French Macarons (with Hand Mixer)

Bakers can test their skill and patience with French macarons. Can you use a hand mixer to make macarons? Yes, here’s how with a step-by-step recipe.

French Macarons Video

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​Macarons can be intimidating for home bakers. When I asked another baker if she had ever made French macarons, she was silent, shaking her head “no” and looking slightly terrified. I said, “I think I want to try it.”

There are several things I learned when making French macarons for the first time.

1) The methods are different: What I found frustrating is that the methods to achieve “the perfect French macaron” are so different.

I’m used to different ingredients in a recipe to get different flavors or textures. But for a recipe that requires precision, I wasn’t expecting such different methods to get the same result. It’s enough to make your head spin:

• Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar. Pulse the flour and sugar in a food processor.
• Use a silicone baking mat. Don’t use a silicone baking mat; use parchment paper.
• Never open the oven door. Prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon.

When I made French macarons for the first time, I found it easier to combine what I learned into two sheets. I had one sheet with the ingredients and the instructions that I separated into parts (so I wouldn’t get ahead of myself) and another sheet with pictures to see what to do when.

2) The waiting is the hardest part: French macarons are not a one-bowl batch of brownies. Give yourself plenty of time because there is a lot of “waiting” when making macarons.

Waiting for stiff peaks to form in the meringue. Waiting for a “Figure-8” to form in the macaronage (when you fold the flour mixture into the meringue). Waiting for a “shell” to form on the macarons before baking. You should even wait 24 hours before eating the macarons.

• Prep/mix: 1 hour
• Rest/dry: 30 minutes (depends on humidity in your kitchen)
• Bake: 15-18 minutes
• Cool: 10-15 minutes
• ​Refrigerate to flavor/soften the macarons: 24 hours
• Bring to room temperature before serving: 30 minutes

3) The weather can be a factor: Before baking, the macarons must rest and dry to form a “shell” on the top.

During baking, this macaron shell ensures the macaron tops don’t crack by allowing air to escape from the bottom of the macarons instead. This escaping air gives the macarons their “feet” (the ridge at the bottom).

If it’s humid or raining and there’s no air conditioning in your kitchen, the macarons can take longer to dry. For me, turning on the ceiling fan in my kitchen speeds up the drying process from 1.5 hours to 30 minutes.

4) The equipment is essential: To climb Macaron Mountain, you need the right gear.

I’m a home baker with a hand mixer. Some may prefer a stand mixer, but I like using a hand mixer to get a “feel” for what I’m making.

Plus, a stand mixer seems like a big investment for something I might not use on a regular basis. There is other equipment I bought to make French macarons that I use often for other recipes.

To climb Macaron Mountain, you need the right gear.

Try a glass batter bowl to mix the meringue and the macaronage.

Equipment to make French macarons (I am not paid for these suggestions):

• Distilled white vinegar: Not an ingredient for the macarons, but distilled white vinegar is used to wipe down the mixing bowl, mixers, and spatula in preparation for making the macarons. Your utensils may be clean, but you need to work with oil-free tools.

• Digital scale: Anyone who watches The Great British Baking Show (or lives outside the United States) has seen bakers weighing ingredients on a scale. For precision, you must use a digital scale. The Escali digital scale is inexpensive, easy to use, and comes in fun colors.
• Stainless steel mixing bowls: Those egg whites to make the meringue are sensitive to oils, so plastic mixing bowls won’t cut it. You could get copper or glass bowls, but these OXO stainless steel bowls seemed more practical. The non-slip base keeps the bowls from sliding on the countertop, especially helpful when using a hand mixer.
• *Glass batter bowl with handle: Instead of a standard mixing bowl, I also tried an Anchor Hocking 2-quart glass batter bowl. While the glass bowl slides more on the counter, you have the handle to hold onto the bowl. The shape of this glass batter bowl really concentrates your efforts with the hand mixer and silicone spatula, so the meringue whipped up faster and the macaronage stage was faster, so keep a close eye when mixing. 
• ​Egg separator: Again, those “sensitive” egg whites. You can’t get any protein or shell from the egg yolk into the egg whites. So, just be careful when separating the eggs or you can use this OXO egg separator.
• Fine mesh strainer/sieve: The almond flour and powdered sugar are sifted twice. Later, this flour mixture is sifted again into the meringue. This 8-inch OXO strainer/sieve does the trick.
• Silicone spatula: When you fold gently (that’s the macaronage stage), you need a wide spatula for the job. You may already have an OXO spatula like this one.
• Oven thermometer: Placing an OXO oven thermometer on the oven rack before preheating the oven ensures the oven temperature is accurate before baking.
• Half-sheet baking pans: Those old “warped” cookie sheets will only make warped macarons. Instead, I used two of these Nordic Ware baking pans. One baking pan for the macarons on the middle rack and one empty baking pan on the top rack to shield the macarons from the heat and avoid browning the tops of the macarons.
• Silicone mats for half-sheet baking pans: Kitzini’s silicone baking mats have a guide/template for piping the macaron batter, are washable, and roll up for storage.
• Pastry bags and #12 decorating tip: For piping the macaron batter, you need pastry bags (preferably 16-inch pastry bags) and a #12 decorating tip. Betty Crocker or Wilton pastry bags and decorating tips work well.

Ingredients to make French macarons (most ingredients are found in the grocery store):

• Superfine almond flour: Not almond meal (which has oils from the almonds), but almond flour. Bob’s Red Mill Super-Fine Almond Flour may be in the baking aisle in your local grocery store. If not, try the organics or gluten-free aisle; that’s where I found it.
• Egg whites.
• Powdered sugar.
• Cream of tartar: Stabilizes the egg whites.
• Salt: Some recipes call for kosher salt, but regular salt has finer flakes.
• Superfine granulated sugar: Available either in the baking or the coffee aisle of your grocery store, but you might need to order online.
• Gel food coloring: You need gel food coloring like AmeriColor, because liquid food coloring adds moisture (which is not good for macarons).
• For the filling, you can keep it simple. With powdered sugar and superfine sugar in this recipe, the filling is the only place to balance the sweetness. You can melt Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate chips in the microwave and pipe the melted chocolate on the bottom macaron shells. Et voilà!

 

​French Macarons Step by Step Overview

View larger image of French Macarons Step by Step Overview.
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​French Macarons Ingredients

• 70 grams egg whites (2-3 large eggs)
• Distilled white vinegar (not an ingredient for the macarons, but to prepare mixing bowl, mixers, and spatula)
• 100 grams superfine almond flour
• 75 grams powdered sugar
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 75 grams superfine granulated sugar (if necessary, sift out any lumps)
• Gel food coloring (to add color for the macaron shells)
• 128 grams (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted for the filling

​​How to Make the French Macarons (14 filled macarons)

Part 1 - Prepare to Make Macarons​

• Wipe down mixing bowls, mixers, spatula with a paper towel and a little distilled white vinegar. Your utensils may be clean, but you need to work with oil-free tools.
• Separate eggs and weigh 70 grams of egg whites on a digital scale. Wait 20-30 minutes for the egg whites to come to room temperature. ​While you wait, measure and set aside the other ingredients.
• Place a silicone mat on an upside-down baking pan or line a baking pan with parchment paper and set aside. (A silicone mat will grip an upside-down baking pan and an upside-down baking pan allows air to circulate under the macarons for even baking.)
• Sift together almond flour and powdered sugar twice over a separate piece of parchment paper. It is likely you will have unsifted flour/powdered sugar left over, throw away these remnants.

Part 2 - Make the Meringue

• Mix the egg whites on low speed in a large mixing bowl until foamy (large, clear bubbles; about 90 seconds).

• When egg whites are foamy, add cream of tartar and salt. Increase the mixer speed to medium and continue to mix.

• Once bubbles are smaller and opaque, while continuing to mix, slowly add the superfine sugar (one tablespoon at a time). Allow the sugar to dissolve after each addition. 

• When the meringue reaches soft peaks (at the end of the mixers, the meringue tip on the mixers droops back on itself), add 2-3 drops of gel food coloring. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and continue to mix.

• When the meringue reaches stiff peaks (the meringue will look like marshmallow creme or fluff), stop mixing the meringue.

Part 3 - Make and Pipe the Batter

• Sift one-third of the flour/sugar mixture into the meringue, then fold the flour/sugar mixture into the meringue just until combined. (How to fold the batter: Run the spatula clockwise from the bottom of the mixing bowl, around the sides, and over the batter.)
• Sift the remaining flour/sugar mixture into the meringue and continue to fold the batter which will look like wet sand.​

• After 50 folds, start testing if the batter is ready for piping by using the spatula to form a figure 8 without the ribbon of batter breaking. Continue testing after every few folds. Once you can form a figure 8 in the batter without the ribbon of batter breaking, stop folding the batter.
• Snip the pointed end of a pastry bag and slide a #12 piping tip into the pastry bag. Fold down the top inch of the pastry bag and use the spatula to transfer the batter into the pastry bag.

• Pipe rounds of batter either on a silicone mat on an upside-down baking pan or on a parchment paper-lined baking pan: Hold the pastry bag vertically using one hand to close the top end of the pastry bag and the other hand to squeeze the batter through the piping tip.

• After you have piped the batter, tap the baking pan firmly on the counter several times to remove air bubbles. If necessary, use a toothpick to smooth out large air bubbles.
• Let the macarons rest on the counter for at least 30 minutes for the macarons to dry and form a “shell” on the top. Test every 30 minutes. Turning on the ceiling fan in my kitchen “dried” the macarons in 30 minutes.

Part 4 - Bake the Macarons

• While waiting for macarons to dry, place/hang an oven thermometer on the middle rack of the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). 
• Once the oven is preheated, make sure your oven thermometer on the middle rack also reads 300°F. (My oven beeped to indicate preheated, but the oven thermometer was just over 150°F, so I waited until the oven thermometer reached 300°F.)

• Place the baking pan with the macarons on the middle rack. To prevent browning of the macaron tops, place another empty baking pan (right side up) on the top rack to shield the macarons from the heat.
• Bake macarons for 15-18 minutes. Check the macarons at 15 minutes. Cooked macarons should be firm to the touch and the base of the cookie shouldn’t move.
• Cool the macarons on the baking pan for 10-15 minutes on a wire rack.
• Carefully transfer the macarons onto a wire rack to cool completely. If you’re using a silicone mat, it’s easier to “peel” the silicone mat away from the macarons.

Part 5 - Fill the Macarons

• Make the filling for the macarons. If your filling uses powdered sugar, sift the sugar until it’s really smooth.
• An easy filling to balance all the sweetness is to melt chocolate chips (30 seconds at a time in the microwave).
• Pair up the macaron shells by size and arrange them on a wire rack, so that the bottom shells are upside down.

• Pipe a dollop of filling (smaller than the macaron) on the bottom shells. [No need to get fancy with a pastry bag; use a plastic sandwich bag and snip a small hole.] Place the top shell over the filling and gently twist together, so the filling spreads to the edges.
• ​Store the filled macarons in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours, so that the filling softens and flavors the macaron shells.
• Take the macarons out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes prior to serving. Macarons are worth the wait!

​Get creative with your macaron filling flavors. Here are macaron filling recipes for strawberry, raspberry, lemon, white chocolate raspberry:

Strawberry or Raspberry Jam Buttercream (buttercream that’s not too sweet)

• 40 gram unsalted butter, softened
• 100 grams powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon strawberry or raspberry jam for the buttercream
• 2-3 tablespoons strawberry or raspberry jam for assembly (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter until fluffy. 

Add powdered sugar, heavy whipping cream, 1 tablespoon strawberry or raspberry jam, vanilla extract and salt to butter mixture. Beat until well-combined. 

Transfer the buttercream into a pastry bag fitted with either a round tip (Wilton 10) or star tip (Ateco 869).

Pipe the buttercream filling in the center of the bottom macaron shells, leaving space around the edge.

Place the top shells over the filling and gently twist together, so the filling spreads to the edges.

Take a bite of a macaron with strawberry jam buttercream.

Jam in the middle (optional):
If you want jam in the middle, then pipe the buttercream around the edge of the macaron shell, leaving a small hole in the middle for the jam.

Place 2-3 tablespoons of jam in a plastic sandwich bag and seal. Snip a small corner of the sandwich bag. Pipe the jam in the middle of the filling.

Place the top macaron shells over the filling and gently twist together, so the filling spreads to the edges.

Lemon Buttercream

• 80 grams unsalted butter at room temperature
• 130 grams powdered sugar, sifted (measure the sugar, then sift)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/8 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter until fluffy. 

Add powdered sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and salt to butter mixture. Beat until well-combined.

Transfer the buttercream into a pastry bag fitted with either a round tip (Wilton 10) or star tip (Ateco 869).

Pipe buttercream filling in the center of the bottom macaron shells leaving space around the edge.

Place the top macaron shells over the filling and gently twist together, so the filling spreads to the edges.

White Chocolate Raspberry Buttercream

• 80 grams unsalted butter
• 50 grams powdered sugar
• 60 grams white chocolate chips
• 5 grams freeze-dried raspberries, crushed into powder (use food processor or rolling pin to crush)
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• Pinch of salt

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and powdered sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Melt the white chocolate chips in microwave (30 seconds at a time).

Crush the freeze-dried raspberries into a powder using a food processor or a rolling pin. If using a rolling pin, add freeze-dried raspberries to a plastic sandwich bag and seal. Use rolling pin to crush in closed plastic sandwich bag.

Add the melted white chocolate, raspberry powder, lemon juice and pinch of salt to the butter/sugar mixture. Beat until the filling is smooth and well-combined.

Transfer the buttercream into a pastry bag fitted with either round tip (Wilton 10) or star tip (Ateco 869).

Pipe the buttercream filling in the center of the bottom macaron shells, leaving space around the edge.

Place the top macaron shells over the filling and gently twist together, so the filling spreads to the edges.


Ready to try classic French macaron flavors for your perfect French macaron shells?

Lemon

• 70 grams egg whites
• 100 grams superfine almond flour
• 75 grams powdered sugar
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 75 grams superfine granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice (after soft peaks form, add lemon juice with food coloring)
• 3 drops yellow gel food coloring
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest (after stiff peaks form, add lemon zest and whip for 30 seconds)

Raspberry

• 70 grams egg whites
• 10 grams freeze-dried raspberries, crushed into powder (use a rolling pin to crush in closed plastic sandwich bag, set aside; sift later with the almond flour and powdered sugar)
• 90 grams superfine almond flour
• 75 grams powdered sugar
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 75 grams superfine granulated sugar
• 3 drops red gel food coloring

Chocolate

• 100 grams superfine almond flour
• 75 grams powdered sugar
• 10 grams cocoa powder (sift later with the almond flour and powdered sugar)
• 75 grams egg whites
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 75 grams superfine granulated sugar

Strawberry

• 70 grams egg whites
• 10 grams freeze-dried strawberries, crushed into powder (use a rolling pin to crush in closed plastic sandwich bag, set aside; sift later with the almond flour and powdered sugar)
• 100 grams superfine almond flour
• 75 grams powdered sugar
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar​
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 75 grams superfine granulated sugar
• 3 drops red gel food coloring

In a French frame of mind today? See The Reader on the 6.27 book review here or Claude Monet’s Water Lilies at the Musée de l’Orangerie here.

​See more Recipes to Bake:
Chocolate Marshmallow Pies
Blackberry Lemon Cake
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Mini Chocolate Tarts
Wild Blueberry Muffins
Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

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