Parisian Macarons

1004 Ratings
  • 5 217
  • 4 304
  • 3 285
  • 2 127
  • 1 71

You can indulge in this light, airy French treat without feeling feel weighed down.

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Read the full recipe after the video.

Recipe Summary

Yield:
Makes about 16 filled macarons
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Ingredients

Directions

  • To make the macarons: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar and ground almonds. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip egg whites with salt on medium speed until foamy. Increase speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar. Continue to whip until stiff glossy peaks form. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the confectioners' sugar mixture until completely incorporated.

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  • Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Fit a pastry bag with a 3/8-inch #4 round tip, and fill with batter. Pipe 1-inch disks onto prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies. The batter will spread a little. Let stand at room temperature until dry, and a soft skin forms on the tops of the macarons and the shiny surface turns dull, about 15 minutes.

  • Bake, with the door of the oven slightly ajar, until the surface of the macarons is completely dry, about 15 minutes. Remove baking sheet to a wire rack and let the macarons cool completely on the baking sheet. Gently peel off the parchment. Their tops are easily crushed, so take care when removing the macarons from the parchment. Use immediately or store in an airtight container, refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month.

  • To fill the macarons: Fill a pastry bag with the filling. Turn macarons so their flat bottoms face up. On half of them, pipe about 1 teaspoon filling. Sandwich these with the remaining macarons, flat-side down, pressing slightly to spread the filling to the edges. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

  • Variations: To make coffee-flavored macarons: In step 1, add 2 drops brown food coloring to the egg whites after they are whipped. In step 4, blend 1/2 cup macaron filling with 1 1/2 teaspoons espresso powder dissolved in 1/2 teaspoon warm water for the filling. To make cassis-flavored macarons: In step 1, add 2 drops purple food coloring to the egg whites after they are whipped. In step 4, use 1/3 cup good-quality cassis jam for the filling. To make pistachio-flavored macarons: In step 1, add 2 drops green food coloring to the egg whites after they are whipped. In step 4, combine 1/2 cup macaron filling with 1 tablespoon pistachio paste for the filling.

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Reviews (30)

1004 Ratings
  • 5 217
  • 4 304
  • 3 285
  • 2 127
  • 1 71
Martha Stewart Member
03/20/2014
I have just finished trying Martha Stewart's recipe for French Macarons. I reluctantly came to the web page looking for the recipe but was surprised at how easy and straightforward it sounded. I was very reluctant because I have tried uncountable recipes and NONE have worked out. And voilà!! Perfectly baked, footed French Macarons came out of my oven!!!! Right out of my first batch. Thank you so much for making it foolproof and sharing with all of us
Martha Stewart Member
03/06/2014
I've tried this a couple of times, first try wasn't great but I tweaked the recipe and I've cooked it perfectly. I preheat the oven to 160c and decrease the temperature to about 140c once I pop the macarons inside. Also, I make sure that I've dried them out for a least 20 mins. For those that have an issue with the mixture getting too diluted with icing colours. I use Wilton's gel icing colours and works like a charm. As for flavours, I've made French Vanilla, Ganache, Purple Yam & Reece's P&B
Martha Stewart Member
02/18/2014
1The temperature is too high, 320 max. 2Give the macarons the good rest to make them hard to touch till go to oven, 1hour is enough. 3 do not use liquid colors or flavors, texture must not be too thin.4 at the middle of baking open the oven and close it, it halped not to cracks. 5 use almond floor only and it must be dry, to make it dry put it in the oven on 100f for several min and let it cool completely. And crisp outside and chewy inside is not a macarons it's just simple meringue or beze
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Martha Stewart Member
01/23/2014
These were a massive fail for me. My friend made these and they turned out ok for her... but they were definitely not great for me. the batter was too runny even though i whipped the egg whites till stiff peaks formed... i'm pretty sure i didn't over mix the batter. no 'skin' or anything of the sort formed on my macaroons.. they spread in the oven as well.. i dont know why.. i made sure i followed the recipe well yet it it didn't work out. I ended up throwing them in the bin:(
Martha Stewart Member
07/05/2013
where is the recipe for the macaron filling? I didn't see it.
Martha Stewart Member
06/18/2013
what an easy recipie to follow and make. I made a pink Macaron with strawberry filling. So yummy. I will truly make these again. Yumm
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Martha Stewart Member
09/06/2012
good
Martha Stewart Member
09/06/2012
good
Martha Stewart Member
08/26/2012
This is one of my favorite macaron recipes. I have great success every time I use it. Light, great "feet," cruchy outside and slightly chewy inside. Yum! I highly recommend it.
Martha Stewart Member
06/23/2012
To get a better consistency whip the egg whites until they are stiff and fold in your almonds
Martha Stewart Member
05/28/2012
Didn't have any luck with this recipe. First batch: burned. Second batch: no legs: Third batch: stuck to the parchment paper. Piping the batter is very difficult - it has a fluid consistency that flows right out of the tip.
Martha Stewart Member
05/28/2012
Didn't have any luck with this recipe. First batch: burned. Second batch: no legs: Third batch: stuck to the parchment paper. Piping the batter is very difficult - it has a fluid consistency that flows right out of the tip.
Martha Stewart Member
01/04/2012
My first try at macarons, too, and mine came out perfectly -- legs and all! I was a bit skeptical about the ground almonds but there was no gritty texture at all! I used a dab of gel paste (just a dipped toothpick) and they were a lovely pink. I filled them with a white chocolate coconut ganache, also pink. One problem (mine, not the recipe) : Piping them was a challenge! Anyone have a helpful hint on how to control the piping of this somewhat "flowing" batter to get a uniform result?
Martha Stewart Member
12/22/2011
This was my first attempt and they came out PERFECTLY! We let them sit out for an hour and a half (not 15 minutes as suggested) and the ones we baked on parchment paper slid right off vs. the ones we baked on Silpats. We baked them for exactly 8 minutes and used convection setting. Leaving the door slightly ajar really helped the baking process, too. We used semi-sweet chocolate ganache to fill them...YUM!
Martha Stewart Member
12/15/2011
(cont.) I have tried many a macaron recipe, and this one probably gave me the worst results, to be honest. My shells were cracked and there were no feet, the tops were over cooked while the insides were too gooey. I would also recommend using almond meal, as home-ground almonds were too heavy for these shells and the consistency was far too gritty.
Martha Stewart Member
12/15/2011
This recipe was awful. First of all, you can't add food coloring to a macaron recipe, you have to use either coloring paste or coloring powder. If you use liquid or gel coloring your shells will crack. Secondly, the best way to get the little feet at the bottom of the macarons is to leave the egg whites out in a sealed container. You can do this for up to a week, but I like to leave them out just until they're at room temp. And after you pipe the macs, leave them to dry for 2 hours.
Martha Stewart Member
12/07/2011
love the idea that you can make different flavors from one main recipe!
Martha Stewart Member
10/30/2011
QUESTIONS for those who have tried this recipe 1) how was the texture of these cookies given they call for home-ground almonds (as opposed to almond flour) ... were they at all "gritty"? 2) has any one tried both this recipe and MS's other recipe titled "French Macarons" http://www.marthastewart.com/318387/french-macaroons My 13 yo is in love with these cookies and wants to make them for a French class project, so we are looking for a recipe that's both easy & good. MERCI!
Martha Stewart Member
10/30/2011
QUESTIONS for those who have tried this recipe 1) how was the texture of these cookies given they call for home-ground almonds (as opposed to almond flour) ... were they at all "gritty"? 2) has any one tried both this recipe and MS's other recipe titled "French Macarons" http://www.marthastewart.com/318387/french-macaroons My 13 yo is in love with these cookies and wants to make them for a French class project, so we are looking for a recipe that's both easy & good. MERCI!
Martha Stewart Member
01/24/2011
I think this is the easiest recipe on the internet. I had 2 previous attempts with David Lebovitz recipe on Marcaron's and both a fail. I was able to successfully make Macarons on the 1st attempt. I am elated that I no linger have to pay$1.50 per Macaron at a trendy bakery any more. I can now make as many flavor concepts that I want and enjoy them with great pleasure. Thanks-you Martha and your brilliant test kitchen. On 2 the next challenge!
Martha Stewart Member
01/17/2011
This is by far the EASIEST macaron recipe out there! On my first try I followed the recipe as written, and although the batch came out slightly burnt (as others have posted), they were still yummy and gorgeous--crisp outside shell, chewy soft inside--and they had nice FEET! On my second try I lowered the heat to 330?Ǭ? and that seemed to do the trick. One more thing: a hand blender with whisk attachment works better with the amount of egg whites in this recipe.
Martha Stewart Member
01/07/2011
In France, they're known as macaroons. In English speaking countries it's macarons simply to distinguish from non-French macaroons.
Martha Stewart Member
12/15/2010
I believe kspuds is right. There is a difference, as he/she said, between macarons and macaroons. Macarons are all the rage in France right now.
Martha Stewart Member
12/10/2010
kspuds -- these are ALSO known as MACAROONS. Look it up!
Martha Stewart Member
10/11/2010
I followed this recipe and it worked fairly well. Managed to burn the first batch, but adjusted my oven temp down about 25 degrees and shortened the cooking time to around 10 minutes. I also decided to use silpats instead of parchment after the first batch and found them to be much easier to get up.
Martha Stewart Member
09/29/2010
These are MACARONS, not macaroons. Macaroons have coconut in them, macarons are little sandwich cookies.
Martha Stewart Member
04/05/2010
Loved making these. I wasn't able to get feet, but this is my first time making macaroons. There is always next time!
Martha Stewart Member
04/01/2010
Made these as written and they turned out perfect- no cracks and nice feet! I think that the difference between the recipes re temperatures has to do with cracking the oven door. My oven set at 350 with the spoon in the door was about 300.
Martha Stewart Member
03/31/2010
I have the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook and there's a recipe for French Almond Macaroons. Why are the baking temperatures different? The one in the book says to bake at 300 degrees F. and this recipe says to bake at 350 degrees F. Are there any differences between these cookies? I really want to make these cookies, Thank you.
Martha Stewart Member
10/18/2008
I tried this recipe today. The results was really fantastic! I've tried other recipe before, but it just didn't turn out well. I tried this today, and I'm really very very happy with the outcome. Even the Macaroon Filling was very good! I mixed with other flavours to get varieties. However, I found them all to be quite sweet. The next time I attempt, I will reduce the sugars! :)
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