Classic French Macarons

Sweet, classic, tasty, perfection.

You can either spend $4 on one single macaron or make your own.

Makes About: 12-16 Macarons

Takes About: 1 hour 10 minutes

Difficulty: 3 out of 5

Prep

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Ingredients

Macaron Shells:

3/4 cup almond flour

1 cup powered sugar

2 large egg whites - egg yolks will not be used

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2-3 drops of food coloring

Vanilla Butter Cream:

1/4 cup unsalted butter - room temperature

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Small pinch of salt

2-3 drops of food coloring

Instructions

Macaron Shells:

- Step 1 - Sift Together Dry Ingredients

In a large bowl, sift together 3/4 cups of almond flour and 1 cup of powdered sugar.

Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar again. Throw away anything that does not sift through.

- Step 2 - Whip the Egg Whites

In a medium steal bowl, whip the three egg whites until they start to become fluffy.

Gradually add the 1/4 cup of granulated sugar while mixing until stiff peaks are made.

- Step 3 - Add Vanilla

Add the 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the egg whites and mix well.

Add the food coloring if colored macarons are desired.

- Step 4 - Mix Egg Whites and Dry Ingredients

Using a spatula, fold the egg whites into the dry ingredients gently until the mixture has no visible dry ingredients and becomes shiny.

- Step 5 - Fill the Piping Bag

Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag.

- Step 6 - Pipe the Macarons

Pipe 1/2 inch disks onto the prepped baking sheet.

If the parchment paper is rolling or won't stay down, put a little mararon mixture under each corner of the parchment paper and stick it to the baking sheet.

I added the points to make unicorns.

- Step 7 - Let the Macarons Rest

Tap the baking sheet onto a flat counter roughly a few times to push all the air bubbles out of the macarons and then let rest for 30 minutes.

The macarons should be dry to the touch after the 30 minutes.

As the macarons rest, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

- Step 8 - Bake

Bake the macarons for 4 minutes, turn the baking sheet around, bake the macrons for another 5-6 minutes until baked.

Once baked, let cool completely on the baking sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Vanilla Butter Cream:

- Step 9 - Cream Butter

Cream the butter until light and fluffy.

- Step 10 - Add the Remaining Ingredients

Add the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time until the 1 1/2 cups are completely mixed.

The frosting will be stiff, but add the 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, a small pinch of salt, and the 1 teaspoon of milk until completely mixed.

- Step 11 - Pipe Frosting

Pipe a little frosting into one side of a macaron and then sandwich the second half on top.

- Step 12 - Decorate (optional)

These lovely little things don't have to be decorated, but they can be decorated with edible pens and/or frosting.

Like these little unicorns.

Or these cute little cacti.

Or these little kitties.

Recipe adapted from Ahead of Thyme Classic French Macarons.