Small-Batch Macarons

French macarons, no fail! A small batch of French macarons made with a secret ingredient from a pastry chef for perfect results, every time!

There is a little-known secret in the macaron world about how to achieve perfect macarons, every single time. This one little trick takes them from finicky to perfect results on the first try.  I learned it from one of my baking idols, Anne Thornton. She used to have her own Food Network show, and I'm still sad about it being cancelled. She shared this trick for perfect macarons, and I've been a devotee ever since.

The secret to perfect French macarons, every time:

Anne's trick is to add 1 tablespoon of meringue powder for each egg white. The meringue powder stabilizes the egg whites, and helps them thicken properly so that you get perfect macarons, even on your first try. I'm serious! Go check out the comments on all of my macaron recipes--they're full of people in shock that the recipe worked.

Last week, I decided that this trick meant I was 'cheating' at macarons, so I tried another well-known recipe on the internet. It failed so miserably. Twice. And I used the f-word on instagram because of it. It was a dark, dark week.

However, I'm back to only using this recipe for macarons, and now I don't need soap for my mouth.

I actually doubled the recipe the other day, just to see if it holds true. It does. Even though meringue powder requires a special trip to the store, it's a lot closer than my local patisserie. Meringue powder is essentially just dried egg whites. It's easy to find at a hobby or craft store because cake decorators make fondant and royal icing with it.

You can scale this recipe up or down, just make sure to add 1 tablespoon of meringue powder for each egg white.

Speaking of egg whites, they should be old. Separate your egg(s), cover the whites, and age them in the fridge for at least a week. When you're ready to bake, let them come to room temperature on the counter for a few hours.

How do you pronounce macaron?

Do you know how to pronounce 'macaron'? I saw mack-a-ron, like my friend 'Ron.' But I hear 'macaroon' all the time, even in French bakeries.

For Christmas, I bought myself a macaron kit. (Yes, I always buy myself gifts, and I see nothing wrong with it). The kit had a rubber mat to help you pipe out perfect macs and this little brown squeezy thing (photo below) to help you pipe. The rubber mat let me down--it actually curled with the heat of the oven and made macarons slide everywhere (another reason I used the f-word last week), but this little brown squeezy thing, I love. I love that you can load the batter into a large area (just unscrew the clear part), and the tips are so easy to attach and clean. It actually came with a lot of tips, and I want to try it out for cake and cookie decorating. If you don't have a speciality piping bag, just use a ziplock bag (try to use a sturdy freezer-safe one), and snip the tip off to make a homemade pastry bag. The best part about using a ziplock bag is that you don't have to clean it up, just toss it in the trash.

One more little thing about these cookies: the batter is thick. While it seems hard to squeeze out because it's so thick, it will still settle into perfect little circles. Hold the bag/squeezy thing directly over the baking sheet, squeeze until you have a cookie about the size of a fat Hershey's Kiss, and the move on to the next cookie. While you pipe the whole sheet, the circles should flatten out and relax a bit.

One more fool-proof tip for this recipe: after you pipe out the cookies, you're going to let them dry before baking. It seems weird, I know, but if you let the cookies set out until the top is no longer sticky, they will bake up perfectly.

Try dyeing these macaron black sometimes to make them spooky! My black macarons recipe is so perfect for Halloween.

I really hope I've convinced you to try homemade French macarons. I promise with everything I have that this recipe will work for you. The meringue powder tips makes them very forgiving, and the low temperature bake helps them bake slowly and evenly. If you follow this recipe exactly and it fails for you, I'll buy you dinner. Deal?

I'm going to paste the recipe below for a double batch, but if you need to make an even smaller batch and just use 1 egg white, feel free to scale it down. And oh yes, I still have small batch strawberry jam in my fridge from failed strawberry pâte de fruit, so that's what I stuffed these with.

Feel free to use Nutella, caramel, or stir some jam into buttercream. It's hard to go wrong here--fill the cookies with your dream filling.

Happy perfect little French macaron feet to you!

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