Jenna Atkinson

What ingredients do you need to make macarons?

• Almond flour
• Pasteurized egg whites (carton, not separated eggs)
• Icing sugar
• Water
• Sugar
• Food coloring – gel or powdered (optional)

What kitchen tools do you need to make macarons

• Stand mixer
• Thermometer
• Scale
• Aluminum baking pan
• Silpat or Parchment paper

Learn how to sift your almond flour faster by using a colander instead of a sifter to make macarons.

Do you need a stand mixer to make macarons

Yes. You have to whip the egg whites 20-30 minutes with a stand mixer to make macarons.

Tips for making macarons

• Sift and weigh icing sugar and almond flour
• Weigh egg whites and separate into your stand mixer and mixing bowl
• Start the egg whites with the stand mixer on high
• Weigh sugar and water
• Use a thermometer to get the sugar and water to 118 degrees C exactly. Do not mix the sugar and water at all during the heating process
• Mix the egg whites in the mixing bowl with the icing sugar and almond flour to create a paste
• Pour the sugar mixture down the side of the stand mixer bowl while it’s mixing on low-med
• Whip the stand mixer egg whites and sugar syrup together until you can turn the bowl upside down and nothing moves
• Mix the meringue with the almond paste until it flows like lava
• Pipe the mixture onto a Silpat mat and let sit for 30 min
• Bake for 12-14 min at 300 degrees F
• Let cool at room temperature on the mat
• Fill the macarons

Are Macarons really that hard to make

Yes.

Things that can make macarons fail

• Old baking pans that don’t conduct heat well
• Not whipping your egg white meringue until you can turn it upside down in the bowl
• Not getting the temperature of the sugar syrup up to the correct temperature
• Mixing the macaron batter too much or too little
• Not using a scale to measure ingredients

What is the best baking sheet for macarons

Aluminum baking sheets are the best for baking macarons.

• Conducts heat well – Aluminum is the best metal for heat distribution
• Even heat distribution throughout the pan – no hot spots
• Durable/sturdy/heavy duty
• Commercial-grade baking pan
• Hand wash only to keep them their best
• Resists warping
• Withstands temperature changes -40 – 580 degrees F 

1. Obtain your large, clean aluminum baking pans. Make sure there isn’t residue, oil on the baking pan. To make sure it’s free of any oil, pour hot water on the pans.
2. Place the silicone baking mat onto the aluminum baking pan.
3. Pipe macarons onto the silicone baking mat. Space them out. Pipe 1.2” macarons.
4. Bang the bottom of the aluminum pan to get out all of the air bubbles from the macarons.
5. Let the macarons sit for 30 minutes until a skin has formed.
6. Bake the macarons for the required time in your recipe.
7. Let the macarons sit on the silicone mat until completely cooled.
8. Pop off the macarons by peeling the mat away from them if they are a bit sticky. 
9. Fill macarons.

See video here.

How long to bake macarons on silicone mat

Macarons can be baked at 300 degrees F for 13 minutes if baking them on a silicone mat.

How to clean a silicone baking macaron mat?

• Hand wash your silicone baking mat and let it air dry
• Store in a dry, oil free area

Can you use parchment paper instead of a silicone mat?

Yes. You can use parchment paper instead of a silicone mat. You know it’s clean, therefore there is no risk of having oil droplets on it. It browns the bottom of the macaron, making it crispy. The macarons are easy to fill once they’re baked and cooled. 

Parchment paper is difficult to make it perfectly shaped for your pans. Sometimes this can cause macarons on the edge of the pan to be deformed. It’s also difficult to hold the parchment paper in place while banging the pan to get all of the air bubbles out.

Parchment paper is eco friendly. Place it in your green bin when you’re finished using it. 

Silicone baking mats (Silpat) are reusable and you can order them perfectly according to your baking sheet size. They come in all different sizes so they will line up when you’re piping. There is no risk of deformed macarons at the edge of the baking sheet. Silicone baking mats have a bit of a grip to them, so they will stay in place when you are bang out the air bubbles of the macarons. Silicone can make macarons a bit sticky, so they can be difficult to remove them from the mat. Silicone mats produce a flatter, rounder macaron cookie than parchment paper.

Why are my macarons sticking to the silicone mat?

Your macarons will stick to the silicone mat if they are undercooked or if they haven’t fully cooled on the silicone mat before trying to remove them. Bake your macarons for 1-2 minutes longer than when using parchment paper.

What is the purpose of the silicone baking mat?

• Reusable
• Easy to clean
• Food safe
• Prevents burning on the bottom
• Sticky – easier to bang out the macarons to get the air bubbles out
• No greasing needed
• Easy release

How long do silicone baking mats last?

Silpat baking mats will last you 2000-3000 times of baking macarons.

Do you need to flour a silicone pastry mat?

No. You do not need to flour or grease a silicone pastry mat. 

What is the Best Macaron Mat?

The best macaron mat is the Silpat. The Silpat is made to last  you 2000-3000 batches of macarons. The mats are made for easy release of macarons. Silpat macaron mats are easy to clean by hand washing them and letting them air dry. Silpat mats allow your macaron to spread out making them flatter and rounder. They are the professional standard for macaron baking shops worldwide.

Macarons Silpat vs Parchment Paper

Silpat	Parchment Paper
Reusable	Eco-friendly
2000-3000 Batches	1 Time Use Only
Spreads the Macaron Flatter and Rounder	More likely to Wrinkle/become Deformed
Easy Release	Comes off Easily
Prevents burning on the bottom of the cookie	Browns the bottom of the macaron
Professional Grade. Mat is made perfectly to size for the baking pan	Difficult to cut the parchment paper to size - some macarons can become deformed close to the edges of the pan

White macarons can be flavored into many different kinds of macarons. 

It’s easy to add tea, sprinkles, coffee, cocoa to the tops of the shells just after piping them. 

When they’re all baked and cooled, add your filling in the center to finish flavoring your macaron. 

White macaron shells are neutral, simple, and you can easily add colored filling to bring out any contrast you like. 

Champagne Macarons

Champagne macarons are made by adding a hint of champagne into a buttercream base frosting.

Champagne macarons can be decorated with a bit of gold dust to make them shine bright.

White Chocolate Ganache Macarons

White chocolate ganache macarons are full of sweet, creamy chocolate flavor.

You can make white chocolate ganache macarons by heating heavy cream, and pouring it over white chocolate melting wafers.

Make your chocolate ganache the day before, and let it sit in the fridge overnight, prior to filling your macarons.

Coconut Macarons

Coconut macarons are made by adding shredded coconut to the macaron batter.

After the macarons have been piped, add a few more pieces of shredded coconut to the tops of the macarons.

Coconut macarons are filled with coconut white chocolate ganache. Heavy cream is heated and added to white chocolate melting wafers. Add a little bit of coconut flavoring and mix together to form your macaron filling.

Coconut Key Lime Macarons

Coconut key lime macarons are made by adding shredded coconut, coconut extract and toasted coconut to macaron batter.

Coconut key lime macarons are filled with key lime buttercream frosting. Key lime buttercream frosting can be made by adding fresh lime juice, and lime zest to the base of buttercream icing.

Cookies and Cream Macarons

Cookies and cream macarons are made by adding crushed Oreo’s and cookie crumble to a buttercream base frosting.

You can add a sprinkle of cookie crumble to the tops of the white macarons for a little added decoration, right after you’ve piped the macaron shells.

Cinnamon Roll Macarons

Cinnamon roll macarons are made with cinnamon and nutmeg in their outer shells.

The center filling is made with a cream cheese buttercream icing. To add a little bit more sweetness, there is a caramel sauce filling to the center filling as well.

Coffee Macarons

Coffee macarons are made by adding a small dusting of coffee grounds to the tops of the macaron shells right after piping them.

Coffee macarons are filled with coffee cream cheese buttercream icing.

You can add in your coffee flavor by adding a small amount of strong coffee, espresso, or using a pack of instant coffee with a bit of hot water.

Add the coffee in slowly to your filling, you don’t want the flavor to be too overpowering, or too thin of an icing to pipe.

Birthday Cake Macarons

Birthday cake macarons are made by sprinkling a few rainbow sprinkles on top of the macarons after piping so they have the beautiful rainbow color on the top of the white macaron shells.

Birthday cake macaron filling is made by adding vanilla cake mix to a vanilla buttercream icing. You can add food coloring to the filling of the macarons if desired.

Earl Grey Macarons

Earl grey macarons are made by adding ground up earl grey tea leaves to macaron batter.

Early grey macarons are filled with earl grey buttercream icing.

Early grey tea leaves are added to a buttercream icing base to create this mesmerizing tea macaron flavor.

Taste test, and add more tea if necessary to have a punch of earl grey flavor.

London Fog Macarons

London fog macarons are made by adding lavender extract to macaron batter. You can also sprinkle a bit of culinary lavender to the tops of the macarons if desired.

Earl grey buttercream icing is the filling for these delicious macarons.

Add vanilla extract, and a full bag of Earl grey tea leaves to the base of a buttercream frosting.

Taste test, you might need to add more tea leaves or vanilla extract to get the taste just right.

S’more Macarons

S’more macarons are made by adding ground up graham crackers to macaron batter.

There are 2 fillings for s’more macarons that you’ll need to make. There will be one layer of milk chocolate ganache.

The other layer is a buttercream frosting made with marshmallow fluff.

The combination of graham cracker flavored shells, marshmallow buttercream, and milk chocolate ganache, makes these macarons irresistible.

Vanilla Bean Macarons

Vanilla bean macaron shells can be flavored with the contents of a vanilla pod into the macaron batter.

The filling is made by adding vanilla bean paste to cream cheese frosting. You can add in vanilla extract if you’re wanting a stronger vanilla flavor.

Cookie Dough Macarons

Cookie dough macarons are made by making edible cookie dough to fill the macarons with.

Edible cookie dough is made without eggs, therefore you can eat it right away. You can use chopped up chocolate chips if you don’t have mini chocolate chips for your edible cookie dough macarons.

Lavender Macarons

Lavender macarons are made by adding ground up dried lavender to macaron batter.

The filling is a honey buttercream frosting.

You can add more ground up dried lavender to the honey buttercream if you want even more lavender flavor in your lavender macarons.

Tiramisu Macarons

Tiramisu macarons are made by adding a dusting of coffee grounds to the tops of the macaron shells after they have been piped.

The filling of the tiramisu macarons is made by adding mascarpone cheese, espresso, and cinnamon to powdered sugar and a bit of heavy cream.

Tiramisu macarons have a ton of flavor!

Peanut Butter Macarons

Peanut butter macarons are made by mixing marshmallow fluff and peanut butter together to create the delicious peanut butter filling.

You could chop up peanut until they are very fine and blot them dry, to add them to the tops of the macaron shells if desired.

Marshmallow Macarons

Marshmallow macarons are made by adding marshmallow fluff to a buttercream base frosting.

Yellow macaron flavors are tasty, delicious, and eye catching.

Add yellow powdered food coloring to your macaron batter or gel food coloring to get beautiful yellow macarons.

Fill your yellow macarons with these mouth watering flavors for beautiful yellow macarons at your next gathering.

Lemon Macarons

Lemon macarons are made by adding 1/4 tsp of lemon extract to the macaron shell batter.

The filling of the lemon macarons are made by adding lemon zest and lemon juice to a buttercream base frosting.

Lemon macarons are tart, tangy, with a little sweetness from the frosting.

Pineapple Macarons

Pineapple macarons are made by adding a bit of yellow food coloring to the macaron shell batter.

The center filling is made by creating a puree using pineapple chunks.

The pureed pineapple is mixed with rice flour and coconut flour over the stove for a few minutes until it thickens.

Once it’s cooled down, it’ll ready to be piped onto the macaron shells.

Banana Cream Macarons

Banana cream macarons are made by creating the shells of the macarons first.

The filling of the banana cream macarons is vanilla custard, and a slice of banana. The bananas have a bit of lemon juice squirted on them to prevent them from turning brown.

The banana cream macarons have a small bit of meringue piped on top of them, that are torched to cook the meringue.

Mango Macarons

Mango macarons are made by creating the macaron shells, and adding a bit of yellow food coloring to the macaron batter.

The filling of the mango macarons is made by adding mango puree to a buttercream base frosting.

Chamomile Macarons

Chamomile macarons are made by adding yellow food coloring to the macaron shells.

The filling of the chamomile macarons is made by adding the contents of a bag of chamomile tea, into a buttercream base frosting. The tea will infuse the chamomile flavor into the buttercream. You can add a little bit of honey to the frosting as well for a sweet chamomile honey flavoring.

Lemon Poppy seed Macarons

Lemon poppy seed macarons are made by adding a spoonful of poppy seeds to the macaron batter.

The filling of the macarons is made by adding lemon zest and lemon juice to the base of a buttercream frosting.

Lemon Elderflower Macarons

Lemon elderflower macarons are made by adding seeds from a vanilla pod into the macaron batter.

The filling is an elderflower ganache. The ganache is made by heating heavy cream, and pouring it over white chocolate melting wafer.

Stir in a bit of lemon juice and elderflower lemonade to create these unique macarons.

Champagne Macarons

Champagne macarons are made by adding a hint of champagne into a buttercream base frosting.

Champagne macarons can be decorated with a bit of gold dust to make them shine bright.

Piña Colada Macarons

Piña colada macarons are made by adding a little coconut flour to the macaron batter.

After the macarons have been piped, a sprinkle of shredded coconut is added to the tops of the macaron shells.

The filling of the piña colada macarons is made by adding rum extract, pineapple juice, and coconut cream to a buttercream frosting.

Peach Macarons

Peach macarons are made by adding a bit of yellow food coloring to the macaron shell batter.

Peach macarons are filled with peach jam.

White Chocolate Ganache Macarons

White chocolate ganache macarons are full of sweet, creamy chocolate flavor.

You can make white chocolate ganache macarons by heating heavy cream, and pouring it over white chocolate melting wafers.

Make your chocolate ganache the day before, and let it sit in the fridge overnight, prior to filling your macarons.

Coconut Macarons

Coconut macarons are made by adding shredded coconut to the macaron batter.

After the macarons have been piped, add a few more pieces of shredded coconut to the tops of the macarons.

Coconut macarons are filled with coconut white chocolate ganache. Heavy cream is heated and added to white chocolate melting wafers. Add a little bit of coconut flavoring and mix together to form your macaron filling.

Passionfruit White Chocolate Macarons

Passionfruit white chocolate macarons are made by adding vanilla bean paste to macaron batter.

The filling is made by putting a ring of white chocolate Swiss buttercream frosting on the outer portion of the macaron shell.

The center filling is a passionfruit curd. The combination of the 2 fillings is sweet and tasty.

Pink Lemonade Macarons

Pink lemonade macarons are made by adding lemon juice and lemon zest to macarons batter.

The filling of the macarons are made by adding pink food coloring, vanilla extract, almond milk, and lemon juice to a buttercream base frosting.

Honey Macarons

Honey macarons are made by adding vanilla paste to macaron batter.

The filling of the macarons is made by adding mascarpone cheese and honey to a buttercream base frosting.