New and Improved Chocolate Macarons Recipe
Ultimate chocolate macarons filled with silky smooth chocolate ganache. Simply the best!
For some odd reason, chocolate macarons have been the biggest challenge for me. It took me numerous trials to create a recipe that worked for me beautifully at the time. I even re-tested like 4 times just to be sure.
My first trial ended with these beauties, followed by another 5 batches. My freezer was bursting with frozen macarons, not all of them in their prime shape, but they all taste delicious.
Then you guys were having issues.
Oh, joys of baking macarons!
I went back to my starting point. Yet again.
And I’ve learned a few things in the process.
There are many reasons why the macarons crack and don’t form feet. For starters, it can be due to under-mixing or over-mixing the batter. Talk about confusing, I know!
Let’s break it down a little. When you under-mix the batter, it will still contain too much air, which will burst during baking, creating cracked shells. Over-mixing will result in runny batter; therefore the cookies will spread too much and won’t form feet. To check the consistency of the batter, bring the spatula up and see how the batter falls back. If it forms a ribbon, and spreads slowly into the rest of the batter within 10 seconds, then it’s ready. You can watch a very short video about this process here.
The most important thing I learned is the amount of egg whites. I used to just say 2 large egg whites in my previous macaron recipes, which is fine if you’re using store-bought large eggs, because there is an industry standard on how much the egg should weigh in order to be classified as small, medium, or large. But now since my mother-in-law provides me with farm fresh eggs, they are all different sizes and I have no idea whether they’d fall into large or extra large. So, I decided to weigh my egg whites and I realized that I’ve been using too much egg whites for the amount of almond flour/powdered sugar mixture. This is the main reason why I was getting cracked macarons, because my batter had too much moisture than it needed to. So that was a great lesson to learn.
Another crucial step!
You’ll need to dry the macaron shells before baking to create a thin skin, for 15-30 minutes or even longer. It all depends on how humid it is where you are. That thin layer of skin helps to develop beautiful ruffled feet on the bottom.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to enjoy my solo tea time…
Chocolate Macarons
Ultimate chocolate macarons filled with silky smooth chocolate ganache. Simply the best!
Yield: 21-24 filled macarons
Ingredients:
For macarons shells:
- 1 cup (100gr) almond flour
- 3/4 cup (100gr) powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons (10gr) natural cocoa powder
- 2 large egg whites (75gr), at room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ cup (50gr) sugar
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt, optional
- 1/3 cup (60gr) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons Nutella
- 1 tablespoon Kahlua, optional
Directions:
- In a medium bowl, sift together almond flour, powdered sugar and cocoa powder twice. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl with whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar and continue to beat. Slowly add sugar one tablespoon at a time. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until hard peaks form.
- Sift the almond flour mixture over the whipped egg whites. Gently fold the mixture running the spatula clockwise from the bottom, up around the sides and cut the batter in half. The batter will look very thick at first, but it will get thinner as you fold. Be careful not to over mix it though. Every so often test the batter to see if it reached the right consistency. To test the batter, drop a small amount of the batter and count to ten. If the edges of the ribbon are dissolved within ten seconds, then the batter is ready. I repeat, do NOT mix again. If you still see edges, fold the batter couple more times and test again. This step is so crucial, so please make sure to test often to ensure not to over mix the batter.
- Transfer the batter into a pastry bag with a round tip. (I used Wilton A1 tip)
- Pipe out 1.5-inch rounds about an inch apart on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. You should get about 42 shells. Tap the baking sheets firmly on the counter a few times to get rid of any air bubbles. If you don’t release the air bubbles, they will expand during baking and crack the beautiful macarons shells.
- Let the macarons rest and dry for 15-30 minutes. On a humid day, it might take an hour or so. To see if it’s ready to be baked, lightly touch it. If the batter doesn’t stick to your finger, then it’s ready. Sprinkle a little bit of sea salt on each macaron right before baking. Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
- Bake the macarons for 18-20 minutes. To check the doneness, remove one macaron. If the bottom does not stick, they are done.
- Transfer to wire rack to cool for 15 minutes, and then remove from the baking sheets.
- While macarons are cooling, prepare the ganache filling. Heat the heavy cream in the microwave for a minute. In a medium bowl, put the chocolate chips and pour hot cream over the chocolate. Let it stand for a minute or two and then stir until smooth. Stir in Nutella and Kahlua for flavor. Cool the ganache in the fridge to thicken.
- Transfer the ganache filling into a pastry bag and fill the macarons.
- Store the filled macarons in airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the filled macarons in airtight container for up to 5 months.
For step-by-step photos and additional notes, read the post above.
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All photographs and content on Sweet & Savory by Shinee is copyright protected, unless otherwise noted. Please do not use any of my photos without my authorization. If you would like to share my recipe, you may re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the full directions. Thank you for your cooperation!
This recipe was originally published on November 21st, 2014.
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This is the very first time I’ve ever attempted macarons (or meringue!) and I am blown away by how GREAT they came out!! Thank you so much for such a thoroghly explained recipe, both here, in the comments, and on your extra tips article — it definitely paid off to read all of them thoroughly!! They’re not perfect, but they’re smoothe and crisp on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, and the ganache is very tasty!! Would love to try out a different, thicker ganache in the future, but I’m super excited to keep trying all of your macaron flavors and perfecting the macaron myself! Thank you!
Julie, thank you soooo much for sending the photo of your macarons. They look fabulous!!! And I’m so happy you had such success on your first try! You can reduce the amount of heavy cream in your ganache next time for thicker consistency. Thanks again for your feedback!
Shinee, does it work to use pasteurized egg whites? You know, the stuff in the little cartons? The things I’ve read on the internet say that they are completely interchangeable, but since macarons are not as straightforward as other baked foods, I don’t want to try it if you already know it won’t work.
Hi, Carol! Sorry for delayed response. I’ve always been curious about this too, and I’ve been meaning to test it myself, but always forget to pick up carton of egg whites. So yeah, I’m not really sure on this.
I’ve tried using the carton egg whites, and they do not work at all! Even after 10 minutes of whisking at the highest speed, no peaks formed at all.
So It may just be me but when I made these they turned out almost perfect. Except for the fact that my macarons were lumpy on top and had barely any feet! Now I don’t mind the lumpyness because I am making these for my brothers birthday (He is turning 6) and they are going to be Chewbacca! But I don’t know if I over beat the egg whites or what because they had the smallest feet ever.
Hi, Natalie. So fun you’re making macaron Chewbacca!!! 🙂 I bet your brother loved it! As for the low feet, there could be number of reasons, like over-mixed batter (deflated too much air out of the batter), not enough rest before baking, or low oven temperature, etc. Hope next time they’ll come out perfect!
I don’t know if it was just me but I followed everything the recipe told me to do but all of my cookies were cracked and didn’t have any feet so I need some suggestions on how to fix this problem. (also i did reach to ribbon stage and tapped the bubbles out).
Hi, Lily. First, thanks for trying my recipe and for your comment. There could have been number of things that cause cracked shells. Since I don’t see your macarons, I can’t exactly tell what may have caused the issue. I suggest checking this Visual Troubleshooting Guide, and see which one is the most similar to yours. Also, if you’ve got a picture, you can also e-mail it to me, and we can try to figure out what’s the issue.
Very excited! This is my third try and my first somewhat success. During my first attempt, I tried to save a trip to the store by using wax paper instead of parchment paper (LOL). The second attempt I messed up the egg whites, but Shinee’s blog on this is very helpful. I finally got it right this time. Thanks, Shinee!
Hi, Joyce! I bet the wax paper thing didn’t go well, huh? Hehe I’m SO happy to hear you’ve got your successful batch. Thanks for you feedback!!
I just made these and they turned out great. After making your lemon macarons, I had to try the chocolate. I doubled the recipe, so I could use my big mixer instead of the hand mixer, and it was perfect. Thank you!! Now I need to try a strawberry one.
Tiffany, you’re rocking it with macarons! Thank you for your feedback! Glad doubling the recipe worked out.
oh and also how many macarons does the recipe make? and if it is a small amount is it possible if i could double the recipe or would that wreck the mixture
Cassie, I get about 20-25 filled macarons (about 40-50 shells). They’re about 1.5-inch rounds, so they’re small cookies. I’ve never tried doubling the batch, so I can’t say for sure if it’ll be the same or not.
I have doubled the recipe and they came out just as good.
Hi, Serena! Thank you for sharing your experience. Glad the recipe worked out when doubled!
hi shinee
so i have another Question. when you said sift together almond flour, powdered sugar and cocoa powder twice. what do you mean by doing ti twice. like do what twice
Hi, Cassie. You need to sift dry ingredients twice. It helps to mix everything together better.
Oh. my. god.I have never made macarons in my life, and I tried this recipe for the first time making it and they came out SO AMAZING. They came out perfectly and I am absolutely blown away. The only thing I have to say about this is that it does not make 21-24 macarons. It made about 10 and two of them I made smaller ones. I am definitely bookmarking this bc I will be making this again soon!
Hi, Serena!! So happy for you!!! Thank you for your feedback. As for the count, how big macarons did you get? Mine are like 1.5-inch baked macarons, so they’re pretty small.
I would not recommend this recipe. I do not like it. I made it 3 times for an event, and every time the macarons cracked, did not gain feet, or spread out. The batter was very thick when I made it, and I followed the recipe accurately. I’ve made macarons many times before and have never had this happen. I am a talented baker and very unsatisfied with the result of this recipe. I’m assuming the poor results were an improper ratio of wet to dry, but I’m not sure. I will say that these did taste very good, but had a chewy texture, which is not normal for macarons, or at least any macarons I’ve ever made or purchased to eat.
Hi, Mallory. Thank you for your feedback. I’m sorry to hear your macarons didn’t turn out. But as you know macarons are quite finicky. Despite your great experience as a baker, macarons can fail for one reason or another. Once I had terrible results time after time (like 3-4 times) with the same recipe I always had results, and later I found out my almond flour was the culprit. I’m sharing this not to blame your ingredients, but simply to share that you never know what could be the culprit. I know my recipe has way less sugar compared to many macaron recipes, but I can assure you that this ratio works great not only for me, but many other readers as well. That being said, chocolate macarons are especially finicky, and cocoa powder usually gives a lot of trouble. Would you mind sharing if you used natural cocoa powder, or dutch processed cocoa powder?
As for texture of my macarons, I’m actually pretty proud of my chewy, almond-y macarons, pretty similar to the ones I had tried in Paris. I also tried making recipes from others with a lot more sugar, and I was kind of disappointed with too sweet, too meringue-like texture of macarons. But to each their own. 🙂
This recipe is Awesome! i loved it! mines that i over baked the shell other than that it was really really good! Came out amazing!
So glad your macarons turned out great, Veronica. Thank you for your feedback!
I was happier with this recipe than other chocolate macaron recipes I have tried. These had beautiful ruffled feet, soft and not hallow interior, with shiny tops. Only reason I didn’t give it a 5 Star was that they are slightly grainy and I had to pat down the tail with a damp finger after piping the shells. I sifted my extra fine grind almond flour and other dry ingredients 3 times prior to sifting it over the beaten egg whites. I also made them around 1.25” round. My template is 1”, so I piped them slightly larger than template. I got 76 shells! I did also add 1 teaspoon of espresso powder to intensify the chocolate flavor, it worked wonderfully. Not sure why tops were slightly grainy. I had 2 large egg whites. I don’t have a scale. Can you tell me what the weight is in cups? I might be able to measure it in cups and discard the rest if I use 3 eggs!
I found a liquid converter. Your 75 grams of egg whites is approximately 1/3 cup. When I measured my 2 large egg whites I got just over 1/4 cup. Looks like I would need either extra large egg whites, 2, or 3 large egg whites, discarding any amount over 1/3 cup! That would probably explain the thick grainy batter. Still made nice macarons, just shell was grainy instead of smooth! Do you agree or is there something else that could cause the grainy textured shells?
Hi, Lesa! Thank you for your feedback. You got 76 shells? Woo-hoo! I have a follow up question on your grainy top. Is it just the tip that was pointy? Or bits of almond looked grainy? If you’ve got a picture, I think it’ll be helpful.
And as for egg white amount in cups, I’ll have to measure it and let you know later this week when I make macarons.
It’s the whole top shell has little bits (very fine bits) of almond flour. My almond flour is Honeywell super fine grind and I sifted it 4 times. In fact, I sifted all dry ingredients 4 times including the super fine granulated white sugar that you incorporate into the egg whites! The description might be better said to be gritty instead of grainy. I will try to get a close up if a completed macaron. How do I post a photo here?
Lesa, thanks for sending the photo. I got it! To me it looked like the batter might have been a tad bit undermixed, because I could see the tip of batter still peaked. But I know what you mean by the overall grittiness, and I’m not quite sure what could cause it. And I totally forgot to measure the egg whites in a cup today when I made macarons. But I’ll measure it on Sunday. So sorry, but I’ll get back to you!
This recipe, made exactly by gram weight, it was horrible. It made maybe 6 cookies.
Even the ganache is wrong. The measurements make no sense.
I don’t know what to say, Ted. It doesn’t look like you trust my recipes, so I won’t force you to try it. 🙂 You’re welcome to search the internet for other recipes that makes sense to you.
I too had an incredibly terrible, thick, grainy batter that never thinned out. All ingredients were weighed out appropriately, The eggs were not over beaten. Even if I over beat them, it would not explain how I managed to get 18 shells, so only 9 potential macarons. The recipe claims you can make 42 shells. There’s no way you can produce that from two eggs worth.
I’ve made several types of macarons based on her basic shell recipe, and while I don’t get 42 shells, I get 34 of them. Three batches thus far, and 17 macarons per batch on all three. I also compared it to a couple other recipes I found online, and so far, hers gives me the best results. I get cracked shells with two other chocolate macaron recipes. Chocolate is the most difficult for me to make. The cocoa powder throws everything off. Agree on the filling, though. It needs to be firmer.
Ginger, thank you for your input! I’m so glad to hear that you get successful batches with my base recipe. And I agree, cocoa powder throws everything off.
Hi, Ted. Thank you for your feedback! Sorry to hear you had an issue with thick batter. I was able to reproduce the thick batter issue (finally) couple weeks ago. I used 2 smaller eggs, which yielded 63gr of egg whites. My batter stayed thick and never thinned out. So to confirm my suspicion, will you let me know how many grams of egg whites did you use? Thank you!
P.S. As for the number of shells, I’ve been using my base macaron recipe for over 5 years now and I consistently produce at least 20 assembled macarons. There’s absolutely no reason for me to lie about it. And for the record, I’ve never tried doubling my recipe.
The thick batter mystery: my 3rd grader was dying to learn to make macarons so I had to learn in order to help her. We’ve encountered lots of problems in our trial and error learning, but finally got consistent results. Then one day no matter how long I folded the batter it remained thick and grainy and never got to the stage of flowing in thick ribbons and we had to toss it out. We are not 100% sure, but the only conclusion that we could find is that WE OVERBEAT THE EGG WHITES. Since then we’ve both been vigilant about not doing that and haven’t had a repeat of that problem.
Hi, Jamie!! Your theory and findings make perfect sense. Overmixing the meringue results in drying out the egg whites, so if the egg whites are overbeaten too much, it may definitely result in thick batter. Thank you so much for sharing this tip. I’ll test this out and see what I find out. And kudos to you and your kiddo for patiently testing it out!
These are fantastic! I’ve never made macrons but wanted to try them after a macron episode marathon on the food network. I wasn’t sure what to expect in mixing, baking and taste. I used extra finely ground King Aurther almond flour. When mixing the final ingrediants I knew the batter was mixed but still looked gritty, I figured it was the consistancy of the flour. My grandfather and mother have celiac and often make desserts with rice and almond flour. Peanut butter cookies are a staple, but arent for everyone because the flour gives them a grittiness. Since I knew this and read the warning about over mixing the batter I moved on. I piped them onto parchment paper, let them dry and popped them in the oven for about 19 minutes, using a small spatula I scraped one up to make sure it wasnt sticking to my paper meaning the rest were also done. My ganache was kinda runny like pudding, it also never set completely. But I think I didnt use enough cream, or the right cream. Regardless, still delish and put it on my cookies. I am a novice cook and baker, I was very fortunate to recieve a kitchebaid mixer for Christmas and am putting it to use. The macrons are amazing. They are light but have the consistancy of a corner brownie with the crispy outer shell but also have that fudgy density if that makes sense. There isn’t any gritty texture in these like in many gluten free desserts and its kind of blowing my mind. Im sorry so many had issues with this recipe but I will definitly be making more and for my family members with celiac whos limited in yummy goodies.
For the peanut butter cookies try smitten kitchen’s. smittenkitchen.com/2015/10/salted-peanut-butter-cookies/ They have no flour, not even nut flour, and are really easy.
We struggled with a super thick batter as did others. I wonder if it has to do with the grittiness of the almond flour. I think we’ll reduce the almond flour a bit next time around. The flavor was delicious but they weren’t very pretty. However, I’ll take tasty over pretty with these. I give them a 4-star rating and hope our next bake is more successful. Thanks for the delicious recipe.
My first time making macarons and I am super pleased. I have very minor problems with them. I read your instructions and information on how to make them and I think my only problem was that I didn’t make them the same size and I put two way to close together lol so they didn’t look pretty but…. They look almost perfect for a (I am not kidding) first batch first time.
Hi, Caitlin! So happy to hear that your very first batch turned out successfully! Yay!! Thank you for sharing your feedback. Hope next batch will be flawless! Send some pictures. 🙂
I shared it on Instagram and # you in it.
Thank you, Caitlin! They look amazing!!
Hi, I realized why everyone is complaining about a thick batter. The recipe calls for 1 cup almond flour and 3/4 cup powdered sugar when, according to the amount in grams, its supposed to be the other way around. Hopefully that makes sense!
Hi, Josh. Thanks for chiming in. But the ingredients and their weights are correct. Powdered sugar is denser than almond flour, thus 1 cup of powdered sugar weighs more than 1 cup of almond flour.
Ah okay makes sense!
These macaroons are AMAZING! The grenache filling is what makes them so special. Nice recipe, thank you! I also thank you for your tips with these picky little cookies. After scrapping many batches over time, I’m always looking for more tips on how to get the perfect cookie. You helped me achieve that. Am appreciative!
Hi, Julie. So happy to hear this recipe worked for you, and my tips were helpful. And thank you for your feedback!
My batter was a bit thick haven’t baked them yet so not sure how they will turn out. But I measured out how big they should be and I only got 12 shells from this batter
I’m sorry to hear that, Lilly! So I was thinking maybe I should hop on a skype call or something with those who are having problem, so I can virtually guide you and we can troubleshoot together. So if you’re up for it, let me know.
I am a skilled baker, made these by weight, followed everything, and they never got thin – “batter” was crumbly and worthless. I have pressed it into a sheet pan to bake and will try to salvage something of it.Not enough liquid for the amount of dry ingredients, I think. Adding cocoa powder dries things out even more.Super disappointed with this recipe. Took a lot of time to prep things and if nothing comes of it it’s a total waste of ingredients. I don’t normally rate recipes or leave such negative feedback, but it was a total and complete failure, and I am not a novice.
Hi, Suzannah! Thank so much for your feedback, and I’m sorry yours didn’t turn out. I personally can’t recreate this thick batter issue, and sadly you’re not the only one who has this issue. One of my readers, Chen, actually found out what was causing her thick batter issue. It was the type of almond flour she was using. Here’s her comment, if you’d like to read her findings. If you can help us out and let us know what type of almond flour you used, I’d really appreciate it!
I read that comment, but I used Bob’s Red Mill, the finely ground almond flour. I am not really sure what happened. I may try again the next time I have egg whites.
Thanks for the reply!
Don’t make these!
I also had same problem! I made them a month ago without a scale. Had chunky batter. Needs more egg white.
Bought a scale…aged mt egg whites…for several days in fridge…then let set n counter several hours.
Making them now. Thick and chunky again!
They are in mixer now with paddle on folding speed. I wanted to be sure I posted before delete from my Pinterest.
Well…not sure if I salvaged. I beat up another egg white and after chiseling the chocolate mixture from my bowl I once again used paddle on mixer to blend up. It helped. They are setting now before baking. Anxious to see results!
Hey, Rosanne. Sorry you’re having trouble with macaron batter. Did you weigh the egg whites too? By the way, I don’t recommend aging the eggs, unless you’re in a very humid climate. Aging the egg whites evaporates the moisture out it. Anyway, I got your other message with the photo, my fingers are crossed for you. Keep me posted.
I too had an incredibly terrible, thick, grainy batter that never thinned out. All ingredients were weighed out appropriately, The eggs were not over beaten. Even if I over beat them, it would not explain how I managed to get 18 shells, so only 9 potential macarons. The recipe claims you can make 42 shells. There’s no way you can produce that from two eggs worth.
Hi, Ted. Sorry to hear you had an issue with thick batter. I was able to reproduce the thick batter issue (finally) couple weeks ago. I used 2 smaller eggs, which yielded 63gr of egg whites. My batter stayed thick and never thinned out. So to confirm my suspicion, will you let me know how many grams of egg whites did you use? Thank you!
P.S. As for the number of shells, I’ve been using my base macaron recipe for over 5 years now and I consistently produce at least 20 assembled macarons. There’s absolutely no reason for me to lie about it. And for the record, I’ve never tried doubling my recipe.
These macarons unfortunately were super thick even after mixing for 20 minutes, but I still decided to bake them. They came out cracked and had no feet. I probably would not recommend this recipe.
Hi, Audrey. I’m sorry to hear your macarons didn’t turn out, but thank you for providing feedback. Did you weigh the egg whites by chance?
Hi, First of all these taste AMAZING! But they always are cracked and they barely have any feet. Could you please tell me how to fix the two problems?
Actually they do have feet but could you still tell me what I am doing wrong to make them cracked.
Hi, Shannon. Yeah, even imperfect macarons taste wonderful. As for your cracked macarons, there could be number of reasons, from over-mixed batter to overbeaten meringue. Take a look at my visual troubleshooting guide and see which one is more similar to yours. Hope this helps, if not, please send me a photo of your macs and I’ll try to help.
Thank you for the link to the troubleshooting guide. In a couple days I am going to try to make them again and I think they will turn out better now that I have looked at the guide. Thanks I’ll tell you what happens!
Awesome. Glad you found that post helpful. Keep me posted, Shannon. And good luck! 🙂
Hi, thanks for your recipes, please can I have some help to troubleshoot my thick batter issue.
I’ve tried this chocolate macaron recipe twice and both times the batter remained thick (when I hold up the spatula it just stays on without dropping). I’ve made macarons before without coco powder and they’ve turn out great, but with coco powder, after folding it 35-45 times, they look like they are getting to the right batter consistancy, another 10 folds and they should be perfect for piping but instead they just stop and never get any thinner no matter how much longer I fold them.
Any ideas?
Thanks
Hi, Chen. Well, unfortunately, this thick batter issue is unsolved mystery around here. I can’t recreate the issue to save my life, and I heard this problem from a few readers now. And I just don’t know what might be the issue. Some say the batter gets thicker as you fold, which seems weird. Anyway, one thing I wondering if it’s somehow connected to humidity in the area. Is it pretty dry where you are? Hoping we’ll get this figure out soon.
Hi again,
I have solved the thick batter mystery! It was due to the ALMOND FLOUR I bought. I live in the UK, we call it ground almonds here, but a few blogs wrote almond flour is just the American name for the same thing, but now I’m not sure. I’m going to stick with ground almonds from now on.
The almond flour that caused me all these trouble is a fine ground organic almond flour from Amazon (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00CSUNF4S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) I thought organic would mean good quality and although it claims to be 100% almonds, I’m not convinced.
I’ve gone back to using small packets of supermarket own brand ground almonds, the cost is a little high compared to buying in bulk, but at least this way I get good macarons with a strong almond flavour.
Hopefully your other reviewers haven’t given up on making macarons and sees this post, maybe the almond flour is the cause for their batter dilemma too.
Bw
Chen
Wow, Chen, this is super helpful!!! I just read about the almond flour you had used, it looks like it has added protein, de-oiled, and it also says great for thickening! Now, I don’t know anything about what all those descriptions mean, but it looks to me that it’s not pure ground almond. If at all helps, I’ve used the following brands of almond flour and happy with them all: Bob’s Red Mill, Honeyville and Nature’s Eats. I can’t thank you enough for your valuable feedback, Chen!!
This recipe worked out really well for me! I used a food processor for the egg whites and sugar, and it wasn’t stiff but somehow it worked! Lucky me, I guess. I found another recipe for buttercream online and used that because I was sort of tired from waiting for the macarons to dry. They tasted amazing, but I would add some cocoa powder to make it more decadent. Thanks for this recipe!!
Yay, so happy this recipe worked for you! Be cautious with adding more cocoa powder, trying adding a little at a time. And thank you for your feedback, Yashvi!
Hey I was making this recipe and am having trouble getting it to a thin state. Am I doing something wrong? I have been folding for almost 30 minutes and nothing.
Hmm, interesting. Tiffany, how firm are your folding the batter? Could you try folding it a bit firmer maybe? It shouldn’t take that long to get to the right consistency. Hope it works out and let me know.
Holding very firm….I had my hubny even step in to help.
How did you measure dry ingredients? I’m guessing if you measured by cups, it’s possible you’ve got a bit too much dry ingredients. But at this point one thing you could try is whip 1 egg white till hard peaks and add a little at a time to thin out the macaron batter. Let me know if that helps.
I redid measuring everything with a scale. A little better with consistency but still very grainy
Hey Tiffany, glad to hear the consistency improved as you re-measured the ingredients with a scale. As for grainy issue, it depends on type of almond flour you use. I’ve been using this almond flour, which has super fine texture. Everything gets sifted through and my macarons turn out smooth.
And the batter is also very grainy
Hi! Your macarons look great!! I’ve tried making chocolate macarons batch after batch after batch but all come out hollow. I’ve tried fixing the meringue just until still peaks, and doing the proper macaronage til a ribbon consistency. Are there any tips you can give me? 🙂 I don’t want to give up just yet. 🙂
Just stiff** peaks, I mean. 🙂
Hi Jam! So glad your macarons are looking great! If you think your meringue is beaten just right, then try baking your macarons a bit longer. It’s also possible that under-baked macarons collapse when they’re out of the oven. Hope this helps. Keep me posted.
My macarons do come off clean when I peel them from the baking sheet, but do look a little wet when I slice them in half. I’ll try this out and hope it works. Thanks so much!
Yeah, maybe they need just a minute a two longer. Keep me posted.
I finaaaaaaaally found a recipe that works extremely well for me! Thank you so much!
All the recipes I’ve followed called for more powdered sugar over almond flour and my macarons from those recipes ended up with more spread out feet and they tend to be more hallow. It’s also super weird how everyone’s ovens operate differently because the macarons that I made with this recipe came out perfectly, but I ended up baking for 36-38 minutes at 280 degrees Fahrenheit and they weren’t overcooked at all! Though the shells were really delicate so some of the tops ended up cracking as I was trying to peel them off of my macaron silicon mat, but that just means I have to let them sit out for longer so the ‘skin’ is thicker.
I get really nervous whenever I make macarons but I’m so glad I finally found a recipe and system that works perfectly for me.
I will definitely be using this recipe again!
Hi, Juliet! Yay, so glad you found the perfect recipe for you! You’re so right, every oven works differently, and I’m glad you found perfect temp and time to bake your macs. Thank you so much for your feedback.
This recipe is terrible, we tried 4 times and every time it turned out super hard. We used exact per portions. Is this fake!? We looked at you pictures after mixing the dry and wet ingredients together it looked way different then ours. Take this off the internet!
Hi Olivia and Brooklyn. I’m sorry to hear you had trouble with this recipe. But first, can we be cordial despite the frustration you’re having? I’m all about helping you to troubleshoot, but I don’t tolerate rudeness on my site. The recipe is not fake, and as you can see I’ve taken step by step photos along the way.
To help you to figure out what may have gone wrong, I have a few questions. Have you made french macarons before? What kind of flour did you use? Did you weigh the ingredients on a scale, or did you measure by cup? The measurements have to be precise, and the batter usually gets runnier as you mix it. From the photo you’ve sent me, your macarons don’t look anything like french macarons. Although you say you followed the recipe, there must have been some mis-interpretation.
Oh my gosh, these are awesome! I made the lemon macarons and those were very, very delicious, and also adorable, so I decided to make these. So, so good! I added some ganache and chocolate chips on top to add some decoration, and it was very cute. If you like chocolate, make these macarons! These are great, Shinee! Thanks so much! I will be making many more of your macaron recipes in the future!
Woo-hoo, love that you’re having so much fun making macarons, Cecilia. Thanks for sharing your experience. If you got any pictures, I’d love to see them. You can submit the images through this page.
Congratulations Shine, very good your macarrons recipe. Thanks.
Thanks, Francia!
These look delicious and really pretty. This is going to be my first time making macaroons, I’m so excited. In the recipe you say to use natural unsweetened cocoa, could I use dutch processed cocoa instead of the natural cocoa? Thanks.
Hi, Denise! So excited for your first macaron baking! Actually for this recipe you can use either one, Dutch processed cocoa powder is fine. You’ll get nice dark macarons, but the flavor may be slightly mellower. Good luck, and let me know how it goes.
So sorry for another comment right after writing one, but can I ask you if you’ve ever used Bob’s Red Mill almond flour? I’ve been using it since day 1 and I’m not sure about it. When I rub the almond flour between my fingers, it feels sort of moist. Do you have any experience with it? Or if not, what should a suffiently dry almond flour feel like (I know that’s hard to describe? Do you think if I put it all in my food processor and dried it out in the oven a little I might get a fluffier interior? I worry there is too much moisture in my macaron shells and the steam hits the icing sugar (my other recipes call for almost twice icing sugar to almond flour) and makes a dense, crispy layer at the base of my macaron and leaves a hollow area above it. Any recommendations, suggestions or tips? Thank you so much and your macarons are a he best I’ve ever seen. Can’t wait to use your recipe!! 🙂
No apologies needed. I love talking about macarons… Bring all the questions!! 🙂 I’ve used Bob’s Red Mill almond flour a lot in the beginning. And I had no issues. But because I was going through their little bags so quickly, I needed something that I could order online in bulk. 🙂 My latest one is this one, which I absolutely love! It’s so super fine and I LOVE it!
Anyway, you brought up a great point here. I’ve never noticed that moist texture though. Could it be oily?
As for hollow macarons, pay close attention to your meringue, making sure not to over-beat it. Hollow macarons are also caused by overbeaten meringue. We often focus on perfect macaronage, and overlook the meringue texture. Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Thank you so much for your super quick replies!!! I really appreciate that as I am beyond ready to make fluffy macarons already!! Lol.
When I rub Bob’s Red Mill almond flour between my fingers, it doesn’t feel oily, it feels more moist, like humidity and it doesn’t feel floury, it feel quite grainy. It leaves no dusty, floury residue on my fingers, just a more coarse texture. Even my unopened bags fee like this. I think I am better off to change brands so thank you so much for your link. I’ll see if I can find it here in Canada or maybe just go ahead and order online.
I will keep you posted. I plan to make some this afternoon. I still only have Bob’s almond flour but I’m going to processnit dor a couple minutes and then spreadnit over a big baking sheet and put it in the oven on low heat for a bit. I am also pretty sure I have been overmixing the batter. I was mixing to ribbon stage, but to an actual ribbon stage. I think i need to stop just as it starts to nicely flow off and not running off my spatula like a perfect ribbon. My meringue looks very glossy and voluminous so I’m not sure I know where to stop there because I definitely don’t beat them to a dry stage. I whip the eggwhites until they just hold a peak but no more than that. I huess tonight we’ll see. I think your recipe is much better than the ones I’ve been using so I have a lot more confidence in my next batch for sure 🙂 Happy New Years!!!
Sad to sad I have hollows again. The inside looks like ancolapsed massnof undercooked, sticky batter. I baked it for the time suggested but no-go. I think they deflate as soon as they get out of the oven. They look very opaque, full, puffy and well-risen in the oven, with beautiful feet, but when I take them out of the oven, I can see the shell losing it’s denseness and the top of the shell looks more translucent. What does this mean? Do I need to keep them in the oven longer to set? I have done that before, but I just end up with the same thing happening ultimately, just crispier. Ugh, I’m in a macaron funk. So disappointed. May need to take a break for a while 🙁
Wow!! I just wanted to say that your macaron’s feet are the best I’ve ever seen with the French meringue technique. Most of us who try baking these little gems are so excited to see these huge, ruffled, blown-out feet because we see a lot of that in our reaearxh for the perfect macaron. But macaron feet should be no wider than the shell and should be mostly just air holes. This is definitely harder with French meringue than Italian meringue but you’ve nailed it. I’m tossing all my other recipes and only ising youe’s from now on. I also like that you use the “tant pour tant” ratio. A LOT of recipes have almost twice the icing sugar to almond flour and I find it’s way too sweet and I also partially blame this 2:1 ration of icning sugar to almond flour for my macaron centres collapsing into a hard, dense centre with a gap and then an eggshell delicate top to the shell. I am so excited to find your blog!! I really think I can fix my past problems now. Thank you so much!!!
Hi, Dani! So happy you’ve come across my recipe, and hope you give it a try. And I totally agree on bulging feet, not good! I get that when I use silicone mat, that’s why I only bake macarons on parchment paper. Yeah, I get a few comments that my macaron recipe calls for less sugar compared to others, but I have to say my macarons are plenty sweet! 😛 Let me know which one you’re going to try, I have a few variations here on the blog.
Hi Shinee, I used your basic recipe and added some bright pink food colouring. I made a chocolate ganache with a tiny bit of Amarula liqueur in it. Really yummy. Unfortunately, my macarons came out hollow again. They were much more beautiful though. Gorgeous feet, lovely rise, just gorgeous, until I took rhem out of the oven and I could literally see the insides collapsing into a dense layer that looks like a wet blob of cotton candy (does that make sense?). So you think I may need to bake them longer? They came off the parchment paper, but they don’t stay fluffy or set for me. Would it be unwise to turn off the heat when they can come off the paper but continue to leave them in the oven with the door cracked? I do think I have gotten closer than ever before and I have to say, in the oven, they were the most perfect looking macarons. It’s something to do with removing from the heat. I’m stuck and though I mentioned elsewhere on your blog that I maybe need a break, no way, I don’t quit. I just need a litte help and I know I’m close. What do you think about them deflating only when they come out of the oven? Thank you so muh Shinee, you are sooo helpful!!!
Hey, Dani. Oh, I’m sorry yours are still turning out hollow and collapsing. Do you have an oven thermometer? It sounds like you’re baking at a bit of high temperature and underbaking them. Oven temps could fluctuate up to 50°F up and down, which is quite a big deal. And even if you have a oven temp and it says 300°F (150°C), try baking your next batch at 285°F (140C) for at least 18 minutes. Most of the time I bake mine for 18 minutes at 300°F (150°C)
Thanks so much for your reply!! You are so quick back with a response…it’s really reassuring to those of us with a bit if a struggle here and there 🙂
Yes, I think you’re right on the money with the probability of underbaking. I have checked my oven with a thermometer before and it did say (I actually used two different ones at the same time) that my oven set at 300°F was actually heating at that temperature, but still, I do believe they are underdone, but just slighty. I have tried to keep a batch made with a recipe before I found your’s in the oven longer but it was the same, fallen insides but really crispy instead. But like I said, that was a recipe I used hefore I found your’s. i have to say, even though the colouring I used looked hideous in the mixing bowl, they were the most beautiful macarons I have ever made. I mean, these babies looked like patisserie macarons inbthe oven. Gorgeous feet, not blown-out, not too high, a beautiful rise, perfect shine. I should have taken a picture to somehow share with you but I’d probably be too embarrassed by the inside of my oven I’d likely not post!! Lol. It was only afyer taking them out did they deflate so I believe you are exactly right. Not baked long enough to set and prevent the collapse of underbaked insides. I think next time I will initially bake at 300°F for rhe first 4 or 5 minutes to ensure a good rise and good feet and then reduce the temp down to your suggested 285°F for 20-21 minutes. This last batch I baked for only 16 minutes because they seemed so perfect and I didn’t want to burn so I probably shot myself in the foot and ended up ruining them (well, not really, I still went ahead and filled them with the Amarula ganache, left them in the fridge for about 18 hours, sit out for an hour and they were amazing, best flavour mac shells yet!!)
Do you think my new baking plan is Ok or should I just stick it out at 300°F for longer? Also, I double panned my macarons, could this be causing a need for a longer bake time just due to that?
I’m so sorry to be such a pain, but you are SO helpful!! And your recipe is THE best, bar-none.
Thank you so much,
Dani
PS, read a food bit (still have a bit more to read this evening) about your pregnancy and your little Grant and you are such a sweet family. It’s comforting to read about women who suddenly think about an epidural and honestly discuss the pain and the challenges of birth. Here are way too many superhero stories out there about births that seem no more uncomfortable than a bit of constipation and it’s tiring and I think for the most part, untrue. Thank you for telling it like it is and letting other moms know who also wondered “where is that darn epidural??!!??!!” that we are all just human and we do our best. Also, Grant is beautiful and I love the story about choosing a name with the help of some rice!! I love tradition too!! 🙂
Dani, yes, I think preheating the oven to 300°F and then reducing to 285°F is a great idea. If your macarons start browning on top, you could place an empty rack on top shelf in the oven and slide an empty baking sheet so it shields the macarons from overheating from the top. Did you double pan regular thin cookie sheets? I usually use this heavy duty, thick aluminum baking sheet, and I don’t need to double it.
P.S. Thank you so much for your kind words about my little munchkin. And labor pains were no joke! 🙂
Hi Shinee!! Starting another batch right now and will use the new baking temp and times. I bought a beautiful insulated cookie sheet. It is fairly thick so I hope rhat helps too. I will definitely watch for browning on the top and have another pan at the ready. Thank you so much!!!
Yay, fingers crossed for you! Can’t wait to hear the result, Dani. Keep me updated.
Hi Shinee,
I made the chocolate sea salt macaroons today. Unfortunately the first batch didn’t turn out well, although they tasted nice. They looked similar to the ones on your you tube video. I tried making the basic French macaron recipe of yours and adding 10 g of cocoa to it, as well as vanilla extract as was suggested by one of your readers. This turned out better. Just wondering if 130 g of icing sugar is too much. The basic French macaron recipe called for 100g of icing sugar. Maybe the addition of an extra 30 g of icing sugar and the 10g of cocoa was too much dry ingredient ??? . Thank you very much for your easy to follow instructions, loving experimenting with macarons. Cheers????????????
Hey, Nichola, thanks for your feedback! So helpful, as I love experimenting too! Though powdered sugar is a bit higher in this recipe, the granulated sugar amount for the meringue is decreased. I’ll have to play with this chocolate version a bit more so it’s somewhat fool-proof.
I made these today and the shells turned out super hard. I don’t know what I did wrong. I followed the recipe completely and only baked them about 20 minutes. I have made your pistachio macaron in the past and they turned out amazing. I don’t know what went wrong with this one.
Ps I weighed the egg whites so I had exactly 70g.
Hi, Gillian. My first guess is that they maybe over-baked. I’d suggest baking them a little less time, like start checking at after 15 minutes.
This was my first time making macarons. I would never have attempted them without your amazing directions and video. I also referenced your excellent troubleshooting post.
I’m afraid mine did not look nearly as pretty as yours- they cracked on top. I suppose I over mixed them, though I counted my strokes carefully and did the ribbon test. I also learned that next time I need to rotate my pans once during baking because one batch lifted off the parchment easily while the other stuck a bit. No matter, the cookies tasted great, and my husband has encouraged me to keep the recipe!
Thank you for all the time and effort you have put into perfecting your macaroons so that you can share your wisdom with the rest of us.
Hi, Jocelyn! So happy to hear you tried my recipe. You know, macarons are finicky. You might think you’ve done everything right, and still get some issues. With more practice, you’ll get hang of it. Keep baking them and you’ll get the perfect ones. And thank you for leaving such a sweet comment!
Thanks for looking into it! I did try again yesterday, but I simply added 10g of cocoa powder to your Basic French Macaron recipe (I kept the vanilla, too!), and it turned out great. They went over quite well at work today.
Hey Justin, just wanted to let you know that I was able to re-test the recipe yesterday and shared on Snapchat. I didn’t have that issue you’ve described. I did get quite weird result though. 1st tray came out cracked, and 2nd tray was perfect. But the recipe and measurements are correct. If you’d like, you can watch the video here.
I’m also having issues with overly thick batter. I’ve tried this recipe twice (I was so disappointed in the first batch that I had to try again), and the batter is simply far too dry. Comparing with your Lemon Macaron recipe (which is consistently the best macaron recipe I’ve encountered) there seems to be about 10-20g more dry ingredients, but less (by 1-2 tsp) wet ingredients. I see some of the granulated sugar is now replaced by confectioner’s sugar, but not nearly enough to compensate for the additional chocolate powder. Another note is that 1c of powdered sugar is 125g, not 130, which could be contributing.
Anyway, just a note, since I love your other recipes.
Hey, Justin! Thanks for your feedback. You guys convinced me that there is a problem. I’m going to re-test this recipe again and see if I can recreate the issue. Unfortunately, I can’t find my hand-written recipe notes from testing, so I can’t double check for error. Anyway, I’ll report back as soon as I retest the recipe. Btw, I’m happy to hear you’re loving my lemon macarons though!
And as for powdered sugar, I usually weigh my ingredients myself, so it’s possible I put a bit more powdered sugar in 1 cup, but it’s what goes into my batter. And again thank you for your comment! 🙂
This was my fourth time making macarons, and I can honestly say I’ve never had this much trouble making them. I followed the recipe exactly, and the batter was VERY thick. I spent at least a good 15 minutes trying to fold the ingredients together, yet was ultimately left with a batter that refused thin out. Let’s just say my end result was definitely leaning more towards weird, chewy brownies than macarons. What happened? As I said, I’ve made macarons multiple times before with success, but this batter just would not cooperate with me.
Hi, Miss M! I’m sorry to hear your macarons didn’t turn out. That’s very odd issue you had there. I’ve made several batches of these chocolate macarons in my testing and never had that issue. Did you weigh your egg whites by chance? Also did you weigh your dry ingredients, or did you use a cup for measuring? My only guess is that somehow the proportions between dry and wet ingredients were off.
Thank you for sharing your recipes and your “Do” and “Don’t” from all your experience with the Macarons..
I tried yours today and it was a success.
Wow, that’s great to hear. I’m glad my tips helped, Zan! Thank you for trying my recipe and sharing your feedback.
Hi there! I recently found your website and have made your pumpkin spice and pistachio macarons and my chocolate ones are in the oven now. They have all turned out beautifully and are super delicious. The only problem I’m having is for some reason I’m only getting about 20-24 shells per batch. I’m piping 1 1/2 in circles and of course following the recipe to a “T”. Is there a reason this could be happening? Also, do you think the recipe would do ok if I doubled it?
Thank you for your time and for sharing such delicious recipes!!
Hi, Crystal! First, so glad you’re loving my macaron recipes! Aren’t those pistachio ones are the bomb? Hehe
As for the size, it’s so weird. You’re basically getting half of what I get. When you pipe the batter into rounds, do they spread beyond 1.5-inches? You might want to pipe about 1-inch rounds and let them spread into 1.5-inch circles. Hope this helps. If you feel comfortable with the folding technique now, you probably can double the recipe. But I’d suggest to half the batter when you transfer into piping bags, as the squeezing it can make the batter runnier. Does that make sense? 🙂
Hi I made these macarons last night, they look good but they are hallow in the inside is this right? Did i do something wrong?
Hi, Bianca! Thanks for trying out my recipe. There are a few reason why your macarons get hollow inside: 1. The macaron batter is overmixed. 2. The egg whites were beaten for too long. 3. The oven temperature was too high. I’m currently working on a comprehensive French Macaron 101 post, where I’ll be discussing all this scenarios in details. Stay tuned.
Hi Shinee, so glad to find your site. Your recipes are awesome and easy to follow with your tips and instructions. Can you give me a tip on how to beat the 2 eggwhites successfully in a Kitchenaid mixer, I mean, I’m having a difficult time making it rise to the stiff stage with just that little amount. Thanks.
Ela, thank you and welcome! I’m glad you like my recipes. I beat 2 egg whites in my KitchenAid mixer all the time without any problem, so I don’t think it’s due to the amount of egg whites. To beat the egg whites, follow these rules:
1. Make sure the egg whites are completely free of egg yolk.
2. The mixing bowl and the whisk need to be squeaky clean and absolutely free of fat.
3. Egg whites at room temperature whip much faster and easier.
Also, start the mixer on low speed first, then gradually increase the speed as the volume of egg whites increases.
I had discussed these in detail in this post.
Hope this helps. 🙂
Hi! I have made macarons a few times, the last time they turned out awful. I want to try your recipe but I don’t have cream of tartar and I can’t seem to find it anywhere. Will they turn out ok? Also, it seems my problem is when folding the dry ingredients, I think I overmix the batter.
Hi, Andrea! You can omit cream of tartar, if you don’t have it. It helps to stabilize the egg whites, but it’s not essential. If you think that you’re over mixing the batter, start counting each fold. You need to be careful after about 50 folds. 🙂 Also, check out my video about my folding technique I shared on my lemon french macarons. I hope it’ll help you to know what the right consistency should look like. Good luck!
I followed your recipe exactly, but my batter is CRAZY thick….not sure what went wrong?
Leslie, that’s totally normal. As you see on the step-by-step collage photo above, the rows 2 and 3 show how the batter gets from thick to thin as you continue to fold. The trick is to not under-mix and not to over mix.So if the batter is very thick, just keep folding, and it will thin out. Thanks for reaching out.
Sounds amazing! I need to try macaroons sometime soon!
I love making macarons, so much fun! Thanks, Mandie.
Hi and thank you for sharing!! One question…almond four, do we grind almonds together or just simply use almond flour from a bag?? Can’t wait to try making them!!!!
I use store bought almond flour. Have fun, Brenda! 🙂
These are the prettiest macarons that I’ve ever seen!! I don’t think I have the nerve to try them, so I’ll just admire how gorgeous they are!
You’re so kind, Pam! Thank you!
You have inspired me to give it a try!!! ❤️
Happy to hear that! Have fun!
I have not made macarons in SO long, but now I;m dying to get into the kitchen
I’m glad you’re inspired, Heather! 🙂
would this recipe still work if i halved everything? also, if there are still some air bubbles after tapping the pan about 3 times is that ok?
I wouldn’t recommend halving the recipe, as macarons can be quite finicky and the ingredients has to be exactly as specified for the best result. If you still see air bubbles on the surface, you can tap a few more times, or simple pop it with a toothpick.
I can’t wait to try this recipe!!
I have a little question BC I am a little confused. Since we sift together almond flour and sugar, what is the sugar in step 2 that we add?
Thank you 🙂
Hi, Lenny! I’m so excited for you! So we’re using 2 types of sugar here. 1 cup of powdered sugar that we mix with almond flour, and also 2 tablespoons of regular sugar that we add into the egg whites. Hope this helps. Let me know how they turn out.
Awesome!!
Thank you so so so much for answering, especially that fast, I am so about to do it. I will let you know 🙂
Amazing!!! Delicious!! I still need to work on my pastry bag skills but other than that, I can’t believe I was able to make macarons
Awesome recipe!!
Thank you
Lenny, that’s awesome to hear! I’m so happy you made them. Thanks got letting me know. 🙂
I love your recipe and would like to make it however I have made them in the past and used super fine sugar and not powdered sugar – do you mean confectionary sugar or super fine sugar?
Can’t wait to try this flavor. Thanks!
Hi, Alana! I’m excited you’re going to try my recipe. I use confectioner’s (or powdered) sugar to mix with almond flour. Let me know how they turn out. 🙂
Boom! Thank you from the UK for putting measurements in grams too.
My pleasure, Simon! Thanks.
Yes, I am so thankful too. I hate using cups and when I moved over to using a scale in grams a cule years ago, there was no turning back. Cups just cannot give consistent measurements. Thank you from everyone who prefers this method of measuring!!! 🙂
You can never go wrong with a classic chocolate macaron – these look SO delicious and I am loving the addition of salt!
Thank you, Thalia! You’re right, classic chocolate macarons are, well, classic. Can’t go wrong with them. 🙂