French macarons are oh-so-good!

*Updated 3.1.2019

Ready for some honesty? I’ve been so scared to try my hand at making French Macarons because they are so gosh darn hard to make. You gotta sift the almond flour a gajillion times, fold in the egg whites very carefully – it sounded like a stressful experience to me! But alas, I embraced the stress head on and dove right in. Boy am I glad that I did. French macarons taste like sugary clouds. Light, fluffy, crunchy, crispy, absolutely wonderful. Here are a few tips to get ya headed in the right direction. First-time macaroooooners… You’ve come to the right place!

MIX>>> Always pulse the almond flour and powdered sugar together in a food processor before you begin. Don’t bother with a whisk – just throw it in the processor and get it perfectly mixed.
SIFT>>> You may very well be tempted to skip this step. DONT. It is an absolute must. Sift almond flour/powdered sugar mixture several times – until there is less than 1 tbsp left in the sieve.
EGG WHITES>>> Beat your egg whites in a KitchenAid mixture – don’t bother to make these without an electric beater of some sort. Make sure the bowl is completely clean and grease free. 🙂
PIPE>>> In order to pipe perfect little macaroons that are the same size – use a 1A round Wilton decorating tip and a pastry bag (or ziplock! Those work just fine!!). Make yourself a full sheet of 1 inch round circles on parchment (I used a round Carmex chapstick container as my guide! ;)) – and use that parchment paper sheet as your base, place another parchment sheet on top and pipe on that one. . No need to redraw circles for all your macrons… that can get monotonous. 😉
WAIT>>> Ya gotta be patient with these little guys. Make sure you let them sit for 30 minutes before you bake them. That’s what gives them their cute little “feet”. You know they are ready to go when you lightly touch them with your fingertip and the macaron batter is not tacky.
BAKE>>> DO NOT overbake anything. Ever. I mean it. (That’s a pet peeve of mine!) Watch these little guys very closely. You don’t want them to turn brown – you want them perfectly crisp but not burnt. So just keep your eyes on them. 18-20 minutes in a 300 degree F oven should get the job done, but heck. You never know! My oven is an industrial oven, it cooks everything much faster, so just be careful. Also; know that I have confidence in you! Check them every 5 minutes and you’ll be just fine! 🙂
ENJOY >>> You should PROBABLY let these little guys cool before popping one in your mouth. But honestly, I’ve never been able to stick to that rule. I’m always way too impatient to try them – I have to taste test. So go for it! They are yummy warm anyway.