French Macaron Obsession

It seems that everyone these days are obsessing over the infamous French Macaron. Slightly crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. Not those excessively sweet coconut blobs that Americans eat. I'm talking about the real deal. What I love about the Macaron is the plethora of flavor combinations.

The base of the macaron consists of egg whites, almond meal, and powdered sugar. All of which is relatively flavorless. You can add almost any flavor you like, as long as you pair the wet and dry ingredients correctly. As you might already know, this is a meringue cookie, made from egg whites. Egg whites are tricky to work with because if you don't do it correctly, they will not become meringue but just egg whites and really hard when they come out of the oven.

I got this book as a gift from a friend that I absolutely LOVE, called I Love Macarons by Hisako Ogita. She has done this macaron in several ways, giving you fool proof methods for making the macaron. She also teaches you how to make some of the fillings, giving you ideas, and what possibly when wrong in the process if your macaron fails. It is one of the few books in English on how to make these little devils. Most other books are in French so unless you speak French then, this is your book.


Before I got started with making these, I did a bunch of research on recipes and the best way to make them, and the flavor possibilities. Realistically, meringue can be made in several ways and I think you have to just find what works for you. This is what I found to have worked for me.


Here's a list of basic ingredients and equipment you'll need:

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup whole almonds
3 egg whites
food coloring
Piping bags
A piping template, this one, I found on the internet but you can also trace your own using something round about 1 1/2 inches
A food processor
Electric mixer

Grind 1 cup of the confectioners’ sugar and almonds in a food processor until powdery, about 3 minutes. Sift mixture through a medium mesh strainer into a piece of parchment paper, then discard any large pieces of nuts that didn’t come through the strainer.

For the flavoring, I did two different batches (shown below) one green tea and one hazelnut mocha. Using a matcha powder that can be found in most Asian markets and a cocoa powder, about 1/4 cup each, add to the sugar and almond mixture when sifting so it is even. Always add dry ingredients to the powder and mix evenly and wet ingredients like food coloring to the meringue before combining the two to get the batter.

With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and salt until they hold firm but not dry peaks, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the remaining 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, a table spoon at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed; this can take up to 3 minutes. Beat for an extra 30 seconds until the peaks are firm and shiny but still not dry. Fold the nut mixture gently into the egg whites with a large rubber spatula from the middle out (about 50 times).

Spoon mixture into a piping bag with a ½ inch tip and pipe onto parchment lined baking sheet. Set aside for 30 minutes before baking.

I used a pint glass to hold my piping bag in between different sheets.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.


Bake macaroons until set and puffed, about 18 to 20 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes then peel from paper and let cool completely. Sandwich 1 teaspoon filling between two same sized cookies.

When done correctly, it should have that cute little foot. Here for the fillings, I used a butter cream filling and added matcha powder to it after the butter cream is finished and for the hazelnut mocha, I used a ganache with instant coffee granules dissolved into the chocolate. The combinations are limitless so have fun!