Kevin Lee Jacobs

Gardening, Recipes & Home Décor Tips

French Macarons (GF)

BY Kevin Lee Jacobs | 35 Comments

Last updated on March 11th, 2018

Oh, man. I love macarons! I love the shiny flat tops and adorable ruffled “feet” of these meringue-and-almond flour treats. They’re delicious as is, or you can sandwich them, as above, between a mound of jam or buttercream frosting. Macarons can be a little tricky to make, so last week I made hundreds of them just for practice. Then and only then did I feel confident enough to film the recipe for you:

Thanks for watching!

Click here for my delicious and delightful Lemon Buttercream recipe. 

Think you’ll give these beautiful biscuits a try? You can let me know by posting a comment. As always, I love hearing from you!

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xKevin

Here’s the printable recipe:

Print
French Macarons

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Yield: 40 1 1/2-inch-diameter cookies, or 20 "filled" cookies

Macarons are the most glamorous of all French cookies. You can eat them as is, or sandwich them between a layer of frosting.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 3 egg whites at room temperature
  • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons super-fine sugar
  • Optional: food coloring

Instructions

  1. Pour the confectioners' sugar and almond flour into the bowl of a food processor; process for exactly 1 minute. Sift the mixture through a sieve, and set aside.
  2. Beat the egg whites at medium speed. When they begin to foam, add the cream of tartar and the super-fine sugar. Continue beating at medium-to-high speed until soft peaks form, and then add the optional food coloring. Beat at high speed until stiff, shiny peaks form.
  3. Add 1/2 of the almond mixture to whites, and fold it in with a spatula. Then add the remaining almond mixture, and continue to fold. Folding is complete when ribbons of batter are reincorporated after about 20 seconds.
  4. Transfer the batter to a piping bag outfitted with a #12 piping tip. Pipe 20 1 1/2-inch rounds onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bang the baking sheet down on a hard surface 5 times to release air bubbles. Pipe the remaining batter onto another parchment-lined baking sheet.
  5. Center the oven rack, and preheat the oven to 300°F. Meanwhile, let the macarons rest, undisturbed, until the batter does not feel sticky when touched with a finger -- 15-30 minutes in a dry environment, or up to 1 hour in a humid room.
  6. Bake until the cookies rise, and the lower half of each cookie has developed a ruffled "foot" -- usually 20 minutes. Transfer the cookies on their baking sheet to a wire rack to cool completely.
  7. To fill the macarons, flip a cookie so that its bottom side is facing up. Pipe on a small mound of frosting (lemon buttercream, for instance), and top with another cookie. For best texture, cover and refrigerate the filled macarons for 24-48 hours. Serve at room temperature.
https://www.agardenforthehouse.com/french-macarons-gluten-free/

 

 

Comments

  1. 1

    Meghan Girroir says

    Thank you for the Macaron instruction. I watched the video three times and am ready to give it a go.
    Yours were beautiful!!

  3. 3

    TiaB says

    Once a year, I buy macarons at the Finger Lakes Lavender Festival in Skaneateles. Sadly this year they decided to discontinue the festival. I’m going to try these with the lavender filling that I love so much!

    P.S. Luckily the NYS Lavender Festival is still happening in Red Creek. Regardless, I get my macarons!!!!!

  5. 5

    Lois says

    Kevin, you certainly have a knack for making that what seems daunting doable! My African Violets thank you for clear instructions that gave me the courage to tend to them correctly. I fully intend to make macarons with your recipe AND techniques, expecting them to turn out beautifully due to your clear instructions. I look forward to more videos!

  6. 6

    Terri says

    I have wanted to make these. Unfortunately I am unable to eat eggs.

    Your Macarons look delicious.

    Loved your drone pictures of your property.

  10. 10

    John says

    They’re so spring-y with their pastel colors. Thanks for the technical tips, you took some of the mystery away.

  11. 11

    Mary W says

    Never tried these nor even tasted them BUT after seeing your video am willing to try – looks easy enough if I remember all your tips. Love the beautiful colors.

  13. 13

    Maraya says

    Kevin, thanks so much for the detailed instructions! These are on my list to bake the next time I’m supposed to bring dessert or have guests for dinner. It’s especially handy that it’s best to make them a day or two before.

  16. 16

    Donna says

    Finally the truth about macaroons. True macaroons are my absolute favorite indulgence! Thank you, thank you for sharing so many wonderful cooking, gardening, and home DYI helps that inspire gracious living. Sincerely!

  18. 18

    Marcia Colby Truslow says

    Two questions
    1. are these nice and chewy?
    2. why don’t you use almond paste in these instead of almond flour (which I have never heard of)?

    I gave up cooking years ago when I developed a weird form of vasculitis that caused veins breaking and bleeding under the skin especially in my legs. So now I depend on my son’s cooking which is very healthy but believe me it does not include fantastic yummies for the tummy. Perhaps a granddaughter or two could help me out here…..

  19. 19

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    Hi Marcia – Macarons are crispy when fresh, and soft and chewy after refrigeration. Not sure if almond paste would work in this recipe — almond flour is traditional. Hope one of your granddaughters will make these French treats for you!

  20. 20

    Janet Carter says

    Making macarons has been on my bucket list for a long time. It is encouraging to me to know that you made 200 of these while perfecting the technique (gives me permission to not get it perfect on the first try)! Thanks so much for your instructive video. I think I’m ready to tackle this now. Love your site. Thanks for sharing your home and gardens with us.

  21. 21

    Joanne Weed says

    Kevin, thanks for the video of such lovely looking cookies. They’re so pretty with their spring colors. Are you feeling OK? I noticed your right eye looks a little red. Hope you’re well. Have you a recipe for Almond Macaroons? I’d love to see you make them. Thanks for all your recipes and videos.

  23. 23

    Debbie says

    Lol lol, I made these last week after months of putting them off, I think I was afraid because I’ve heard how difficult that they were to make, well they were a complete disaster !! I watched your video and I am pretty sure where I went wrong,, beating my egg whites, I don’t think I did them long enough,, well I did print out your recipe and I am going to try again,, Thank you for explaining it perfectly, and the video helps tremendously..

  24. 24

    Claudia says

    Last year on a trip to Germany with my daughter and family (imagine the Grizzwolds do Germany) my 11 year old granddaughter wanted to be on the Eiffel Tower for her 12th birthday. We drove 5.5 hours to fulfill her dream. We had macarons at the top of the Tower. This year thanks to your clear instructions I’ll need able to make macarons for her 13th birthday. Thank you. I thoroughly enjoy your blog.

  26. 26

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    Hi Debbie – I’m so glad the video was helpful to you. The consistency of the batter is the key to success!

    Hi Claudia – Your granddaughter is one lucky girl!

  27. 27

    Sandra Miller says

    Kevin, I would love to make these for my son’s wedding this August, but since I don’t live close will be doing a lot of my baking ahead of time and freezing. Do you know if the macaroon wafers freeze well, say maybe for a month? And if so would you put them in the fridge for the 24 hours first? Sandra

  28. 28

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    Hi Sandra – Macarons freeze very well. After the unfilled wafers have cooled completely, freeze them directly on the baking sheet. Then you can transfer the wafers to zip-lock bags for further freezer storage. I would not fill the macarons until a day or two before serving time. Enjoy — and what a GREAT thing to serve at a wedding!

  29. 29

    Alastair says

    Hi Kevin — thanks for the macaron video. Of all the recipes I’ve studied your end product comes out on top. You’ve got some happy feet going on there! Like you initially, I was “folding” the dry ingredients into the egg-white much too gently. The secret is definitely in the hand-mixing. Wonder why so many recipes say to mix until you have the consistency of lava — what an odd reference.

  32. 32

    Diana Carapezza-Cunnien says

    I couldn’t wait for your recipe! Thank you for doing all the experimenting for us to get it right. I can’t wait to try them. Someone else mentioned a lavender filling (Connie) …that sounds fabulous!

  33. 33

    Sharon says

    Great video…like that you show tips on how to perfect the recipe…sending to my sister for our next baking adventure…

  34. 34

    Johnny Bohrer says

    Thanks for the informative video! I love to cook French food and macarons have been on my list. I ate one for the first time from a nice pastry shop here in Cincinnati so I’d know what they were as far as taste and texture. Wow now I knew I had to make them. Your video helped tremendously and they turned out great with the exception of some not being perfect. My underneath tray wanted it get done too fast and they wanted to crack on top. I used them for the bottom cookie lol. Thanks again.

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