~ Making Macarons ~

Macarons are a French confection consisting of two cookies sandwiched together

with a choice of filling in-between. They are considered a luxury because of their
expensive ingredients and their need for precision when baking. This is reflected in
their price. However, you can save money by making them yourself. This
document will help you do so. For simplicity’s sake, instructions for a vanilla
cookie with a chocolate ganache filling are given.

Ingredients Utensils
 100 g fine almond flour  whisk or standing mixer
 200 g powdered sugar  3 mixing bowls
 3 large egg whites (aged)*  baking sheet
 40 g caster sugar  silicon spatula
 ¾ tsp vanilla extract  2 piping bags with round tips
 3/8 tsp cream of tartar  sieve or food processor
 lemon juice or vinegar  parchment paper
 ½ cup heavy whipping  1 small pot
cream  kitchen scale
 1 cup chocolate chips  measuring cups

*Age the egg whites by sitting them out at room temperature for at least 24 hours

Making the Cookies

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Wipe your bowls with lemon juice or vinegar to remove residual oils.
3. Pulse the almond flour and the powdered sugar together for 30 seconds in
the food processor, then add the mixture to a bowl. Alternatively, sift them
together twice into a mixing bowl by running the fine particles through the
mesh of a sieve.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites on medium until soft peaks form.
5. Add all of the cream of tartar at once, then add the caster sugar one spoonful
at a time while continuing to beat on high. You have now made a meringue.
6. After the caster sugar, add the vanilla extract and continue beating until stiff
peaks form.

Egg white with soft peaks. Meringue with stiff peaks.

7. Sift the dry mixture into your meringue.

8. Gently fold the ingredients using a silicon spatula.
9. To test for the right consistency, use the figure-8 method. Lift some batter on
your spatula, then drizzle it back into the bowl in a figure-8 pattern. If the
batter does not break, it is ready.
10.Transfer the batter to a piping bag with a large, round tip.
11.Pipe uniform circles of batter about an inch apart on all sides.
12.Drop the pan from a height of 5 inches above a flat, hard surface. This
removes any dimples or air bubbles.
13.Let the cookies air dry for an hour.
14.In the meantime, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
15. Bake the cookies for 20 minutes on the middle rack.
16.Let them cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then slide the parchment paper onto
a cooling rack for an additional 10 minutes.
Preparing a Ganache Filling
While your cookies are in the oven, you can make your filling.
1. Bring the whipping cream almost to a boil.
2. Add the chocolate chips to a mixing bowl.

3. Pour the hot whipping cream over the chocolate and whisk until
completely melted.

4. Let the ganache harden and cool before transferring to a piping bag.
Bring It All together
1. Flip half of the macarons so that their flat side is facing up.
2. Pipe a dollop of ganache on each.

3. One at a time, pick up a bare cookie and place it on top of the ganache.
4. Squeeze until the filling just reaches the edge of the cookies.

Making macarons is delicate process affected by numerous variables, some of

which we cannot control. It is also a skill that develops with time. Keep trying to
get the desired result and experiment with different flavors and filling along the
way.