Master the art of creating perfect Italian macaron shells with our foolproof guide, packed with easy-to-follow tips, colorful techniques, irresistible fillings, and more for your homemade macaron perfection!
More basic recipes? Give these a try, French meringue, French puff pastry, chocolate ganache.
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What are Italian meringue macarons?
Italian meringue macarons are fancy little cookies made by mixing hot sugar syrup with egg whites. They're known for their smooth tops, cute ruffled edges, and a nice chewy inside.
The French macarons made from French meringue are the simplest, mixing raw egg whites with sugar and almond flour, but it's less stable. The Swiss method heats egg whites and sugar first for a glossier, firmer texture, while the Italian method, using hot sugar syrup, creates the most stable but complex meringue.
People often go for the Italian meringue method when making macarons because it's more foolproof. It gives you a steadier batter, so you're less likely to end up with cracked or empty shells, and you get nice, smooth cookies every time.
Why you'll love this recipe
Ingredients you need
You need these ingredients to make Italian meringue macarons :
- Almond: Use almond flour ground almonds or almond meal, preferably blanched almonds.
- Powdered sugar: Simply use powdered sugar that you usually buy at the store, it's the same as icing sugar or confectioners sugar.
- Eggs: No need to age the egg whites to make this recipe. The whites and egg yolks separate better when cold and the whites rise better when they are at room temperature.
- Sugar syrup: A mixture of water and granulated sugar, use a cooking thermometer to control the temperature to be cooked to a soft ball.
Materials Needed
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Here are some quick visual instructions. Don't forget that full recipe instructions with exact ingredients can be found in the recipe card below!
Step 1: In a bowl, mix almond flour and powdered sugar until the mixture is homogeneous. If possible, blend the ingredients in a food processor for a few moments to obtain a fine powder.
Step 2: Add room-temperature egg whites to the almond mixture. Mix with a tablespoon until you get a homogeneous and compact almond paste mixture.
Step 3: Place room-temperature egg white in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and mix on medium-low speed until frothy.
Step 4: Meanwhile, place water and granulated sugar in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat to make hot syrup. Check the temperature with a cooking thermometer which should read 244°F/118°C.
Step 5: Reduce the speed of the stand mixer and add the hot sugar syrup in a drizzle on the edge of the bowl where the whipped egg whites are. Continue mixing at high speed for about 10 minutes until the Italian meringue is smooth and shiny and until stiff peaks form.
Step 6: Add a small amount of Italian meringue to the sugar and almond flour mixture and quickly add it with a spatula to loosen the mixture.
Add the rest of the meringue and gently fold with a rubber spatula in circular motions until you obtain a homogeneous macaron batter with a soft but still firm texture.
Step 7: Preheat oven to 160°C and line a perforated baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Fill the macaron batter into a large piping bag fitted with a 10 mm round tip.
Pipe balls, holding the piping bag vertically and spacing them about 5 cm apart. Hold the baking sheet with one hand and tap the bottom of the sheet with the other hand to release the air bubbles.
Step 8: Bake the Italian macaron shells, one sheet at a time, for about 12 to 14 minutes. Remove macaron shells from the oven and let them cool a bit on the baking sheet before trying to peel them off gently and let them cool completely on a wire rack.
>> Download and print: Macaron template
Best fillings for macarons
- Ganache fillings: Dark chocolate ganache, white chocolate ganache, salted caramel ganache, raspberry ganache, strawberry ganache, Coconut ganache.
- Buttercream filling : Swiss Meringue Buttercream, White Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream, Italian Meringue Buttercream, Russian buttercream, French buttercream.
- Fruit filling: Lemon curd, raspberry compote, strawberry compote, lemon blueberry compote.
- Cream cheese frosting
Tips for this recipe
Confident tip
Practice and Patience: Making Italian macarons can be challenging, so practice is essential. Don't get discouraged; each attempt teaches you more about the process.
Storage instructions
Storage of Macaron Shells: The shells of your Italian macarons can be stored for up to a week at room temperature, in an airtight container.
Storage of Filled Macarons: Once filled, the storage of macarons depends on the type of filling used. If the filling is cream-based or contains perishable ingredients, it's best to store them in the refrigerator. Otherwise, they can also be kept at room temperature.
Freezing Macarons:
Both shells and filled macarons can be frozen for up to 3 months. Place them in an airtight container, ideally in a single layer or with layers separated by parchment paper. When you're ready to enjoy them, thaw them in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
Variations & Substitutions
FAQ & Troubleshooting
They have almost the same name but they are totally different, macaroons are soft almond cookies while Parisian macarons are 2 smooth cookies sandwiched with a filling.
To color the shells use gel or powdered food coloring, avoid liquid coloring.
The main difference between French method macarons and Italian macarons is the method of making the meringue, with French macarons using French meringue and Italian macarons using Italian meringue.
No, you do not need to age egg whites for Italian macarons because the Italian meringue method used in Italian macaron recipes provides the stability required without this aging step.
Italian macaron shell can crack due to overmixing the batter, underbaking, or uneven heat distribution in the oven.
Hollow macarons can occur due to overmixing the batter or issues with oven temperature, resulting in air pockets inside the shells.
To color macaron shells, you can add gel food coloring gel or powder to the meringue mixture before folding in the almond flour and powdered sugar.
More Macaron Recipes
I hope you love these Italian macarons. If you make it, be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Happy Baking!
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Italian Macaron Recipe
- Total Time: 32 minutes
- Yield: 20 macarons
Description
Recipe for Italian macarons with Italian meringue for smooth and perfect shells (for about 20 macarons 40 shells)
Ingredients
- 100 g (1 cup) Almond flour - ground almond
- 100 g (1 cup) Powdered sugar - icing sugar
- 2 Egg whites - room temperature approx. 2 x 35 g
- 100 g (½ cup) Sugar - granulated
- 25 ml (1 ½ tbsp) Water
Instructions
- Blend the almond flour and powdered sugar together in a food processor for a few moments to get a smooth mixture, then place in a large bowl.
- Add a room temperature egg white and mix with a tablespoon or spatula until you have a compact mixture.
- Place the granulated sugar with the water in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat and control the temperature which should reach 118°C
- Meanwhile, place the other room-temperature egg white in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and mix at medium slow speed until the whites are frothy.
- When the syrup is ready, lower the speed of the mixer and drizzle the cooked sugar syrup over the edge of the bowl.
- Resume mixing at high speed and beat for about 10 minutes until the meringue is white, glossy and forms a stiff peak.
- Add a small amount of Italian meringue to the first almond and powdered sugar mixture and mix quickly to loosen the mixture.
- Add the rest of the meringue and mix this time with a spatula until the mixture is smooth and flexible, forming a long ribbon of batter.
- Preheat the oven to 160°C and line a baking sheet with baking paper or a silicone mat.
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a 10 round tip with all the macaron batter.
- Pipe mounds of batter onto the baking sheet covered with parchment paper, leaving about 5 cm between each ball (use the macaron template available for download in the post).
- Tap with one hand on the bottom of the baking sheet to release air bubbles.
- Bake the macaron shells in the oven on medium-high for about 12-14 minutes until lightly browned.
- Let the shells cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before gently peeling them off.
Notes
Storage: Place the shells in a storage box with a tight-fitting lid and keep them for 1 week in a dry place and up to 3 months in the freezer.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: macarons,cookies,
- Cuisine: French
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 macaron
- Calories: 68
- Sugar: 10.1 g
- Sodium: 3.1 mg
- Fat: 0.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 10.9 g
- Protein: 0.9 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
ahh the macarons I missed some before succeeding for sure
They're perfect ❤️ it's also the only recipe I use when I make macarons, thanks for the recipe.
Love your recipe and would like to try it. One question, it there a formula for how much cocoa powder to exchange for the almond flour and the same question for freeze dried fruit powders. Thank you, I want to get this right. suzie