After attempting in making it come out the way it should, I finally learned making the French Mcarons... I once read a blog saying that it is like riding a bicycle... you keep trying and falling, then one day you just do it..an I truely believe that, after almost a whole year of practice:





I am ready for Christmas... I am so happy

Here is the recipe that i found that works for me.

2 egg whites ( I used jumbo)
1/3 c granulated sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup powdered sugar
2/3 cup Almond flour (meal)
vanilla (optional
food coloring (gel or liquid will work)

Combine powdered sugar and Almond flour and blend until very fine powder. I used a small food processor. Blender will also work. Then sift & put aside. Whip your egg whites... Gradually add 1/3 cup granulated sugar when it reaches the foamy stage. Beat until very stiff, make sure no trace of unbeated egg white. Add your food coloring vanilla and salt when whipping at high speed. Fold the almond flour mixture in small amounts by hand . Fold until you reach the "lava like" consistency. Pipe on parchment paper using the round tip. I use the bigger round tip, at about 3/4 inch in opening.

Tap the baking pan on the counter to make the batter spread a little and also get rid of air bubbles. Let it rest for at least 45 mins. There is no amount of time how long you wait as long as the piped batter develops that "skin" it needs on top, otherwise you will not achieve the Macaron "feet". You will know when you slightly touch them and no batter will stick to your finger.. important tip: turn on your oven at 325 F from the start, like when you to blend your Almond Meal. It is good that your oven is hot and ready when you put the cookie sheet in the oven. Bake at 325F for 15 mins.. 17 mins the MAXIMUM .. If you are successful, you will see "feet" come out at the bottom after 5-6 minutes.. When done remove from oven and let it cool completely. They will come offf easily from the parchment when cooled. Remove gently. Fill them with your choice of filling... Flavored butter creams and cream cheese w/ fruit preserve is good. Do not use "wet" filling UNLESS you eat them right away. They will get suggy.

Learning this is like riding a bicycle.. You fail and fall a lot, but when you understand and know how it works, you will definitely do it right. I failed more that I was successful.. I failed about 8 times, then it hit me, I made 5 successful batches in a row after that.. The key is the "skin" and not over mixing; and beating the egg whites VERY stiff. good luck

Some people can have success the first time and that is awesome. Most people don't... but persistence is good... I never gave up..

Thanks Fondantgrl... Oh, I mean "happyascanbee".

I love these wonderful little cookies! I'm too much of a chicken to give them a try all by myself, but would jump at the chance to learn how to make them from someone who knew what they were doing! Not to many "how to" classes out there on making macarons, though.

My first try was a failure. But I thought I could whip the egg whites myself so I had one runny mess. Tartelette in my opinion is the Macaron Queen. She has so many variations, fillings, and gives plenty of tutorials and advice. Plus, she's super helpful if you email her. Congratulations on your macarons! They are definitely beautiful!

I'm addicted to those little cookies. And I really don't eat too many sweets. I have't started selling them on my site, but they will definitely be in my store. I've found fancy gift boxes for them and can't wait to display them. I'm even cosidering mail order for several products, these being one of them.

I personally like the wet fillings over the buttercreams, even my favorite European buttercreams. I like gourmet jams with the buttercream. The inside is incredibly moist while the outside stays dry.

I am still playing with recipes. I have every macaron book and study the methods. Imagenthatnj sent me a link to get the Laduree Sucre cookbook, so I'll finally get to try the gold standard of recipes. I understand Pierre Herme uses the Italian method and I'm not sure I want that variation.

I have kept a huge bag of empty shells for about a month. Every time I make a filling or buttercream, I pull out a few shells and test the flavor.

I've only made them a few times but love eating them! Do you keep yours in the fridge or at room temperature?

All books say to refrigerate, but these were ones where the feet spread too much so I just dumped them in a bag and put them on a shelf and forgot about them. Sometimes I can't bear to throw something away. A few days later, I decided to use them to experiment. Now it is an experiment for my future retail store. They are about two weeks old now and there has been no change in taste.

Did I mention they were unfilled? I have even left the filled ones out for about 12 hours and the taste is better (IMBC and jam filled). They don't last past that because they are eaten. The meringue is baked to over the magic 160 degrees so they are safe.

I have actually never refrigerated because they are a work in progress for flavor combinations. If they have perishable fillings, they would need their rest (and softening) time in the refrigerator, as the limit is 4 hours out.