Add the remaining meringue over the paste, and start the macaronage. Fold the batter in over itself, starting from the sides of the bowl. Press the batter through the middle, dragging the spatula towards you. Please remember to be very gentle at this stage, as we do not want to deflate more air than necessary. For the marzipan-like almond paste base, you will need icing sugar or confectioners’sugar mixed with almond flour. Icing sugar is effectively granulated sugar grounded into a powder that typically also contains corn starch. Icing sugar contains 2% starch so you can mix 98g powdered sugar with 2g starch to get 100g icing sugar CAN I MAKE NUT FREE MACARONS? Replace the almond flour with oat flour and follow the same method. The macarons will have a slightly different, drier, texture. Extract/Flavoring: I keep these macarons plain. Without flavoring, they have a sweet almond flavor. However, if desired, feel free to add 1/2 teaspoon of your favorite extract such as almond, vanilla, coconut, lemon, etc. Although aged egg whites are optional, I highly recommend this method. If you know you're making macarons a few days in advance, it's well worth preparing your eggs in advance.

It's always better to under mix than to over mix. When you under mix, your macaron shells will still form albeit,they'll be bumpy. But if you over mix, you will deflate the air in your egg whites and your macaron shells will spread like crazy when you try to pipe it. Step 7: Piping FINE ALMOND FLOUR: Almond flour is the ONLY flour that works in this French macaron recipe, however if you have an almond allergy, you could try these nut free macarons by Stella Parks. (I have not personally tried them.) Make sure you use almond flour, not almond meal. Almond flour is much finer and made from blanched, skinless almonds. Almond meal is coarser and contains almond skin. Even if you're using fine almond flour, always process and sieve your ingredients. Simply pulse the almond flour with the icing sugar a few times until you obtain a fine powder. Make sure not to over-process the almond flour, as it can start releasing oil when heated. Also, it's important to sieve the almond flour to remove any extra lumps. Does that mean you need to buy a new pan or call an oven repair specialist? Nope! Just rest the macarons. Finer pieces of coconut help the macaroons hold shape better; I pulse it with a food processor a few times to break down the shreds: Make the Coconut Macaroons DoughWhen freezing filled macarons, ensure they are placed in a single layer in a shallow airtight container. Best practice is to place the macarons on their side, so as to prevent freezer burn. Freezing macaron shells And, don’t worry and have fun with it! As shown in the below troubleshooting section, unless the batter is completely runny and over mixed, they’ll most likely still turn out completely edible and delicious macarons. Piping the batter Ingredient Substitutions & Weights: I do not recommend any ingredient substitutions in this recipe. Using weights (and a food scale) is the best way to guarantee success. However if you do not own one, use the following approximate measurements: for the superfine sugar, use 1/3 cup. For the almond flour and confectioners’ sugar, you need about 1 cup + 1 teaspoon each. As the macaron shells bake, they should form feet. To test for doneness, lightly touch the top of a macaron with a spoon or your finger (careful, it’s hot). If the macaron seems wobbly, it’s not done and needs another 1-2 minutes. If it seems set, it’s done. Basically, bake until the macarons don’t move around when touched.

Firstly, who has leftover mash potatoes?! Such a thing doesn’t exist in my house, there’s always room for more mash potato on a plate.

Adriano Zumbo

The ingredients used are very important for the final resulting macaron cookie. You must use good quality ingredients, as well as exact quantities in grams. Macarons are made of: While whisking the egg whites on high speed, slowly pour in the sugar syrup, being careful not to pour the hot syrup onto the beaters as it could splash up. Continue whisking for a few minutes until the meringue has cooled slightly, and is warm, but not hot, to the touch. The meringue should be glossy, and form beautiful peaks when the whisk is removed. Whisk in the pink food colouring until the meringue is evenly coloured.

Granulated sugar - As we are making an Italian meringue, granulated sugar is used to make a hot syrup with water. Age The Egg Whites: It’s helpful to “age” the egg whites in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours prior to starting this recipe. Why? Egg whites that have been separated and set aside in advance have a chance to relax, which improves their elasticity during the whipping process. Elasticity is certainly beneficial when you’re trying to whip egg whites into a lofty volume. Some bakers skip this step, saying that it’s a waste of time but I’ll tell you this: most of my failed macaron batches did not include aged egg whites. I recommend taking the 5-10 minutes to separate your egg whites, cover, and refrigerate them 1 day in advance. It doesn’t hurt. Bring them to room temperature before you begin the recipe. The best food colouring to use is either gel or powder. I would advise caution with using liquid food colouring as it can alter the wet to dry ratio if too much is used. Furthermore, gel and powder food colours will result in much more vibrant colours. Step 4 - Start folding the meringue into the almond flour If the macaron shells are hard after baking, fill and let sit in the fridge a few days. This is called maturing, and it will soften them up as the moisture from the filling spreads to the shell. Use gel food coloring to tint your macarons. Avoid liquid food colors as they can dilute the batter. No coloring is needed in these chocolate macarons.Chocolate Almond Coconut Macaroons: Follow recipe above. Melt an additional 2 ounces of chocolate. (10 ounces in total.) Dip the bottoms of the cooled macaroons in the chocolate, as directed in the recipe above, and then drizzle remaining chocolate on top of each. Press 1 almond into the tops while the chocolate drizzle is still wet.

Read through my tips and troubleshooting and watch the video to familiarise yourself with making macarons before attempting this recipe. French, Italian or Swiss

Step Five: Add the sifted powdered sugar and almond flour to the egg whites. Turn the mixer to medium speed and whisk for 5 seconds.

Pulse your almond flour and icing sugar in a food processor to combine. Do not process the almond flour on its own as it can release oil! Yes. But, of course, we all have different taste buds and levels of patience. Once you understand the process, they’re perfectly doable. And it’s a lot of fun to play around with different fillings. Have fun and don’t stress out. Even the ugly ones can be delicious. Just load them up with a filling and no one will care! 😉