the macaroon.

One thing you have to know about french macaroons is that they are unreliable.
That is the truth and you just have to pray your next batch is a good one.

That said, everyone has their tips and tricks to make these little delicious cookies look like they came out of an expensive box all the way from Paris.

I've tried all kind of different techniques and variations, took a tip from here a tip from there and this is the recipe that has worked the best for me.

Basic tips you need to know:

• - Try to use old egg whites or leave them overnight at room temperature. This will take out the moisture out of your eggs. (If you want to do macaroons on the spur of the moment then put the egg whites a few seconds on the microwave -but make sure not to cook them!!)

• -The smooth look is due to the almond flour. I've always done my own almond flour; almonds on the food processor and sifted twice until it looks like flour. If you want a more clean smooth texture you need to use blanched almonds. (here is how to do it)

• -The little rough edge at the bottom of each cookie is called 'feet'. When it rises and comes right off the parchment paper you can scream of joy. If you don't get any feet, it means you over mixed your batter. 

• -Do not under mix or over mix your batter. It makes all the difference in how your macaroons are going to look. If you under mix, you would see the peaks from piping them. If you over mix, they can crack and wont have feet. 

• -When adding flavors, it always has to be in a powder form. Any nut flour (pistachio,walnuts, pecans on the food processor), cocoa, coconut (on the food processor), spices, etc. 

• -Ideally you should use powdered food coloring so you don't add any excess moisture, but its hard to find. I use a few drops of liquid food coloring and its been fine. I add the food coloring while beating my egg whites. If you do it when you combine the dry with the wet you can risk over mixing the batter.

BASIC FRENCH MACAROON

1 1/4 cups confectioner's sugar

4 oz. almonds

1/4 cup and 2 tbsps egg whites ( room temp.)

pinch of salt

1/4 cup sugar

Directions: 

1. Preheat over at 350F and line two trays with parchment paper.  NOT WAXED! ( Some people use silicone mats but it hasn't worked for me ). This recipe makes two trays of well spaced macaroons (around 20-25). 
2. Process your almonds super fine and sift them back and forth a couple of times with the powdered sugar for a flour consistency. 
3. Start whipping your egg whites with a pinch of salt on your mixer until soft peaks start to form (this is where I add the food coloring). Then add gradually the sugar until its well mixed and glossy. If you turn your bowl upside down it shouldn't fall. Looks like shaving cream.
4. (And now the tricky part...) Gradually fold the almond flour into the meringue with a silicone spatula. Try to do it in the least amount of strokes as you can swiping the batter against the bowl to get the dry ingredients wet. (I do it about 15 times).
5. Once you don't see any dry flour in the mix, test a little dot on a flat surface. If its pointy and stays that way, then do a few more strokes. If it settles onto a round surface then its ready to be placed into a piping bag (sometimes a big ziplock bag will do). Try to do this carefully and without handling the batter too much. You don't want to over mix. 
6. You don't want a small tip on your bag. Make sure its about 1cm in diameter. Start piping the macaroons. Hold the piping bag straight up and without moving your wrist, press a little of the batter into the paper and carefully remove it upwards. A common mistake is to move your wrist in a circular motion to form the circle. You Don't want that, or else it won't look smooth or they could look lopsided.
7. Remember that if the batter was mixed correctly, the macaroon would expand and start to form a smooth skin. If it doesn't smooth out you can still sort of save them (they will still taste good) by dipping your index finger in water to make it a little wet and smooth out the point from the top.
8. Let them rest. You can do from 30 min to 2 hrs. This resting allows a skin to form, which prevents any air to escape from the top.  (Yesterday I didn't let them rest since I had company and was in a hurry for dessert and they still came out smooth and with feet. Why? A mystery...)
9. When they are done resting, put one tray at a time on the oven for 8-9 minutes. My oven is electric and while a lot of recipes online call for 10-12 minutes, they had been slightly burned or browned from the bottom. So 8ish almost nine is my magic number. You have to be there watching and smelling too. If they start to brown you can smell it right away.
10. Voila! Let them rest a few minutes and they should come off the paper pretty easy and clean. If they are stuck, or you end up leaving half of the cookie in the paper then use a knife spatula / pie cutter or something thin that might release them without crushing them.

Filling:

They are tons of options. From buttercream icing, swiss meringue, chocolate ganache, to straight up nutella. The advantage of the filling is that you can add pureed fruit and go as crazy as you want without compromising the cookie. In my opinion that's when the flavor comes to play.

Some options I've done are:

• Cream cheese, powdered sugar and mango pure mixed into frosting consistency.
• Buttercream icing plus strawberry pure (or any other fruit pure)
• Buttercream icing with pistacchio flour or cocoa.
• Buttercream icing with orange liquor, vanilla, almond extract or peppermint extract.

And thats it!! Ask me any questions if you need to.

Happy baking!!!