Macarons, a challenging French confection?

We''ve put together a beginner''s guide to making homemade French macarons. Here you''ll find lots of tips for success, an overview of techniques, a list of utensils that are sure to make your next macarons a success!

1. What are macarons anyway?

Macarons are a famous French pastry, but they can be prepared in two different ways. French macaroons can also be thought of as a sandwich cookie with a crispy interior. If we follow the steps of the recipe, we should end up with a dessert with a chewy centre.

2. Ingredients needed to prepare macarons

Egg whites: The main ingredient of the dough for French macarons is meringue made from properly whisked egg whites. For the best and most consistent results, we recommend using fresh egg whites. However, it is most important not to include the egg yolks when whisking the egg whites. To avoid this, the egg whites must be well separated from the yolks. If the yolks happen to stray into the whites, it will be necessary to repeat the process, otherwise the meringue will not have the texture it should have.

Wine stone: The acidity in the wine stone helps the egg whites to retain air and, like sugar, helps to prevent the whites from curdling.

Sugar: Without sugar, the protein molecules in egg whites will collapse. Finely ground sugar should be used, but should not be replaced by powdered sugar as this dissolves too quickly. Usually shops do not have very finely ground sugar, so you can make your own. Mix the icing sugar in a food processor or blender.

Finely ground almonds: Almond flour is the ONLY flour that will really make macaroons. Just make sure you use real almond flour, not almond meal. Almond flour is much finer, made from shelled almonds. Almond meal is coarser and contains almond skin.

3. How do we prevent the macaroni from getting stuck anywhere during preparation?

Hollow macaroni: if macaroni is filled with empty air, it can be quite unpleasant to bite into. If your macaroni is hollow, one of the reasons may be that the dough has been under- or over-mixed. When adding the macaroni to the baking tray, make sure to squeeze out any air bubbles. It could also be the fault of an oven that is too hot, or the temperature was not high enough and the macarons are undercooked.

Cracks on the top: if your macarons are cracked on the top, they may have been over-baked, the dough may have been over-mixed, the air bubbles in the dough may not have escaped and/or the egg white may have been whisked too much.

Runny dough: macaron dough will be runny if you over-mix it. This lets too much air out of the mixture.

Incomplete circles: don''t worry about this! It helps to use a silicone macaron baking utensil and, of course, practice. :)

4. Two more macaron recipes

Macaroons with BAM chocolate-hazelnut spread are a special treat for friends and family. The BAM macaron mix can help with the preparation , creating a docile dough that can be used to make 20 macarons. The Macaroon Mixture takes away the fear and trembling that any pastry chef or pastry chef almost certainly feels before preparing macaroons.

A bite into a delicate French biscuit, also known as a macaron, fills your mouth with the taste of hot chocolate. The taste is reminiscent of the first sip of delicious hot chocolate. And since we can hardly imagine a cup of hot chocolate without marshmallow marshmallows, we have naturally added them to this recipe. The marshmallow filling will melt in your mouth. Hot chocolate macaroons are the festive biscuits of the holiday season and will no doubt impress everyone at your festive party.