Beginner's guide to French macarons (easiest method)

A macaroon is a small cookie, typically made from ground almonds, with sugar and sometimes flavourings, food colouring, glacé cherries, jam or a chocolate coating; In this article you'll learn how to prepare them at home!

December 18, 2023

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Perfect Macarons

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Intro

We’ve boiled it down to the simplest and easiest method for preparing these gorgeous, customizable and easy to make treats.
There are only 4 ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry, but if not, all of them are easy to find and affordable too! Prepare them for a birthday party or a date night from home. Baking these cookies is easy, fun and you’ll feel incredibly fulfilled when you take that first, sweet bite.

Total time + preparation time + cook time

A step-by-step guide to making macarons for beginners:

Ingredients

Ingredients

Kitchen tools needed

Kitchen tools needed for macaron preparing

Step-by-step instructions to make macaron:

Step 1: create the meringue

Create the meringue

Step 2: prepare the dry ingredients

The dry ingredients

Step 3: combine, combine, combine

Combining

Step 4: prepare to pipe

Prepare to pipe


Step 5: piping time

Piping

Step 6: oven

Baking the macarons

Ready macarons with chocolate ganache filling

White chocolate ganache filling

No macaron is complete without the element that makes it a sandwich, the filling! This delicate and complimentary ganache will pair incredibly well with the light and sweet almond taste of the cookie and can be customized beyond belief! Add raspberries, lemon zest, sprinkles, the world is your oyster.

Recipe:

Step #1: melt ’n mix

Step #2: sandwich time

Frequently asked questions

What is a French macaron?

A delicate pastry with incredible depth, flavor and texture! It is a small cookie with a shell and a chewy inside. It typically has an almond flour base and the filling is always up to the chef (that’s you). Typical fillings are buttercream, ganaches, and jams! They are somewhat of a delicacy and can be expensive if bought in stores, so this is the perfect time to make them from home.

What's the difference between a macaroon and a macaron?

One letter can make a big difference. Although both sweet treats are originally from Italy, the macaroon is a coconut-based bite, whereas the macaron is almond-based. Aside from ingredient differences, their forms are completely different! The macaroon is very dense, whereas the macaron is light, crunchy and chewy. Although both macaroons and macarons are delicious, we prefer the latter.

How do macarons taste?

The base of the cookie should always taste the same. Light, but full of flavor, sweet and almondy of course, thanks to almond flour being the main ingredient. Despite the flavor consistency in the cookie sandwich halves, the filling is where macaron flavor really tends to shine, because it’s up to you! You can make floral infused buttercreams, homemade berry jams, fresh chocolate ganaches and more to compliment the light almond taste of the cookie.

Are macarons hard to make?

Although macarons have a notorious reputation for being difficult to make and easy to mess up, it is actually easier done than said! If you follow our step-by-step directions to a T, you will end up with the perfect macaron and zero patisserie fails. We worked with the best of the best macaron chef, Alon Shabo, to distill his years of knowledge into the most simple and easy method for making mouth-watering macarons from home.

How long does it take to make macarons?

Your prep time is going to be about 30 minutes to make the meringue, combine the dry ingredients, and color and pipe your batter for baking. Once they’re in the oven it will take 12 minutes to bake, simply rotating the pan at the halfway mark. In total this will take you less than 45 minutes to make and is a super fun activity as well, so time will fly naturally!

How do you make a macaron tower for parties or events?

You will need a styrofoam cone, left plain or wrapped in colorful paper if you so desire, and fondant to attach the macarons. Melt the fondant, put a small dollop on one side of the cookie and stick it to the tower, pressing gently for a few seconds. For more detailed instructions and ideas, check out our course!

Can you tell me how to make macarons without almond flour?

Macarons can be made without almond flour for those with a nut allergy or simply an aversion to the tree nut. Almond flour can be subbed for a variety of flours from all-purpose to pumpkin seed flour, the choice is up to you!

Can you tell me how to make macarons vegan?

Yes and it’s so easy. Simply sub the egg whites for aquafaba. Aquafaba is the liquid left in a can of chickpeas and is the water that the beans were cooked in. The ratio is the same as the egg whites, so with our recipe, just swap the 76g of egg whites for 76g of aquafaba and you’re well on your way to delicious, vegan macarons.

Master

Perfect Macarons

with our free course

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