Never made French Macarons, have you made them? - Page 2

sally in philly · ‎12-09-2010

No tips -but I did make them once with my granddaughter after we came back from our trip to France. It was fun doing them with her but it was more difficult then I thought it would be .

I do love them. Buy them every time I can find them.

sfnative · ‎03-10-2010

Tips:

The eggs whites should not be beaten in with other ingredients, but rather folded in to provide some loft or lightness to the batter.

Prior to piping, prepare each flat (no groves) cookie sheet with parchment paper. On the paper, draw circles the size of the desired size of the macaron, then flip the parchment over. You'll still be able to see the circles.

When piping, use a "plain" medium tip. Do not start piping on the line, but way inside the line.

Follow around, quickly progressing to the center, holding the tip close to the surface of the macaron.

When at the center, rather than just stopping, move the tip quickly around in the teeniest of circles right in the center and in a counter clockwise motion, almost 360 degrees, then pull up abruptly. There will be a little tail protruding up. Some choose to leave it there. Others will very slightly moisten one finger and press it down lightly.

As others have said, your macarons, pronounced "mak-ah-roh," (soft "a" in the "mak") which is also the plural, need to sit at room temp about 30 minutes in order to develop a slight "skin." After 30 minutes, test 1 or 2 of your macaron by slightly touching with an index finger. If you're unable to detect a "skin," then leave them out for another 10 minutes.

Happy Baking!