A Little Macaron How-To

After posting so much about all the yummy macarons I’ve made quite a few people have asked for recipes. If you’re interested, they are all from the book Macarons by Annie Rigg. In addition to pretty photos she has easy instructions to follow and good suggestions for flavor combos so you can mix and match if you want. I borrowed it from the Salt Lake County library to see how it was (since there are tons of macaron books out there and not all work for me) and have it liked it so much I’m asking for it for Christmas. Making macarons was something I found intimidating but this book made it easy for me to understand so I’ll share a little basic how-to. It’s not really a recipe since I’m not including measurements and you can find recipes all over the internet (Tartlette has a lot of great ideas not to mention beautiful food photography) and in books but it’s more of a here’s-how-so-you-don’t-need-to-be-scared-of-trying kind of thing.

The basic ingredients are egg whites, ground almonds (or almond flour or meal), and sugar. I had a hard time finding plain, old almond flour that didn’t have brown specks from the peels so I use slivered or whole, blanched almonds and grind them myself in a food processor. Some people may prefer something more fine but I like the chew of home-ground almonds. Just be sure there isn’t  any oil or water in the processor or you’ll get almond butter which is also yummy but doesn’t make good macaron shells.

Annie Rigg’s Macaron book says to mix the ground almonds and powdered sugar in the food processor but I don’t like doing it that way. Instead I put my ground almonds in a bowl and sift powdered sugar over it, then stir it all up. If there are spices in the shells (like in the gingerbread macarons) usually they’re added to this mixture. I did notice an exception in the nutmeg and caramel ganache recipe which has it added to the meringue but I’m not sure why in that case. I just follow instructions. This mixture will be set aside while the meringue is made.

For the meringue you’re supposed to start with aged egg whites (egg whites that have been sitting out for a day or two – I understand the French don’t refrigerate their eggs anyway – but “aged” sounds nicer). I usually forget to pull mine out long enough beforehand or I do but then I’m not in the mood to bake anything so they go to waste. It’s not usually good to use cold, straight-out-of-the-fridge egg whites, though, so to bring them up to room temp I will fill a bowl with the hottest water my tap can produce, place my eggs in there and let them sit for a little while I get some of my other stuff ready. By the time I pull them out of the water they aren’t cold anymore but the water wasn’t hot enough to cook them. Not as good as aged egg whites which are more elastic than fresh whites but in my (limited) experience, they’ve been fine.

Add a pinch of salt to balance all the sugar that will go in and start whipping it up with a stand mixer on a medium speed. Now, let me just clarify, this is not an Italian meringue. It doesn’t involve making sugar syrup that will be added to the whipped egg whites. It’s just an uncooked French meringue. Italian meringue will give you more firmness but I haven’t had any problems with using a French meringue. Just be sure you check the recipe you’re using before you begin to make sure you know what’s coming.

I’d like to point out I use an Oster mixer. I know most people are all about the Bosch or Kitchenaid but I really prefer having the bowl turn as well as the beaters and I REALLY like being able to easily add ingredients and scrape the bowl without having the stop the machine and take the lid off or pull the bowl down. Just a thought in case you’re in the market.

When soft peaks begin to form start adding the sugar a teaspoon or so at a time. I find it’s easier to do this and I don’t lose track of how much I’m putting in if I measure the full amount into a little bowl then use a measuring spoon to add it little by little from there. You can use plain, old granulated sugar but superfine/Castor sugar dissolves better. It comes in a box near the granulated sugar. If there is a liquid flavor (vanilla, for example) it will be added after all the sugar is in and dissolved. This is also when you would add color. Paste or gel is best for this since water-based coloring can be a problem with the meringue.

When firm peaks just start to form stop the mixer. Don’t over beat the meringue or it will dry out and you’ll also have a harder time getting smooth shells. Dump the whole bowl of the almond-sugar mixture onto the egg whites. Yes, this will deflate you’re lovely meringue a little. It’s okay. That’s what you want.

Start folding it together. Don’t just stir it all up or the meringue will deflate completely but don’t be uber-careful either or it won’t deflate enough. Just fold. At first it will look like it can’t possibly come together but then, just as you’re thinking this, it does!

The consistency will be like molten lava. Any peaks will sort of melt back into the rest without too much waiting. Now it’s time to pipe.

While I have regular piping bags I don’t bother with them here. Instead I use a gallon size ziploc bag with a corner snipped off.

I stick the tip I want in (mine is a #12 tip), twist it just above the tip so nothing leaks out before I’m ready, and stick the whole thing in a 2 cup measuring jug so I can more easily fill it by myself.

Pour the mixture in. For the recipes in Annie Riggs book the 2 cup jug is just the right size.

Begin piping little mounds of batter onto parchment lined baking sheets. I’ve taken the time to cut my parchment to fit and have used this same parchment several times because the macarons don’t stick and it’s already flat. Since my tip is on the smaller side I end up doing a circle, then filling it in. Piping takes some practice but it’s something I think is really fun. The little mounds start out sort of peaked but because the meringue has been deflated a bit they smooth out nicely. Annie Rigg recommends making them 2 inches across but I prefer bite-size macarons so I pipe mine only about one inch across. It also conveniently makes more which helps them stretch further. I can usually pipe 6 rows of 8 per pan.

Once they are all piped tap the pan on the counter or table. This helps the batter settle a little more and knocks out air bubbles. Put the pans someplace little fingers won’t reach (I leave mine on top of the fridge) and let them sit for 15 minutes to an hour. This time lets the shells develop a skin which keeps the top smooth and shiny when the inside gets hot and bubbly and lets the bubbly inside leak out a little around the bottom giving the shells the crinkly “feet” that give macarons their signature look. The timing depends a lot on the humidity so in Utah, where humidity is next to nothing it doesn’t take long.

I’ve notices sometimes mine will cling at one side so I get a few lopsided ones. I’m not sure why this happens, exactly, but I usually put those together and eat them myself if I only want to present the “perfect” ones. Since I pipe my shells smaller I shorten the cooking time a little. For my standard oven I bake them at 325* for 8.5 minutes.

After the shells have cooled I like to pair them all up so the tops and bottoms are the same size.

Then I spread whatever filling I’ve chosen on one side, being careful not to overfill, and press it into the other side. If there’s any filling left when all the cookies are finished you have my permission to eat it with a spoon. Or your fingers. Or whatever gets it to your mouth fastest. As it happens, the salted caramel filling I used here is a rocking caramel dip for apples. Just sayin’.

Notice a couple of my ski-wompy shells in the photos below. They look a little like clam shells but they still taste good. On average I get 88 small shells per batch which end up being 44 finished macarons.

Macarons can be made ahead and frozen. To freeze mine I line them up in a baking dish, cover them with the lid, and let them sit in my chest freezer at least overnight before I transfer them to a box or tin or whatever. Let them come to room temperature before serving. They’re kind of crispy on the outside but the meringue and filling make them chewy on the inside at the same time. They take a little work but really aren’t difficult and the time they take is totally worth every little gem. They are so, so good.