Haley's French Macaron Recipe

When I first tasted these French confections, I was overwhelmed by the sweetness and could not stop eating them! French Macarons are light, airy and delicate little treats - not to be confused with coconut macaroons (spelled with two "o's").

After tasting these treats, I wanted to learn how to make them myself. They would be a great treat to have with tea! I searched for a recipe, and I have to say, my first attempt did not turn out so good. However, after practicing I soon mastered a recipe, putting my own twist on it. I hope you enjoy!

Haley's French Macaron Recipe

3 Egg Whites

2 Cups Confectioners Sugar

1 Cup Almond Flour

1/4 Cup Granulated White Sugar

1/4 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar

 Food Coloring of Your Choice

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Pour the Confectioners Sugar and Almond Flour into a bowl. Mix with a spoon. You can either sift this mixture or blend it in a food processor on high speed. This mixture should be as thin and powdery as possible.

  

Once blended, set this mixture aside.

Pour the Egg Whites into a bowl and whisk with an electrical stand-up mixer with a whisk attachment. Note: If you chose to hand whisk the Egg Whites, make sure you use very fast up and down strokes.

As soon as the Egg Whites are very white, thick, fluffy and foamy, add the Cream of Tartar. 

Whisk until soft peaks form. Slowly add in the Granulated White Sugar. Mix well.

Add about 5 drops of food coloring. Use any color you like. If you do not feel 5 drops is enough to achieve the color you want, add more one drop at a time. Adding color is optional.

Fold in the dry Almond Flour and Confectioners Sugar mixture adding to the wet egg mixture. When completely mixed, spoon into a piping bag and pipe onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet or a silicone Macaron baking mat. 

If you choose to use the silicone baking mat, lay it across a baking sheet/cookie sheet, to insure that it is sturdy throughout the baking process.

When piping, make sure to drag the tip of the piping bag to the edge of the cookie so it is flat and doesn't look like a candy kiss. When the mat is full, gently drop it flat on the countertop to remove air bubbles. Let the macarons sit on the baking sheet/mat for 15 minutes to allow them to set. When doing this, it allows the shells to not melt together in the oven. 

Tip: I found making my own almond flour in the food processor from whole unsalted almonds made a better textured flour and gave me better results than store bought almond flour in the finished macaron. 

Bake for 18-20 minutes. 

When done, allow the macarons to cool for about 2 minutes before carefully taking them off of the baking sheet/mat one at a time transferring to a wire rack for about 10 minutes.

Now your macaron shells are ready to be iced!

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

3 Cups Confectioners Sugar

1/3 Cup Unsalted Organic Butter, Softened - Unrefined Coconut Oil works as well

1 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

2 to 4 Tablespoons Milk

In a medium bowl, mix Confectioners Sugar and Butter with a spoon or electric mixer on low speed. Stir in the Vanilla Extract and add 1 Tablespoon of milk at a time. Gradually stir in enough of the remaining Milk to make the frosting as smooth, spreadable and silky as possible. 

Gently spread onto the Macaron Shells and stick two of the shells together to form a little sandwich.

Tip: Make colorful macarons by adding the food coloring of your choice to the frosting. In addition a hazelnut spread like Nutella is another filling option, as pictured below.

Macarons might be displayed on a 3 tiered desert tray for teatime or on another elegant glass serving platter. I've also shared this recipe with my friend, Miss Kathy at The Writers Reverie who helps me with my blog. 

I hope you try my recipe and share them with a friend over tea this summer! If you decide to make them, be sure to let me know how they turned out!

Sharing Haley's French Macaron Recipe this week with: 

Sandi's Teatime Tuesday at Rose Chintz Cottage

A Return to Loveliness at Kathy's Delightsome Life Blog

Tea with Friends at Bernideen's Teatime Blog