Finished macarons

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Macaron Recipe

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French macarons are delicate almond meringue cookies with crisp shells and soft, chewy centers. Using a Swiss meringue makes the batter more stable and reliable. This method simplifies the process and gives perfectly smooth, chewy macarons every time. Source: Broma Bakery.

Prep: 30 min Cook: 15 min Total: ~2 hours Yield: 20 macarons Difficulty: Intermediate

Allergen Information: Contains egg, dairy (milk, butter), and almonds.

Storage: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-7 days (mature 24 hours first for best taste). Freeze assembled macarons for up to 1-3 months; thaw in the fridge to prevent condensation.

Ingredients

Units
  • For the Macarons
  • Food coloring (optional)
  • For the Filling

Equipment

  • Stand mixer
  • Kitchen scale
  • Sifter
  • Parchment paper
  • Cookie sheet
  • Piping bag

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Serving size

Follow the steps below with visuals for each stage. Images: Broma Bakery.

Phase 1: Prep & Dry Ingredients

Step 1. Measure Ingredients

Measure out all your ingredients using a kitchen scale before you begin — egg whites, granulated sugar, almond flour, powdered sugar, and salt for the shells, plus filling ingredients when you get to that step. This keeps the process smooth and accurate.

Measuring dry ingredients
Measuring dry ingredients.
Measuring egg whites
Measuring egg whites.

Step 2. Preheat and Line

Preheat your oven to 300°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper for each batch of 20 macarons.

Step 3. Sift

Sift the almond flour, powdered sugar, and salt together three times for a perfectly smooth shell. Set aside.

Sifting sugar and flour
Sifting together.
Sifted mixture
Sifted mixture, no clumps.

Phase 2: Making the Swiss Meringue

Step 4. Double Boiler Setup

Heat a small pot of water over medium-low heat until it begins to steam.

Double boiler setup
Double boiler on the stove.

Step 5. Warm the Egg Whites

In your stand mixer bowl, combine the egg whites and roughly 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar. Place the bowl over the steaming pot (double boiler) and whisk continuously until the sugar is melted and the mixture is white and frothy (about 1 minute).

Whisking egg whites
Whisking at the start.
Egg whites whisked frothy
Egg whites white and frothy.

Step 6. Whip to Stiff Peaks

Move the bowl to the stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Whisk on high while slowly adding the remaining granulated sugar and food coloring. Beat 3-4 minutes until glossy and stiff peaks form.

Transfer to stand mixer
Add remaining sugar to egg whites.
Stiff peaks test
Stiff peaks and glossy.
Stiff peaks test, alternate view
Stiff peaks, alternate view.
Adding food coloring
Food coloring (optional).

Phase 3: Macaronage

Step 7. Initial Combine

Pour the pre-sifted dry ingredients into the meringue bowl. Turn the mixer to medium for exactly 5 seconds to incorporate, then stop immediately.

Sifted dry ingredients
Dry ingredients ready to add.
Adding sugar
Adding dry ingredients to meringue.

Step 8. Fold with Spatula

Switch to a rubber spatula. Scrape the bowl and fold by hand in a circular motion (scoop outside, twist into center). Stop when the batter reaches a "slow-moving lava" consistency. You should be able to draw a figure-8 with the batter dripping off the spatula without the stream breaking.

Scraping down bowl and folding
Folding to lava consistency.

Phase 4: Piping & Baking

Step 9. Pipe, Release Air & Rest

Transfer the batter to a pastry bag with a ½ inch (or 1 inch) tip. Pipe 1-inch circles onto the prepared sheets, 1.5 inches apart. Bang the sheets firmly on the counter twice to pop air bubbles. Let sit at room temperature 15-30 minutes until dry to the touch (prevents cracking).

Piping onto baking sheet
Piping onto cookie sheet.

Step 10. Bake

Bake 13-15 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.

Macarons baking in the oven
Baking in the oven.

Phase 5: Filling & Assembly

Step 11. Cool

Let the shells cool completely on the baking sheet before removing.

Step 12. Make Filling

While they cool, beat butter, powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and salt until fluffy (about 2 minutes).

Beating the filling
Beating the filling.

Step 13. Sandwich

Pipe a dollop of filling onto the flat side of one shell and press a second shell on top.

Final macarons stacked
Finished macarons stacked.

Step 14. Mature & Eat

You can eat them right away, but macarons improve in texture if "matured" in the fridge overnight.

Final macarons scattered
Finished macarons scattered.
Final macarons stacked, higher view
Finished macarons, higher angle.

Enjoy!