Last night I had the chance to cross off my first goal from the 27 things I’d like to accomplish by 28 – a french macaron making class! Jess, Carly, Mackenzie and I went to Dana’s Bakery in New Jersey for the perfect girls night out. I thought this activity would be fun but I didn’t realize how fun it would be to make french macarons! I just found out that there are actually two ways to spell “macaroon.” The French version only includes one ‘O’ and refers to the particular type of recipe which usually calls for almond flower and is filled with a flavored buttercream, ganache or jelly. The American version includes two ‘O’s and calls for ground/powdered nuts or coconut.

I always loved baking growing up but let me tell you, making macaroons is a serious art and Dana has it down to a tee. I also had no idea how you could recreate any flavor with a macaroon (aka root-beer float, cookie dough, cheesecake, cotton candy, pumpkin, popcorn – literally an-y-thing). It was so funny because we continued asking Dana the whole night about every flavor that came to mind and she has pretty much re-created everything.

Because I am obsessed with macarons and hopefully you are too, I thought it would be fun to share the recipe and some tips & tricks from Dana, the macron master herself!

Vanilla Macaron Base

11/4 packed cups of Almond Flower (165 grams)

Pinch of Fine Sea Salt

3/4 Packed Cup (165 grams) of Confectioners’ Sugar

1/2 Teaspoon (3 grams) cream of Tartar

1/2 cup (115 grams) aged egg whites (4 eggs)

4 drops (gel) brown food coloring (optional)

Buttercream Filling

1 Cup (200 grams) Granulated Sugar

3 Egg Whites

Pinch Cream of Tartar

1/4 Teaspoon (1 gram) fine sea salt

2 Sticks (227 grams) cold unsalted butter, cubed)

You’ll need a Kitchen Aid mixer but if you don’t have one, William Sonoma is currently having a special! You will want to preheat the oven to 325oF. If you by chance have a convection oven, you will want to drop the heat about 50 degrees.

1. Luckily Dana prepared everything for us so it was quite easy to mix the first ingredients together which includes the almond flour, salt and confectioners’ sugar in the bowl.  You will want to pulse these ingredients together in the food processor 4 times, 4 seconds each time.

2. Add one tablespoon of the powdered egg white, granulated sugar, cream of tartar and aged egg whites to the bowl. Mix on medium-high speed until glossy stiff peaks form.   I’ve personally never used aged egg whites in a recipe before and it kind of sounds gross, but the aged egg whites help release the moisture which is better for whipping. You can find aged egg whites (“just whites“) in the baking section at the grocery.

You can tell if the macaron base is ready when you stop mixing, and the base doesn’t move.

You can also test the batter by flipping the mixing bowl upside down to see if the batter slides or moves inside the bowl. Me and Jess were so nervous about over whipping, we continued to flip the bowl until Dana gave us the ok! This was probably one of the hardest steps.

3. Fold the dry ingredients into the meringue until you reach the unique “macaronnage” stage (add the gel food coloring). When you fold, you will want to shift the bowl so you don’t miss any dry ingredients. You also don’t want to fold too much as it will cause the macarons to crack. Lift the spatula about 1 inch above the bowl to see if the mixture falls right back into the bowl. If the mixture does fall into the bowl with no stiffness, it’s ready to pipe!

4. Pipe the macron’s 1.5 inches apart on a parchment baking sheet.

Dana below trying to teach me her macaron master ways.

This part doesn’t look that hard, but I swear it’s pretty hard to squeeze the top of the bag and also ensure there is enough pressure at the bottom of the pipe to get the mixture out if you’re not used to this! We also learned it’s important to stand straight up and not lean when piping the macarons. You’ll want to pipe the mixture for three seconds, hold for a second and shift the bag to the right. Rotate the baking sheet if there are areas you can’t reach.

5. Once you’re done piping, slam the baking sheet down to remove excess air (slam 6 times, from 6″ above the table). You will want to let the macarons sit to get a skin for 15-30 minutes. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the macarons come off the baking sheet when you lift them (the centers will have risen). Cool completely before removing and filling.

6. For the Buttercream filling, you will want to whip the egg whites, cream of tartar to a soft peak. Bring the sugar and 1/4 cup of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Cook the syrup to 238oF. Gradually pour the syrup down the side of the bowl, cool on medium speed about 8 minutes. Next, add the salt, butter and whip on high speed until fluffy and emulsified (about 10 minutes).

Ta-da!! The finished product.

A big, big thank you to Dana’s Bakery for having us last night! You can shop all of Dana’s amazing macaron’s here and be sure to follow her on Facebook and Instagram!