One of the best French confections is the French macaroons, but they are also among the most difficult to successfully make. If the ingredients are not whipped long enough, the result will be a rough. Over mix and they will be flat.

As with many of the other delicious and impressive French Confections, it’s about finding the right recipe and following it closely. Once you have successfully made them a couple of times you can start to add your own personal touches.

Ingredients

- 1/3 cup Caster Sugar (add 1 tsp for US cups)

- 1 ½ cup Icing Sugar (add 4 tsps for US cups)

- 4 egg whites

- 1 cup Almond Meal (add 3 tsp for US cups)

- 1 pinch salt (2g or 0.07 oz)

- A filling (this can be ganache, butter cream, or butter and jam)

You can add Food Coloring to give them a different look. You will need non-stick baking paper for Step 5.

Directions

1. Set the oven to 300F.

2. Whip the caster Sugar and egg whites. The amount of time it takes will vary, but the mixture should be stiff. When it is done, you should be able to hold the bowl upside down without the contents spilling. After this, mix in food coloring for another 20 to 30 seconds.

3. Sift the icing sugar, almond meal, and salt two times into another bowl. Remove almond lumps that will not sift.

4. Fold the sifted ingredients into the dough. With a rubber spatula, this should take between 30 and 50 folds. The results should be a smooth mixture that is not runny or flat.

5. Pipe the mixture onto trays covered with baking paper.

6. Bake for 20 minutes. It should come off of the paper without sticking. If it sticks, let it bake longer.

7. Fill the macaroons with your chosen filling.

Of course with this delicious French confection, you don’t need to add filling. They are perfectly scrumptious on their own.