Love and Olive Oil

April Kitchen Challenge: Macarons

April Kitchen Challenge - Macarons You had to know it was coming. With a series called “Kitchen Challenge,” macarons were bound to be the subject sooner or later. So let’s just get it over with, shall we?

Technically I’ve attempted macarons before. I actually almost put a recipe for cookie dough-filled ones in the first book (but the fact that I could not get consistent results from my own recipe convinced me to take it out.) When in the company of my macaron making friend Tabitha, they look great, but I’ve yet to produce a truly successful batch on my own.

So this month, let’s roll up our sleeves and master Macarons, once and for all.

The Challenges:
  • Macarons vs. macaroons. We’re not talking about the rustic coconut kind, here.
  • The time. You’ll probably want to set aside a good 4 hours from start to finish. Seems like a breeze compared to the total time involved in croissants, eh?
  • The weather. Seriously. Don’t attempt these if it’s precipitating of any kind. Wait for a cool, dry day if you can. If you can’t, get out a fan and crank up the AC.
  • The ingredients. I found some reasonably priced and beautifully fine almond flour from Nuts.com. Very finely ground almonds work too, but either way, be sure you sift it first. As for the egg whites, I’ve heard older egg whites work best, although BraveTart debunks this as a myth. I’ve got a boat load in my freezer, left from all those batches of ice cream and hollandaise, so I’m all set there.
  • The method. French vs Italian. I’ll probably try the French this time, although I can say the Italian method, while more complicated, seems to produce more consistent results.
  • Double up. Be sure you have a set of two identical baking sheets, and stack them one on top of the other. The double layer will help your macarons bake more evenly.
  • Weigh it out. Most macaron recipes (you’ll notice), call for very specific quantities of things, measured in grams. My advice? Get an inexpensive kitchen scale and follow your recipe. There’s a reason they are so precise.

The great part of this challenge is the basic recipe is only the foundation, but the flavor combinations are endless. Experiment with different nut flours. Try adding powdered food coloring or freeze dried fruit or espresso powder to the shells. And the fillings? Well, the possibilities there are endless.

Needless to say, I cannot wait to see what you guys come up with!

Bouchon and Miette Macarons

From our recent trip to San Francisco: macarons from Bouchon (left) and Miette (right).

Resources

I have not yet decided which recipe/method I’m going to follow. Anyone have a favorite? A recipe or technique or tutorial they swear by? Do share it in the comments! But here are some good starting points for those looking to tackle this challenge:

Want to join me?

If you’re up for the challenge, attempt a batch of macarons by Sunday, April 21st. Send me a photo of yours results (good or bad). I’ll document my experience and also share the images/links to those who’ve taken the challenge as well. This challenge is simply about getting in the kitchen and challenging yourself to make something new; you aren’t required to have a blog to participate, nor are you required to post about it if you do. However, if you do have a blog and post about the challenge, you are more than welcome to use the above graphic if you’d like to spread the word! (Please upload it to your own server.)

Spatulas ready? Let’s go!

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51 Comments

  1. I made vanilla macarons yesterday from the Bouchon baking book! I found it odd that they said to make their macarons 2 1/4 inches in diameter! Huge! But now I see that the ones they make at the bakery are big. The macarons I made were my very first batch and, lucky me, they turned out great. Beginners luck!

    I wasn’t aware of your challenge when I started making my macarons. I’m just a day late for the deadline! Your hibiscus macarons are beautiful, by the way!

  2. I baked BraveTart’s macarons today, and did a chocolate variation. I was very pleased with how they turned out. Thank you for encouraging me to try this out!

  3. I am in! Not too sure what is wrong with me. My blog is / was all about sewing, but lately I’ve caught myself doing no sewing but rather quite a lot of baking. A few nights ago I spent a couple of hours watching youtube clips on making macarons and in fact had a dream that I was making them. So there is no excuse, I must make some. The aging of the egg whites puts me off a little bit as i am more of a spontaneous baker but I’ll give it a go and share my results.

  4. I’m the same my macarons are so hit and miss. I’ve made some amazing ones and had some spectacular flops. I tried the chocolate recipe from I heart macarons this weekend and the measurements on her flavor page don’t seem to be enough dry mixture to egg meringue compared to the others. All I have to show for it is a burned finger!

  5. I totally want to attempt these! Although I’ve been so flaky lately…But I’m going to do my best :)

    Thanks for the push out of the comfort zone!

  6. I was planning to make these this week! Will definitely participate in this challenge again. Nothing like a good deadline to make it happen, right?

  7. LOVE IT! This time I really want to join ;) I have baked macarons once before, but the size was a bit varying between the batches :P And I was following strictly the recipe I had found online… Now I want to get a bit more into experimenting and create my own flavor combination ;) Hope it will work, nevertheless I will join :D Have fun everyone :)

  8. I’ve had success with the Italian method! I also found all of BraveTart’s posts extremely helpful. No aging egg whites for me!
    http://www.solanoskitchen.com/lemon-macarons/

  9. I seriously love this idea. :-)

    • I’m in, gonna attempt tomorrow! My brother even bought me special macaron making tools for Christmas which apparently came from Paris. I don’t think he really knew that macarons are a mission and a half cause I am no way a talented baker but hopefully the tools will aid. It’s a sheet with moulds on it to get perfect shaped macarons and a squeezy thing which I guess is to squeeze out the mixture? There were no instructions…wish me luck for tomorrow!

  10. Hi Lindsay,
    Im totally up for your challenge and I have to tell you that I tried to make macaroons about 3 times and the 1st time, they were ok, not perfect, but ok.
    2nd time, they went straight from the oven into the bin as I end up with a big tray of mushy stuff and 3rd time they were gorgeous so, in my opinion, just God knows how they’ll will end up but, because there’s a recipe that I’m dying to try, I’ll try it for your challenge.
    I heard professionals saying that the success of macaroons depends on how coarse or fine the ground almonds are but I don’t know really…
    Cheers and good luck,
    Lia.

  11. My favorite is Brave Tart. Her site is FANTASTIC for macaron-making help, explanations, and procedures. I used her instructions when attempting to make macaron cookies. She has another post, titled “Macarons are for Eating.” It’s a list of people (including yours truly,) discussing what method each of us used, what went wrong (oh yes, things DID go wrong,) and victories! I love, love, love her site!

    • She’s got a way of inspiring confidence, doesn’t she? :) I’ve been reading up for sure and I think I’m going to use her recipe.

  12. Oh gosh, I adore macarons! They’re just so adorable and tasty :)

  13. Oh, this is a challenge…
    By the way, which was the winner, Miette or Bouchon?

  14. Great challenge! I made these a few weeks ago. They were much easier than I thought, but there are some changes I want to try. I used newish eggs and it worked out well. Good to know about the rain. Thanks!

  15. Yay for macarons. I have been on my own macaron challenge since spending a month in France two years ago. Here are two tips: 1) This handy, and free, app adjusts your recipe to your exact amount of eggwhite because chicken somehow never lay eggs with exactly 30 grams of eggwhite…. http://www.sandozsoftware.com/Cook/Macaron.html and 2) When piping no need to draw on the parchment, just slip a template page with circles under the parchment and remove it before baking.

  16. Macarons have become one of my specialties, but a bit of advice: you definitely have to develop your own protocol for them. In my old kitchen, I had baking time/temperature down to a perfect science. In my new kitchen, I’m still figuring all that out. It varies day to day and oven to oven, and it’ll take more than one batch to get it all correct, but it’s a pretty fun (and tasty) trial time!

  17. Yay! Can’t wait to try this! I was too late for last month’s challenge but this is just the kick I need to finally try the temperamental cookie. Good luck everyone!

  18. I AM IN! the last time i tried making them it was a disaster but it tasted good. Maybe this time i can have them looking better

  19. I have never had a macaron! This challenge is going to change that!

  20. Oh Lindsey this is too perfect! I just took a macaron workshop when we were in Paris and have been planning on making them this week using the recipe/method my teacher taught. I am happy to share the recipe with you (which is foolproof if you follow it to a T) but it is the Italian meringue method. An extra step or two I know- but I’ve had too many failed french meringue macs to risk that again.

    I’m so glad I get to be a part of this challenge again! :)

  21. Oh, I’m in! Believe it or not, I’ve never actually eaten a macaron…but their beauty and reputation make me want to bake them! To try or not to try one before attempting the challenge? Hmmm :)

    Thanks for the challenge, Lindsey!

  22. I’m an expert at eating them but definitely need more practice making them. :-) thanks for the resources! I hope my attempt is successful enough to join the Macaron Challenge.

  23. I found some powdered peanut butter and folded it into the almond flour, I thought I was super awesome for that!

  24. What a great idea! I have been putting off trying to make macarons for the longest time but this is a great incentive to try it soon! Wish me luck they don’t turn out as disasters.

  25. I’ve just come back from NYC where I took a class with Kathryn Gordon (of Les Petits Macarons) at ICE – it was FABULOUS! Even though I have been baking from Stella’s recipe for over 2 years (tweaked to make it my own along the way), I believe a good teacher (because I also teach others how to make macarons here in Toronto!) never stops learning and I learned a LOT from her. I’m totally IN for this challenge – I’ve just made a couple of batches of the Petits Macarons method and I will post them soon :)

  26. Oh boy. I’ve looked at recipes for these little boogers so many times but never found a good reason to make them. I’ve never even seen (in person) or eaten one before but they do make me curious.

  27. Let’s just say my first experience with macarons was my last. I’ve GOT to get back on that horse!

  28. I echo what Danielle and Karis said above. This IS on my culinary bucket list so this challenge is a great kick in the bootie for me! I’m in too! woot woot!

  29. This is such a great reason for me to finally attempt making macarons, I’m in!

  30. It has been on my cooking bucket list for a while – I think I need to step up to this challenge.

  31. I have made Macarons using the Les Petits Macaron book (the French method… not even the “easy” method) and they turned out fabulous… the instructions were easy and overall it was a really fun baking day :)

    … and I am NOT an experienced baker! So even a newb like me could make them using the Les Petits Macaron book XD

    The only problem I *did* have was I forgot to double pan the first batch (two cookie sheets stacked on one another) and they burnt (but were still friggin tasty, how weird is that?… we just ate them as single cookies, no filling)… but once I realized I was a dolt, and double panned, everything was smooth sailing.

    I made their German Chocolate Macarons.

  32. You can freeze egg whites??

  33. I’m in! It’s actually on my “before I’m 50” bucket list so this month is as good as any. :)

  34. I’ve found Pierre Herme’s book, “Macarons” to be very helpful in perfecting technique. I’ve been wanting to get back to making macarons, so thanks for this push. I’ll get my egg whites aging tonight.
    Last December in Paris I tasted a fois gras chocolate macaron that was to die for… it was the most perfect sweet I’ve ever tasted.

    • Fois gras chocolate? That’s, um… interesting? Not sure I’d be that brave!

      And thanks for the book recommendation. Going to see if it’s available at the library. :)

  35. I missed your croissant challenge so I’m up for this. I’ve had more failures than successes but haven’t made them in a while. I’m feeling the love so lets do this! I usually follow the French method and between using my I Heart Macaron book and Jill Colonna’s instructions, hopefully it’ll be okay :)

  36. I have been wanting to make these FORever because I love them so. Totally joining you in this!!! Thanks for the tips!

  37. I’ve been making macarons now and then for a while now. In the begining I’ve tried several recipes but when I found a book “Mad about Macarons” by Jill Colonna I tried no other recipe/technique. A few tips from me would be to age your egg whites for at least 4 days (in the fridge) and to bring them to room temperature before using (leave them on the counter for several hours).
    I think you’ll do great! Good luck everybody!

  38. Unfortunately, I am doing a workshop in Massachusetts and will not be in my kitchen on the 21st! I would have loved to show you my macarons…maybe, I’ll have to post them early on my blog, XOXO

  39. Being a newbie, I am completely out of my depth with this one but I am in. Macaroons have always fascinated me and giving it a shot won’t hurt anything (other than my pride).

  40. Haa.. that s enough inspiration for me to make some macaroooooooonssssss

  41. I have been wanting to make macarons for a really long time but have always been too terrified to try! I think this is my excuse to tackle my first attempt :)

  42. I’M IN!! This has been on my hit list for some time and spring seems like the perfect time to do it. I’ll definitely share my photos/results!! Thanks for the great challenge :)

  43. Oh gosh I can’t. I just can’t wrap my mind around these scary little guys yet. Good luck :)

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