French Method Macarons (Complete Recipe Guide)

French-style macarons are an iconic and well-loved dessert. Macarons are known for their light and dainty texture, as well as flavorful filling.

This French meringue macaron recipe will teach you step-by-step how to make the perfect macarons. Plus, since macarons can be finicky and troublesome to make, I've created a whole guide to fix any mistakes you may make along the way.

If you've been looking for a reliable and well-tested recipe, these French method macarons have been tested well over 30 times!

You can use this classic French macaron recipe along with any of your favorite fillings. Don't forget to dye your macaron shell to match the filling recipe.

I promise this easy French macaron recipe is perfect for both beginners and macaron experts. If you have any trouble along the way, feel free to comment below and I'll do my best to help you out.

First things first, you need to know: What is a French style macaron?

Macaron (pronounced as ma·kr·aan) is a meringue based dessert made from egg whites, confectioners' sugar (icing sugar), almond flour, and granulated sugar. Just so we're clear, macarons and macaroons (an American coconut cookie) are not the same things!

You'll often hear macarons called 'French style macarons,' and that's due to the style of meringue used in the recipe. Meringue can be made using French, Italian, or Swiss style. Therefore, macarons can also be made from these three styles.

Traditional French meringue is often the trickiest because this type of meringue is not stable until baked. However, it also tends to be the lightest and airiest. In order to make a French meringue, there is nothing that needs to be cooked or heated up.

To make French meringue, beat egg whites until they form soft peaks. Then, slowly add in granulated sugar, and turn the mixer on medium to high speed until stiff peaks form.

There are some qualities that good French macarons have. You'll want to try to achieve these within your own macarons:

• Crispy (not too soft) top. You don't want the top to crack when you touch it.
• Small feet with a slight vertical rise. You don't want lopsided or ruffled feet that are spread out on the sides.
• Full, slightly chewy interior. You don't want a large hollow gap between the top and bottom, although this is one of the hardest things to get correct and can take some practice!
• Equal-sized top & bottom shells. You don't want small and large shells paired together to make one full macaron.

Egg whites: Egg whites are the base of the meringue. As air is beaten into the egg whites, some of the egg proteins unfold. These unfolded proteins turn into a strong network of air bubbles. This ingredient provides a strong base to the macarons.

Granulated sugar: While making the meringue, you'll add in granulated sugar. The sugar helps to build up the structure of the egg whites.

Cream of tartar: Adding an acid to the meringue helps to stabilize the egg whites. This is especially important in this French macaron recipe since it leads to a firmer, more stable merginue.

Super fine almond flour: This ingredient is made from almonds that are ground into a fine powder. Almond flour adds a subtle but delicious flavor to macaron cookies. Make sure to sift the almond flour to remove any large clumps which could lead to bumpy shells.

Confectioners' sugar: This is another one of the dry ingredients used in macarons. Confectioners' sugar is sifted together with the almond flour to create a smooth shell.

Gel food coloring: Liquid food coloring will not work. Be sure to use a gel or powdered food coloring. These types of food coloring won't add too much liquid to your macaron batter, yet they create bright and vibrant colored shells.

If you're interested in learning more about the science of macarons, check out this article about macaron ingredients.

Before you start baking the macarons, there's some prep work you need to complete. This will help set you up for success:

• Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks, then allow the egg whites to come to room temperature. Egg whites foam best at room temperature (around 70°F - 80°F).
• Measure all of the dry ingredients using a digital kitchen scale. Measuring by weight ensures your ingredients are accurately weighed.
• Sift the almond flour and confectioners' sugar together twice. Discard any large pieces of almond flour that may cause your shells to be bumpy.
• Wipe down the stand mixer bowl and whisk attachment with a little white vinegar on a paper towel to remove any leftover oils. Fats interfere with the aeration of the egg whites and can ruin your meringue.
• Print off a macaron template. Place them on a light-colored sheet pan underneath a piece of parchment paper.
• Prepare your piping bag with a ½ inch round tip. Push part of the side of the piping bag into the piping tip to ensure nothing leaks out. Set the bag inside a tall glass, and pull the remaining top of the piping bag out over the outside of the glass to make pouring the batter easy and clean.

The first step is learning how to make French meringue. Add the room temperature eggs and cream of tartar to a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.

Whip on medium-low speed (I use speed 4 on my KitchenAid mixer) until the eggs are very foamy. This usually takes about 3 minutes.

Next, slowly begin adding the granulated sugar a third at a time. Allow the mixer to beat in each batch of sugar for about 45 seconds before adding in another batch.

This allows the sugar crystals time to dissolve so they don't weigh down the egg whites. If the sugar is added too quickly, it can affect the final structure, resulting in an under whipped and weak meringue.

Once all the granulated sugar is incorporated, turn the mixer speed to medium-high (I use speed 7 on my KitchenAid mixer) and allow the egg whites to continue to whip until stiff peaks form, around 10 - 11 minutes.

If you're new to baking macarons, I'd suggest setting a timer. This will keep you aware of how long the mixture has been whipping.

This is a very crucial step to get correct. Here are some visual cues to look for to ensure your meringue has whipped to stiff peaks:

• You'll notice the meringue starts to ball up inside the whisk while it's mixing.
• Pull the whisk out of the mixer. A stiff peak should stand straight up (no curl at the tip).
• You can see pointy off-shoots of egg whites on the whisk when you pull it out of the mixer.
• You can fully flip the bowl over and nothing moves or falls out.
• The meringue feels sturdy (not flimsy).
• The egg whites hold the indentation that the whisk makes as it's whipping.

Next, it's time to macaronage the batter. This is another important step to correctly perform.

Macaronage is a term that refers to folding the dry macaron ingredients (almond flour and confectioners' sugar) into the meringue. This process smooths the mixture and helps the macarons bake with proper structure.

To properly macaronage, you will continue folding the batter until it reaches a lava-like consistency. You can test this by lifting your spatula and seeing if the batter drops almost like lava. Once it drops off the spatula, the batter that was dripped should fade back into the batter within 10 - 15 seconds (not immediately).

Additionally, the almond flour should look blended into the meringue (not lumpy).

Many home bakers who are new to baking macarons will over macaronage the batter. If you're unsure if your batter has been properly macaronaged, it's better to under macaronage a bit since the batter will still be worked in the piping bag.

Here are some tips for improving your piping technique:

• Try not to move the piping bag to ensure you pipe an even circle.
• The macarons will spread slightly once they're piped, so pipe them .25" smaller than you want them to be after they have been baked.
• Flick your wrist after you've piped the desired size to cleanly finish off each macaron.

Tap the sheet pan down the counter a few times to release any air bubbles. You can tap the pan fairly aggressively, so don't be scared! Failure to do this could result in cracked macarons.

You can pop any air bubbles that rise to the top with a toothpick.

Before baking the macarons, allow the batter to sit on the counter and dry for 45 - 60+ minutes until a thin "skin" develops, and you can touch the tops without ruining the macaron. This may take up to 90+ minutes if you live in a humid climate, or it's a rainy day.

If you're having trouble with this, check out my tips for how to fix macarons that aren't drying.

While the macarons are drying, heat your oven to 300°F (150°C). If this is your first time making macarons, you might want to experiment with the oven temperature to find out the best temperature range for your home oven.

Once the macarons are done drying, bake one sheet at a time on the center rack of the oven for 19 - 23 minutes. Check that the macarons have fully baked using the following tests:

• The feet and the edge of the macarons feel firm when you gently touch them.
• It feels like you could forcibly lift the macaron shell off the parchment paper if you needed to (don't actually do this, just use it as a test).
• If you touch the shell and it wiggles, is still sticky, or is wet, you know the macarons need longer to bake.

There are a few crucial steps you must get correct in order to achieve perfect macarons:

First, you must perfectly whip your meringue. Both overwhipped and under whipped meringue can cause many problems such as cracked macarons, ruffled feet, or soft shells.

Here are some visual cues you can use to know that your meringue has whipped to stiff peaks:

• You'll notice the meringue starts to ball up inside the whisk while it's mixing.
• Pull the whisk out of the mixer. A stiff peak should stand straight up (no curl at the tip).
•  You can fully flip the bowl over and nothing moves or falls out.
• The meringue feels sturdy (not flimsy).

If you're a visual learner, here's a photo guide that shows the various stages of meringue:

Next, you'll need to properly macaronage the macaron batter. This refers to the process of folding the egg whites into the almond flour and confectioners' sugar.

To macaronage, slowly spread the mixture along the side of the bowl, then wipe it back down. Be sure to do this gently.

Repeat this process until the mixture has reached a smooth, shiny, and flowing consistency. You can test this by lifting your spatula and seeing if the batter drops almost like lava.

Once the batter drops back into the bowl, it should take about 10 - 15 seconds for the ribbon that formed to "disappear" back into the rest of the batter.

Over macaronaged batter is very thin and runny. When you pour it off the spatula it almost immediately disappears back into the macaron batter.

When in doubt, it's better to under macaronage. A batter that's too runny will not produce the macarons you're looking for.

Finally, it's important to dial in your oven temperature. Slight changes in temperature can make the difference between ruined macarons and perfect macarons.

I'd suggest conducting an experiment with your home oven to find the perfect temperature range since every home oven varies slightly with the amount of heat it radiates.

Here's an example of my home oven experiment and the results I got from various temperatures. You can read more about how to conduct your own oven temperature experiment if you're interested.