High Altitude Vanilla Bean French Macarons

Today I’m sharing a high altitude recipe for vanilla bean French macarons. These pretty little cookies have an almond meringue shell that’s crisp on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. I filled them with fluffy dark chocolate buttercream to balance the sweetness of the meringue. The contrast of flavors and textures is just exquisite, and as lovely as they look, they taste even better. Read on for my recipe, and all my tips for making perfect French macarons.

And if you love the look of these vanilla bean French macarons, make sure to check out my chocolate macarons filled with creamy dark chocolate ganache!

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Macaron or Macaroon

Macaroons and macarons are nothing alike, and it annoys me beyond words when people refer to macarons (pronounced “ma-kr-aan”) as macaroons (pronounced “ma-ka-ROON”).

What is a French Macaron?

A French macaron is a sweet meringue-based cookie made with egg white, sugar and almond flour or fine almond meal. You can add flavorings, such as vanilla, as well as food coloring to make a rainbow of colorful macarons. The macaron is traditionally believed to have been introduced in France by the Italian chef of queen Catherine de Medici during the Renaissance.

What is a Macaroon?

A macaroon is a dense, chewy flourless cookie. Macaroons are made from egg whites, sugar, coconut, and sometimes include nuts and sweetened condensed milk. They’re often dipped in chocolate.

Learning Macaronage

I remember the first time I tasted a macaron. My husband and I attended a very fancy party where the dessert table was full of tiny, bite-sized treats, little cakes, tartlets and macarons in so many colors and flavors. And after trying one or two, we had to go back for a couple more. They were the most intriguing little cookie I’d ever tasted. Crisp on the outside, soft, sweet and chewy inside, with creamy fillings in any flavor you could want. And so pretty. I love pretty treats.

Last year, I decided I was going to master macaronage.  Don’t you just love that the making of macarons even has its own term?  What I thought would come naturally to me, since I’m a pretty experienced baker, was a disaster.  After 4-5 attempts, each batch was worse than the last, with my macarons turning out flat as pancakes, hollow, burned, cracked, awful.  And so, I gave up.  I was out of patience, and out of almond flour.  And that stuff isn’t cheap.

Then I happened to read Broma Bakery’s post on macaron making, which addressed the difference between French meringue (uncooked egg whites) and Swiss meringue (warmed egg whites).  By warming the egg whites and sugar in a double boiler until the sugar dissolves, and then whipping the meringue into stiff peaks, the result is a much more stable macaron batter that isn’t nearly so finicky. I was intrigued, and decided I had to give macaron making another try.

This time, I was so sure I’d be able to make a successful batch of macarons, I even used my reserved bottle of good vanilla bean paste in the batter. And they were the most perfectly lovely and completely delicious vanilla bean French macarons.

Ingredients

• 100 grams super fine almond flour
• 100 grams powdered sugar
• 100 grams egg whites (3 large egg whites)
• 100 grams granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste or 1/2 of a vanilla bean, seeds scraped

Equipment and Tools

• Food Scale
• Baking Sheet + Parchment Paper
• Double Boiler (Saucepan and a Metal Bowl)
• Stand Mixer + Whisk Attachment
• Piping Bag + Tip #2A

Instructions

Prepare your baking sheet and template.

• First prepare your baking sheet with a parchment paper template.  Turn your parchment over and use a coin, cookie cutter or another round item measuring 1 1/2 inches in diameter and a marker to trace circles onto the paper, leaving about an inch in between each circle.
• Flip the paper back over (so that the marked side is underneath and does not touch the macarons). You should be able to see the circles through the paper and use them as a guide when piping your macaron batter.

Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar.

• Weigh out the almond flour and powdered sugar, then sift together into a bowl, through a fine mesh sieve.

Cook the egg whites and granulated sugar.

• Set a pan or stock pot filled with a few inches of water on the stove and bring to a simmer.
• Weigh out the egg whites and granulated sugar into a heat proof metal mixing bowl.  When the water is simmering, set the bowl over the hot water and whisk constantly, until the sugar is completely dissolved (feel it with your finger to make sure there’s no grittiness from the sugar remaining) and the egg whites are frothy; this should take about 2 minutes.

Whip the meringue to stiff peaks.

• Now scrape the mixture into the bowl of your stand mixer.  Using the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites and sugar on medium speed until frothy, then add the cream of tartar. The cream of tartar stabilizes the meringue.
• Whip on high speed until the meringue forms stiff peaks that do not flop over when you lift the whisk out; this could take 5-10 minutes.
• Scrape the bowl down occasionally and check if you have stiff peaks, then continue whipping until the meringue is stiff.

Mix in the remaining ingredients.

• Now remove the bowl from the mixer. Add the vanilla, and 1/3 of your dry ingredients, folding everything together with a spatula until combined. Add the remaining dry ingredients.
• Continue to fold the batter using the correct macaronage technique, making sure to also press the batter against the side of the bowl (to remove excess air and prevent hollow macarons), until the batter is ribbony, flows slowly like lava, and you can drizzle a figure 8. Count 30 seconds to see if the batter starts to disappear into itself after you drizzle the batter into the bowl.
• This video showing how to fold macaron batter in real time is the best demonstration for learning how to master this technique.

Pipe the macaron batter onto your template.

• Fit a piping bag with a large round piping tip (I used Wilton #2A) and scoop the batter into the bag.
• To pipe your macarons, position your tip directly in the center of your template, perpendicular to the baking sheet (holding the tip at an angle can result in an oblong or misshapen macaron).  Squeeze the batter just until it almost fills the circle, then release the pressure from your hands and give a quick swirl on top (there are many, many YouTube videos you can watch to see the technique).
• After you’ve piped all the macarons, bang the pan firmly against the counter 5-6 times to pop any air bubbles; rotate the pan and bang it again.

Dry the piped macaron batter.

• Now you need to let the macarons sit and dry on the counter for 30 minutes before baking.
• While the macarons are drying, preheat the oven to 300, making sure a rack is positioned in the center of the oven, not too near the top or bottom heating elements.

Bake your vanilla bean French macarons.

• Bake the macarons for 14-15 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.  Cool the macarons on the pan for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Tips for Making Perfect Macarons

1. Let your egg whites “age” a bit by separating the yolks from the whites and storing the whites in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for a day or two.  This step will dehydrate the whites a little, allowing for a better stiff meringue.
2. Unlike every other recipe on my site which uses American volume measurements, I’ve only included weights for the ingredients in this recipe.  This is because precision is crucial to the success of macarons.  A kitchen scale isn’t very expensive, but if you don’t have one, you can look up the weight-to-volume conversions of the ingredients.  But I highly recommend weighing your ingredients.
3. Be sure to sift the almond flour and powdered sugar through a mesh sieve to ensure it’s lump-free.  If you don’t, you could end up with lumps in your batter, which don’t make for a pretty macaron.
4. Watch the consistency of your batter carefully after you mix the almond flour and powdered sugar into your meringue.  Do not under-mix or over-mix; the consistency should be very viscous, like slowly-flowing lava.
5. After piping your macarons, do not skip the step of banging your pan several times on the counter to pop the air bubbles.  Not just a gentle tap; give it a hard bang.  Then let them dry at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.
6. Once the cookies are baked, cooled and filled, they should be stored in the refrigerator.  Cold from the fridge, they’re wonderfully soft and chewy.  They can even be made in advance and frozen for later.

Chocolate Buttercream Filling

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/3 cup unsweetened, Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp meringue powder
• 1/8 tsp coarse Kosher salt
• 1 tbsp milk or cream, if needed

Instructions and Assembly

• With an electric mixer, mix the chocolate buttercream ingredients on low to combine, then beat on medium speed for 4-5 minutes until very light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl down occasionally, and only add the milk if needed for desired consistency.
• Now inspect your macarons, separating the best ones from the less-than-perfect ones.  The pretty ones can be used for the tops, and any that may have cracked, or have little bumps, etc, can be used for the bottoms.
• Match up your tops and bottoms, according to size.  Pipe the buttercream onto one half, then press the other cookie on top.  Store the filled cookies in the refrigerator or freezer in an airtight container.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are macarons so expensive?

• Macarons are more expensive than other cookies due to the time, skill and expertise required for making them. Almond flour is several times more expensive than other flour, which also contributes to the expense.

Can I make my own almond flour?

• Sure, you can. You have to blanch the almonds first (to remove the brown skins), and then grind them in a food processor until fine. In my experience, though, this process isn’t as straightforward as it sounds, and it’s not that easy to get the right consistency of ground almonds that are as fine as you need to make macarons. They tend to be far too coarse, or start to turn into almond butter. I’d rather just buy the almond flour, personally.

What do macarons taste like?

• They taste very sweet, with a nutty almond flavor. Real vanilla bean adds wonderful flavor to these vanilla bean French macarons.

Should macarons be soft or crunchy?

• When baked correctly, the outer shell of a baked macaron will be crisp and smooth, but inside it should be moist and chewy. It should not be hollow. They should have ruffly “feet” around the bottom edge of the cookie.

How should I store leftover macarons?

• French macarons can dry out and become stale quickly if stored at room temperature. You should keep the cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze them for 3-6 months.

Why did my macarons turn out flat and crispy?

• It’s likely that you over-mixed the batter. You should stop mixing just when the batter becomes viscous, flowing like lava.

Why are there no feet on my macarons?

• If your macarons don’t have feet, it could be because your batter is too wet.
• Make sure you’re using aged egg whites.
• Avoid adding too much liquid flavoring and coloring.
• Be sure to let your piped macarons dry prior to baking, especially if you live in a humid climate, so they develop a skin.

What food coloring is best to use for coloring French macarons?

• Only use gel food colorings. Do not use water-based liquid food colorings.

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