5 Tips to Finally Conquer the Macaron

I’m so excited that I finally made successful lemon curd macarons. My son and I had such a great time making these! He was excellent at piping the filling and making the sandwiches, along with mixing and of course, taste testing. I had quite a few failed attempts at making these little treats in the past, so I thought I’d share the recipes that worked for me and what parts were particularly important for success.

1. The recipe that I used is from The Scran Line and this is my go-to from now on. I could tell early on that the batter was thicker and we stood a better chance! My previous macaron batters were too thin, and just puddled on the baking sheets. This recipe is very specific and requires you to weigh your ingredients – I use this food scale and it has served me well for years! It is an inexpensive but critical investment to make for perfect macarons. If you follow the instructions and measurements carefully you’ll be on your way to successful macarons!
2. The parchment paper recommended in the recipe is essential, and do not spray it with non-stick spray! I tend to spray everything to be sure what I’m making can be easily removed without damage. My first batch of maracrons went into the oven on a silicone baking mat on top of my cookie sheet. This didn’t work out at all – the macarons spread too much and didn’t puff up as much as I was expecting. My husband ran out and bought us parchment paper (specifically, the Wilton brand parchment paper), and the rest of the batter was placed upon that and there was little to no spread! The macarons puffed up properly and looked great. They were easy to remove from the paper, too.
3. Gel color works much better in the macaron filling than liquid food color drops and it doesn’t change the consistency or texture of the batter at all. The drops did very little to color the filling, but I happened to have yellow gel color on hand and it worked perfectly. The Scran Line also has an amazing marshmallow meringue filling recipe that’s pretty much the best thing I’ve ever tasted.
4. Instead of my usual lemon curd recipe, I tried out Ina Gartin’s lemon curd and I really liked it. Her recipe calls for adding lemon peel to the sugar in a food processor, which was a very flavorful boost to the lemon juice – you could see immediately all of the lemon oil combine with the sugar in the processor. Even the scent alone was delicious! If you’re particular about the texture or are using this in larger amounts (we did just a small round in the middle of each macaron), you’ll want to be sure to press the curd through a sieve to get out any remaining bits of peel for a perfectly smooth lemon curd.
5. Before popping your macrons in the oven, the recipe above suggests that you wait 30+ minutes to let the piped macron shells rest on the baking sheet. Don’t rush this part! Wait until the macarons are no longer sticky and a skin has formed on the top.
6. Just to be on the safe side, I like to rotate the cookie sheet halfway through baking. Many ovens do not heat evenly and this will help ensure even, consistent baking.
7. Use a sizing guide to make consistent shapes and sizes when piping your batter. It is harder than you think to just eye it as you go! Printable guides can be placed under your parchment paper – just be sure to remove them before baking!

I hope these ideas will help you make beautiful macarons! The next step for my son and I is to learn how to make adorable shapes and characters like these! 🙂