Macaron Recipes and Advice (With Pictures)

I LOVE macarons. Like seriously love them. I could eat them every day. Even though you can now find them at most supermarkets like Sainsbury's and Mark's and Spencer's, I prefer the taste of the ones at patisseries, which can get expensive. However, if you follow a recipe, they're only about £3 per batch, which is the price for one macaron in a patisserie.

If you're like me, though, you may have avoided making them because if fancy bakeries sell them, they must be really difficult, right? Well, I'm not going to lie, they aren't easy to make, but they aren't ridiculously hard either. The skill is getting the technique right, which has taken me a few batches (read 5 batches) to do. And honestly, the only way to get better at cooking and baking is to do it and learn from your mistakes (and there will be a lot of them, trust me).

The key is doing your research if you think a recipe may be difficult. Watch videos, compare recipes, and read reviews. You're bound to find a good one for practically anything, and sometimes if you don't find a recipe you like, you can just make your own.

That being said, I wouldn't necessarily do that with macarons. They are really finnicky, and the proportions are there for a reason. The beaten egg whites are what cause the cookies to rise, so don't scrimp in beating them. And make sure you beat your whites in a metal or glass bowl. This might sound ridiculous, but plastic can hold oil, which will affect the whites' ability to hold air. Also, do NOT add food colouring if you use it until you fold the dry mixture into the whites (most colourings have oil in them if they're liquid).

Chocolate Espresso Macarons decorated with gold glitter spray.

There are a lot of recipes out there, and it's hard to know which is right. The one I like best is this one from Sprinkle Bakes. I've converted it to the metric system below for everyone not in the US. Here's a good video that I found helpful as well if you're more of a visual person. I recommend watching it.

I also tried this one by Lorraine Pascale. I couldn't get it to work. I've seen several versions like it in my research though, so I'm sure it does work. I'm just not sure what I did wrong. Either way, if I make macarons, I will follow the basic Sprinkle Bakes recipe and just tweak it to make the flavours I want.

Without further ado, here's the Sprinkle Bakes recipe ingredients converted (please see the link for the process and detailed directions):

150g icing sugar
75g ground blanched almonds (can do this in your food processor)
2 large egg whites
35g caster sugar (or extra fine sugar)
pinch of cream of tartar
The oven temperatures in this recipe are 190C and 160C.

Here's my recipe for Strawberry Vanilla Cheesecake Macarons (first picture):

Shell Ingredients
150g icing sugar
85g ground blanched almonds
2 large egg whites, room temperature
35g caster sugar (or extra fine)
pinch of cream of tartar
2 tsp vanilla extract
red food colouring

Filling Ingredients
110g cream cheese, room temperature
250ml whipping cream
50g caster sugar
5 fresh strawberries

Line two baking sheets with baking paper. Use a 4cm ring cutter to draw circles for piping guides with a pencil on the paper. Space the circles about 2cm apart. Flip the baking paper upside down so the pencil markings are against the baking sheet. You'll still be able to see them through the paper.

Preheat oven to 190C.

In a food processor, blitz icing sugar and ground almonds for 20 seconds until combined. Sift in a bowl with a fine sieve. Discard any bits that don't sift through the sieve. Set aside.

With a hand mixer, start whipping the two egg whites. When frothy, add the cream of tartar. Begin gradually adding the caster sugar, tablespoon by tablespoon, mixing well in between each addition. When the sugar is all added, continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Mix in the vanilla extract well at this point.

Pour the dry ingredients into the egg whites. Put a few drops of food colouring on a rubber spatula. With the rubber spatula, carefully fold the mixture together. It will be very dry at first. Keep folding. When it reaches the ribbon stage (the mixture falls of the spatula in a ribbon), spoon the mixture into a piping bag with a 1cm opening.

Keep the piping bag upright, and pipe the mixture into the circles on the baking sheets. When done, bang the sheet a couple of times on the counter to release any big air bubbles. Let stand for 15 minutes to form a film. This is VERY important as they won't rise properly if you skip this step.

After 15 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 160C, and put the first baking sheet straight in the oven. Cook for 12 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through.

Before you put in the second batch, bring the oven back up to 190C. Reduce to 160C when ready to put the second batch in. Cook for 12 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through.

Let cookies cool on the sheet for 3 minutes. Spray a bit of water under the baking parchment to loosen them. Then carefully peel off the cookies and finish cooling on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese and the caster sugar in a bowl with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy. Add the whipping cream, and mix for 3-4 minutes until you get soft peaks. Blitz the fresh strawberries in a food processor until pureed. Beat in the strawberries to the whipped cream until stiff peaks form. DO NOT over-beat, or you will end up with butter.

Put icing into a piping bag with a 0.5cm opening. Pipe onto cookies and sandwich together.

Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Here's my recipe for Chocolate Espresso Ganache Macarons:

Shell Ingredients
150g icing sugar
75g ground blanched almonds
10g cocoa powder
2 large egg whites
35g caster sugar
pinch of cream of tartar
2 TBSP instant espresso powder dissolved in half a coffee cup of water

Filling Ingredients
100g dark chocolate
100g double cream (weigh, don't measure by volume)
2 TBSP instant espresso powder dissolved in half a coffee cup of water

Line two baking sheets with baking paper. Use a 4cm ring cutter to draw circles for piping guides with a pencil on the paper. Space the circles about 2cm apart. Flip the baking paper upside down so the pencil markings are against the baking sheet. You'll still be able to see them through the paper.

Preheat oven to 190C.

In a food processor, blitz the cocoa powder, icing sugar, and ground almonds for 20 seconds until combined. Sift together into a bowl with a fine sieve. Discard any bits that won't go through the sieve. Set aside.

In a metal or glass bowl, with a hand mixer, beat the two egg whites. When frothy add the pinch of cream of tartar. Gradually start adding the caster sugar, tablespoon by tablespoon. When all the sugar is add, keep whipping the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add the prepared espresso, and whip to combine well.

Pour the dry mixture into the egg whites. With a rubber spatula, carefully fold in the dry with the whites (it will be very dry at first) until a spatula full of the mixture falls off in a ribbon. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag with a 1cm opening.

Keep the piping bag upright, and pipe the mixture into the circles on the baking sheets. When done, bang the sheet a couple of times on the counter to release any big air bubbles. Let stand for 15 minutes to form a film. This is VERY important as they won't rise properly if you skip this step.

After 15 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 160C. Put the first baking sheet in the oven. Cook for 12 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through.

Before you put in the second batch, bring the oven back up to 190C. Reduce to 160C when ready to put the second batch in. Cook for 12 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through.

Let cookies cool on the sheet for 3 minutes. Spray a bit of water under the baking parchment to loosen them. Then carefully peel off the cookies and finish cooling on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, chop the chocolate and put it in a bowl. In a saucepan, heat the cream to just below boiling. Pour over the chocolate. With a whisk, stir slowly together until combined. Add the coffee and stir well. Let the ganache sit for a few minutes, and then carefully pour into a piping bag and pipe onto half your cookies. Sandwich the ganache with the other half.

Store in the fridge for up to two days.