Anyone who’s a baker can confirm that macarons are one of the trickier beasts of baking. Well, baking can be a bit of a tricky beast in general – which is precisely why I love it – and probably why many people hate it.

But macarons. Oh man. They’re just on another level of sorcery. Macarons are finicky little buggers to begin with, and the errors involved with making them are often difficult to troubleshoot.

I have attempted to make macarons at least twice in the past several years, but they were riddled with problems: too chewy, the tops cracked, the “feet” didn’t setup as they were supposed to; I did a horrible job piping them into a nice circle, etc. Honestly, I got quickly frustrated, and gave up. For a solid year, I tucked my seemingly grandiose macaron fantasies into the [very crowded] back burner of my brain.

Finally, one day about six months ago, I stumbled upon a small-batch macaron recipe from Dessert for Two. It occurred to me that it might be a good idea to try making a smaller batch of them; surely that had to reduce some of the intimidation, right?

Turns out that I was indeed right: making a smaller quantity was more approachable, and of course, Christina had many great tips to ensure success. I attempted to make them once by myself, and much to my surprise, I succeeded. Then my friend Helen asked if I’d show her how to make them again, so we had another friend baking date. The photos in this post are the ones that I captured from both my solo macaron baking session + the macaron session with Helen.

If you’re ready to give macarons a go, might I suggest making them in a small batch? It might make them easier and more approachable for you. Let me know if you try them out; it’s a great bucket list item to cross off your baking to-do list; trust me! 🙂

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{Easy} Small-Batch Macarons.

Ingredients:

For the macarons:

• 2 aged egg whites, at room temperature*
• 68 grams almond flour*
• 153 grams powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons meringue powder*
• 3 drops vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. First, let the egg whites come to room temperature in a medium bowl. Using a food scale, measure out your dry ingredients in separate bowls.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or a silicone mat, if that’s your thing). Make sure the paper fits into the pan perfectly: any buckled paper around the edges will make the cookies spread unevenly and slide.
3. Meanwhile, sift together the almond flour and powdered sugar into a medium bowl {Sifting them is NOT an option!}.
4. Begin to beat the egg whites on medium speed using a hand-mixer until foamy, about 10 seconds. Then, start slowly adding the meringue powder while constantly beating.
5. Beat the egg whites and meringue powder until soft peaks form, about 1-2 minutes. This will depend on your mixer speed, but be careful not to over-mix. The peaks are soft when you lift the beaters and the egg whites flop over.
6. Once the egg whites have soft peaks, turn off the mixer.
7. Add 1/3 of the almond-sugar mixture and begin to gently fold it in using a small spatula. Take your time: proper folding technique is carefully folding around the sides and cutting through the middle occasionally. The idea is to not stir too hard and deflate the air you just whipped into the egg whites.
8. Repeat with the remaining almond-sugar mixture two more times, until completely incorporated.
9. Scrape the batter into a piping bag with a 1/2″ round tip (or use a plastic bag with the corner snipped off). The batter will be thick.
10. Pipe the batter into 1″ little mounds (about the size of a large Hershey’s kiss), and let sit. While they sit, they should flatten out. Leave 2″ between each cookie for air circulation.
11. Let the cookies rest on the baking pan for at least 30 minutes. Test to see if they are tacky–if you touch the cookies gently and the batter sticks to your finger, they’re not ready. They should be dry to the touch. {Note that humidity plays a big factor in how long it takes for them to dry out. So it may take longer on some days than others.}
12. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F [or 290 if your oven runs hotter; many gas ovens do]. Bake the macarons for 13 minutes, until their little feet have risen and the tops are dry.
13. Remove from the oven and let cool near or on top of the oven [drastic temperature changes can cause cracks].
14. Once cool, pop the cookies off the sheet, spread with your desired filling, and gently sandwich the best-matching ones together.

*Notes:

• Aged Egg Whites: To age your egg whites: separate the whites from the yolks [be sure there are absolutely no yolks in them!], cover them and refrigerate for at least one week. Allow them to come to room temperature before using. {Additional note: It is crucial that you give the egg whites time to “age” in the fridge. Fresh egg whites will not work.
• Almond Flour: I use the Bob’s Red Mill brand, which can be found with the specialty flours in most grocery stores, or via Amazon. It works well, but do not forget the sifting step. It’s essential for properly made macarons.
• Meringue Powder: I prefer the Ateco brand (can be found on Amazon), but you can also use the Wilton brand (can be found on Amazon and/or craft stores, e.g. Michael’s).