I have recently revisited my love hate relationship with the ever so complicated macarons. Sometimes I can’t understand why this cookie simply made with only egg whites, almonds and sugar can be so complicated. Just three easy ingredients can drive me absolutely crazy in the kitchen.
It’s the kind of baking that can really put you over the edge when baking. And because of it being such a challenge, I am now driven to get this right.
I believe that I have figured out all the steps from blending to mixing in the meringue. This can get confusing. I have seen some people mixing it really carefully and then only to have the peaks cracked in the oven with no feet. And then I have also seen professional pastry chef violently mixing the batter together and then miraculously producing flawless macarons.
For me, I believe my mistake clearly lies in the oven. My oven and I are still working on the perfect baking temperature. I think that I need to lower the heat a little more that the once recommended which seems to suit these fussy little cookie to produced the iconic feet that everyone is talking about.
These are the ones that I made a couple weeks ago and was really happy with how it turned out. I made a salted caramel macarons and my all time favorite rose flavored once.
However, after being really ecstatic over my baking success I called my sister to spread the news and then told her I would bake some with her at her place. Clearly, I wasn’t thinking straight and ended up throwing the entire batch away. There were no feet and I was really disappointed as I wanted to bake some for her.
I supposed every oven is different. And you need to get a better understanding of how your oven works. This is one of the main causes of many bakers; even the pros have suffered defeat because of this. But practice makes perfect. So, I think I need to have a talk with my sister’s oven. Just get to know it a little more before I attempt to make another batch soon.
These are so darned cute! 🙂
They look amazing!
Cheers,
Rosa
I plan to make some today as well to work on perfecting them. I’ve read many macaron books and viewed various macaron sites. The oven and ingredients added all have an affect on Macarons. Hopefully mine will turn out fine however I too am a bit skeptical with my oven. I’m not sure if it’s best to cook them on convection. Or conventionally.
Your macarons look perfect! Sorry about the ones at your sister’s, I would image with the variances in ovens this can happen 😦
Yes…macarons are a difficult beast. They can turn out so well…or so terribly! But these look so tasty…I just wish we lived closer. Thank you for making me smile after a long day at work…sorry I haven’t stopped by sooner. I’ve been adjusting to my crazy-busy schedule. Hugs and love!
Well I made mine this evening. Half the batch I baked in convection mode while the other half in conventional. The convection ones look prettier however they aren’t as solid on top as I would have liked them to be. Maybe I didn’t wait long enough for them to cool.
Then I made some Dulce de Leche to add as a filling but I added too much and they oozed out everywhere I then blended some Nutella with the Dulce de Leche and it was perfect except for the fact that I added that to the ones made on conventional mode.
I guess it’s back to the drawing board to work on perfection. That said, they tasted great and the Dulce de Leche was heavenly.
Baking in general can be so tempermental. But you are so right when you say you need to get to know your oven. I always keep an oven thermometer in mine to make sure it’s where it needs to be temperature wise.
And before I forget – these macaroons look super cute!
I sympathize! I’ve tried twice to bake these things without success; they’re on my “need to practice” list. It makes me sad that almond flour is so expensive…they’re not the cheapest cookie to practice baking. Your good ones look *really* good though! So attractive!
Thank you I appreciate that. I’m hoping to try and make some this weekend but we’ll see.
They look amazing! I know the feeling with the oven, my mom’s oven is completely off from mine and nothing comes out right when I use it.
These are really lovely and they look perfectly made. I’m new to your blog, soI took some time to browse through your earlier posts. I’m so glad I did that. I really like the food and recipes you share with your readers and I’ll definitely be back. I hope you have a great day. Blessings…Mary
I’ve never made macarons, and I wish you the best of luck in continuing to bake them! The ones you have pictured here look gorgeous.
What do you mean?? They look perfect!!! xo
Yep, sure is important to know how your oven bakes. These look like they turned out perfectly!
I heard a professional chef say she routinely throws out batches–they are just that finicky. Yours look amazing–I hope you have further cracked the code by now!