Basic French Macarons
The original recipe: Basic French Macarons by Martha Stewart
Filling: Swiss meringue butter cream at Epicurious (see only the sections regarding the buttercream ingredients & directions)
Since macarons can be so tricky and tempermental, I followed the original recipe (linked above) without making any changes. However, I suggest reading my detailed notes and advice below before attempting the original recipe.
My Notes:
1. The egg whites.
Seriously, I know it's a pain to have to let these come to room temperature but DO IT. The temperature affects the consistency of the meringue. I used two extra large white eggs and once I separated the whites from the yolks, I let the whites sit in the KitchenAid mixing bowl for 45 minutes at room temperature.
Tip: Separate the eggs whites one by one into a separate smaller bowl and transfer whites into the mixing bowl, one at a time. In doing this, if you accidentally get any yolk in the white, you don't end up ruining both eggs.
2. Be precise.
Also a pain, but it is imperative that you are precise with your measurements. This means if you don't already have one and are desperate to make your own macarons (who wouldn't be at around $2.50 a pop to buy one!), invest in a digital kitchen scale and measure exactly to the grammage indicated in Ms. Martha's recipe.
For the almond flour, I use blanched almond flour I purchased off Amazon (Yupik) for a pretty good price (or at least it ends up being cheaper than buying in bulk from the grocery store). For the powdered/icing sugar (yes, it's the same thing) I just use Rogers.
After measuring the flour and icing sugar into the food processor, I noticed there is always a stubborn layer at the bottom that doesn't like to join in the processing fun. So in between holding the puree button for several seconds at a time, I use a spatula to scrape up the bottom in hopes of incorporating the flour and icing sugar together more effectively.
3. Oh so fine.
Another huge pain is ensuring the now-processed almond flour and icing sugar are fine enough. I know it sounds like this whole recipe is a pain in the ass (it is, if you're more used to the forgiving nature of cooking vs. baking and ignoring precision), but trust me, it's worth it! Use a fine mesh sieve (as fine as you can get your hands on) and press the flour/icing sugar mixture through, discarding any bits that do not fit through the sieve into a separate small bowl. If you find that you have more than 2 tablespoons of discarded chunks at the end, add those back into the food processor and repeat the process until you have less than 2 tablespoons of large chunks that did not fit through the sieve. I use a firm spatula to help press the dry mixture through the sieve.
Once complete, set this bowl of fluffy almond flour & icing sugar aside and work on the egg white + granulated sugar.
4. The meringue.
Now that you've probably spent way longer than you wanted to ensuring the almond flour and icing sugar are super fine, your egg whites are probably at room temperature. Add the 1/4 cup of regular granulated sugar and manually whisk the mixture a few times to get it started. Then attach to the KitchenAid (or whatever you're using) and follow Martha's timing and speed instructions to a T. Seriously, I stand there with a timer set on my phone and as soon as the time's up, I switch to the next gear and restart the timer.
At the end of the 3rd speed setting (on 8), you should have stiff peaks. Now, add your food colouring and beat on the highest setting for 30 seconds exactly. I use gel food colouring as advised by the majority of macaron recipes; I have read that you could use powdered colouring as well, but I don't even know what that is, so use at your own risk! For the gray colour you're seeing below, I used about 3 "drops" of black colouring. If you're wondering why I put "drops" in quotes, it's because my gel colouring doesn't have the consistency fluid enough to drop into the mixture. I didn't want to potentially stain my cutlery/kitchenware, so I used a couple toothpicks to scrape the colouring in. Another time I used disposable chopsticks - be creative!
Next you add the dry ingredients in all at once and use a spatula to fold it 35-40 times. Sounds specific? It sure is, but I think I've made it pretty clear that you should do as Martha says. In this specific case I folded it 38 times the way she indicates - circle around, then press down through the middle. Other times I've done 37, 39, 40... but never outside of the 35-40 range... I don't have a deathwish. The resulting consistency reminds me of lava.
5. Piping.
Chances are that you probably have some large ziploc bags around the house (and if you don't, who are you?). If so, skip the super expensive pastry piping bags and just snip off a corner of a large ziploc bag to insert the piping tip. As for the piping tip, well, you'll probably want to actually get one of these - I haven't attempted piping without it, I don't think it would be very easy and the last thing you need with a macaron recipe is added difficulty. It has come in handy when it comes to, well, this, and decorating cupcakes. The tip I use is a round "Wilton 12."
Use a large cup (I find a beer stein works best!) and use it to hold your ghetto piping bag. I actually learned this from the original recipe and have found it to be incredibly helpful. Then squeeze the mixture down towards the tip, and get piping!
Start with the tip in the middle of where you want the circle to be - I use a silicon baking mat specifically for macarons and have found it to be worth the price. Other people use parchment and print out macaron templates. It's still amateur hour over here for me, so the outlines that came pre-printed are my saving grace. The silpat is also awesome because I don't have to worry about sticking. I found that if I pipe the macaron all the way to the outline, they end up quite a bit larger than the cute macarons you get at the boutique stores - but hey, a larger macaron isn't the worst thing in the world. Maybe the stores should stop having theirs so damn small and expensive.
6. Be aggressive.
After being so gentle throughout the recipe up until now, it's time to let go a bit. Pick up that baking sheet and then drop it straight down onto the counter. Martha's recipe says twice, but I do mine at least 4 times and from a pretty aggressive height. Just make sure it's flush with the counter before you drop it or you might end up with a mess and then never attempt to make macarons again in your life. This step is really important as it brings out the air bubbles that are hiding in your batter.
*My food colouring was kind of chunky, hence a few streaks of black!
7. LET IT REST!
This step is NOT in Martha's recipe. I let mine rest for at least 30 minutes until the top looks a little dried out and takes on almost a matte look. I read in so many other macaron recipes that allowing the piped batter to rest is a critical step in achieving success, so I decided to do it. Considering I managed to successfully make macarons on my first try following this method, I will continue to do so and advise you to do the same. About 20 minutes into resting, I preheat my oven to 350F as it takes about 10 minutes for it to come to temperature.
8. Yes, I really want you to rearrange the rack in your oven, even if it's sticky.
When the recipe says the rack should be in the bottom third of your oven, move it to the bottom third of your oven. Never in my life had I moved the racks in my oven for any other recipe, but after thinking about how painful the other steps were I didn't want to take a chance.
Once the macarons have rested enough, bake as instructed by the baking guru that is Martha Stewart. Let me take this moment to re-emphasize Note #2. BE PRECISE. At exactly 6.5 minutes, rotate the baking sheet. At this point, you will have a pretty good idea as to whether or not you have a failure or success on your hands, as there should already be the "feet" forming at the bottom of the macarons. Assuming it's not a fail and you give up and pour yourself a glass of wine, after another 6.5 minutes, take the macarons out and place the baking sheet on a wire rack to cool completely before you even think about touching them.
CONGRATULATIONS!!! YOU MADE MACARONS!!!
My favourite filling to use for the macarons is a classic Swiss Meringue Buttercream.