava-like consistency.

9. Check the Consistency: Scoop some of the batter onto the spatula, then hold the spatula over the bowl. The batter should fall off the spatula in a slow, even stream. If it breaks off in clumps, continue with another round of macaronage. I like to do a Figure 8 test to best tell when the batter is mixed enough.

10. Figure 8 Test: Allow the cookie batter to fall off the spatula while moving it in a figure 8 pattern. The batter is ready when it’s able to hold this shape for about 10 seconds in the bowl before settling back into itself.

Pipe and Rest the Batter

11. Transfer the macaron batter to a piping bag fitted with a round tip. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. If using parchment paper, add a drop of the batter to all corners to “stick” the parchment to the baking sheet so it doesn’t move around or curl upwards.

Then pipe 1-inch dollops of batter onto the baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Be sure to hold the piping bag straight up and down (perpendicular to the baking sheet). If piped at an angle, the shells can bake up slanted. When you are finishing the piping motion, stop squeezing the pastry bag and pull up with a circular motion. Once you’ve piped all the shells, gently tap the baking sheets on your counter to release any air bubbles. If any remain, use a toothpick to pop them.

12. Allow the piped shells to rest for 40 minutes at room temperature. During this time, they will become dry to the touch, form a skin, and look less glossy. This step is important for the shells to bake up properly and develop “feet.” (The dry top will be pushed up, and the wet batter will spread slightly underneath it to make the foot on each shell.) A short while before the macaron shells are done resting, preheat your oven to 270ºF. Bake them for 18-20 minutes. After 8 minutes of baking time, rotate the pan 180º for even baking. Allow the shells to cool completely on the baking sheet before removing them.

Fill and Age the Macarons

13. Make the sugar syrup in a medium saucepan by mixing sugar and water. Cook until it reaches 240ºF (a candy thermometer is a great tool for this purpose). While the syrup cooks, you can work on other elements of the frosting. Beat the egg yolks until thickened and foamy. The moment the syrup reaches 240ºF, remove it from the heat immediately and slowly drizzle it into the beaten egg yolks with the mixer still running. Keep mixing until the mixing bowl is no longer warm to the touch.

14. Keep mixing on medium-low speed and add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, completely incorporating each addition before adding more. Then add the vanilla extract and salt and mix for another 5 minutes or so, until creamy. If you want to color the frosting, you can add a few drops of food coloring at this point and mix until well combined.

15. Place the buttercream filling into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip like an Ateco #10. Pipe the frosting onto the bottom side of half the macaron cookie shells.

16. Then place an unfrosted cookie on top to make a sandwich cookie. Allow the macarons to mature in the refrigerator for 1 to 3 days before serving.

How Do I Know The Batter Is Properly Mixed?

You can easily tell if your batter is properly mixed by how it falls off the spatula.

Undermixed: The macaron recipe batter will be thick and break off the spatula, falling in clumps, not a smooth stream.

Properly mixed: The batter will slowly fall from the spatula in a “V” shaped ribbon, and in an even stream. It will be slow and “lava-like.” You should also be able to move your spatula around the bowl and form a figure 8 on top of the batter. If properly mixed, the figure 8 will hold its shape for about 10 seconds.

Overmixed: If overmixed, the batter will turn very runny at first—too much air has been knocked out of the meringue, and it loses its structure. At this point, the batter will fall off the spatula quickly. (If piped, it would pour out of the piping bag and make very flat macarons.)

If you keep mixing it beyond this point, the batter will start to thicken back up and turn very gummy. It will be fluid but much thicker. If you bake the macarons with overmixed batter, the cookies will be very thick and rise unevenly, crack, or turn out hollow and gummy inside.

Can I Pipe Other Shapes?

Yes! There are many ways to deviate from the classic round macaron shape. I like doing heart-shaped macarons to keep them simple but fun! Simple daisies, snowmen, bunnies, etc., are all cute shapes you can make. If you really want to go wild with your designs, you can make batters of different colors and pipe all kinds of shapes or animals.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

As I mentioned at the start, macarons can be finicky. But if you know what can go wrong, you can avoid any issues! My team and I tested this macaron recipe a number of times to demonstrate these common mistakes. Also, watch my macaron video in the recipe card to see how I make every step of this recipe and how to troubleshoot these common issues.

No Foot

The foot of a macaron is the frilly, puffy rim at the base of each shell. This is a good indicator of a properly baked macaron. Having no feet can happen for a variety of reasons:

• Under- or over-baking: This can cause the macarons to not rise enough or rise too much, both of which can make the foot disappear or not form.
• Over-mixing the batter: This will knock too much air out of the meringue, and if there isn’t enough air left, the cookies won’t rise properly.
• Not enough resting time: This is the most common reason your macarons may not have feet. If rested for too short a time, the top doesn’t dry out, and the firm shell doesn’t form. Prior to baking, the shells should feel dry to the touch and will turn from shiny to matte when they are dry enough for baking.

Hollow Shells

The most common culprit for hollow macaron shells is an unstable meringue. Beating at too high a speed, too quickly, will make the structure of the meringue less stable. So when baked, the batter is unable to hold its shape and collapses, forming a gap inside the shell.

Resting the piped shells too long and underbaking them can also cause issues. If left to rest for too long, the meringue can lose stability as it sits, causing the shells to rise incorrectly in the oven. Underbaking doesn’t give the cookies enough time to rise, leaving a hollow gap inside.

Slanted Shells

The two main reasons why you may end up with slanted macaron shells are not resting the piped batter and not tacking down the parchment paper.

If the shells are not rested for 40 minutes to form the dry shell on top, they will rise unevenly. And if air slips under the parchment paper, it can disturb the batter and make it thicker on one side, forming a slanted top. This can happen when transferring the pans to the oven or simply moving them around your kitchen. It’s why I recommend tacking down the parchment paper with dots of batter, so they stick to the pan.

Additionally, an oven that is too hot can cause slanting. A higher temperature can make the shells harden too quickly, so the batter inside will still expand and can burst out on the sides of the shells.

Bumpy Shells (Undermixed)

A bumpy shell is caused by undermixing the macaron batter. This is because not enough air has been knocked out of the meringue, so the batter stays stiff. Additionally, bigger air bubbles stay trapped in the batter, causing bumps on the surface and the macarons to rise unevenly.

Runny Batter (Overmixed)

As mentioned a few sections above, overmixing the macaron batter will cause the batter to become runny. Over-folding the almond flour mixture into the meringue can also cause the batter to turn out runny.

Wet Or Wrinkled Shells (Underbaked)

If the batter doesn’t cook long enough, the structure of the shells won’t set, and enough moisture won’t evaporate from the shells. This will cause the shells to sink and wrinkle as they cool. The inside will also be wet and sticky instead of dry and crisp.

Cracked Shells

If the macarons are overbaked, the shells will puff too much and then dry out, causing them to crack, turn pale, or develop a golden hue. The shells bake quickly, in 18 to 20 minutes, and at a low temperature. Be sure to rotate the pan 180º after 8 minutes to encourage all the shells to bake evenly.

If the almond flour has excess oil, the shells can also crack. I discovered this in my most recent round of testing—using the same brand for each test, but one bag had significantly more oil in it. You could see and smell it, so I added the recommendation to feel your almond flour first before you start the recipe.

The Best Macaron Fillings

I use a French buttercream in this macaron recipe, which is almost custard-like in consistency. But you can also use other frostings like vanilla buttercream, Italian buttercream, and strawberry buttercream.

You can also go a different route and swap the frosting for your favorite filling, like whipped ganache (I share how to make it in my chocolate ganache recipe). I also sometimes pipe a ring of frosting and fill the center with jam, caramel, or ganache. I love raspberry jam in the center with French buttercream along the edges!

How To Store and Mature Macarons

Once filled, macarons are best if refrigerated for 24 hours (and up to 3 days) before serving. This gives the shells time to mature and soften a bit from the moisture in the filling, making them perfectly chewy instead of having a dry mouthfeel. It also gives the frosting time to set, so it doesn’t ooze out of the shells.

Storing: Homemade macarons will keep for up to 7 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Freezing: You can freeze macaron shells or filled macarons for 1 month. Make sure the filling is freezer-friendly. The French buttercream I used in this recipe can be frozen for up to 3 months in an airtight container.

More French Dessert Recipes To Try

If you’re in the mood to try more French desserts, give one of these recipes a whirl!

Few desserts are as enjoyable as homemade chocolate eclairs made with from-scratch choux pastry and velvety vanilla pastry cream.

A classic fruit tart is hard to beat! A crisp pastry envelopes creamy custard, and it’s all topped with colorful fruit.

French apple cake is moist, buttery, and filled with lots of apple! Use baking apples like Granny Smith or Honeycrisp apples for the best texture.

Tarte Tatin is a rustic upside-down apple tart with strong caramel notes and a crisp puff pastry crust. It’s a fun twist on apple pie!

My delicate, buttery, nutty financiers are a wonderful treat for tea time. They’re crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.

If you’ve tried this macaron recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!