Cherry Macarons

Macarons are a notoriously tricky treat to make, and people can get fanatical about the right technique, tools, and ingredients. Truth be told, it took me 6 tries to get this recipe just right!

I mean, this process was some serious 24-hour macaron testing: different ratios of ingredients, different methods, new techniques! Finally, however, I managed to get a perfect macaron recipe that works like a charm and is super delicious.

Before we get into the recipe, here are some tips and tricks that helped me along the way and are sure to leave you with perfect macarons.

Leave Egg Whites Out Of The Fridge

Yes, this may sound strange, but leaving egg whites out of the fridge is the right way to start. Make sure to separate the egg whites, place them in a bowl, cover them with a kitchen towel, and let them sit on a counter for 24 hours.

This will help get rid of unnecessary moisture, leaving you with all the egg whites’ protein and benefits.

The eggs may have a bit of an odor, but I kept mine in the coldest part of my kitchen, far away from any heat source, so it was perfectly safe. 

Choose The Right Flour

Macarons are made with almond flour. If you accidentally use almond meal, you’ll notice a grainier texture and bits of almond skin, which are not ideal for macarons.

The perfect almond flour for the macarons needs to be super fine and made from blanched almonds. Make sure to look for this when buying almond flour.  

Sift Your Dry Ingredients

After your egg whites have been beaten to firm peaks, you’ll start to add the dry ingredients. Make sure to sift all of these into the egg whites instead of just dumping them straight in.

The sifting will help keep your macaron batter lump-free and smooth.

How To Check If Your Batter Is Ready

Making sure your batter is perfect can be the trickiest part of the macaron-making process

If your batter is too firm, you will get little peaks on your cookie and it will not spread. If your batter s too thin, the macarons will spread out too much.

To test the batter, you can lift some of it with a spatula and draw a figure 8 without breaking it, or simply by running a knife through the batter. When the knife line disappears after 10 seconds the batter is ready. 

Piping The Cookies

I’m sure you’ve seen the silicone mats with macaron templates on them (this one is my personal favorite). These are a fantastic way to get used to piping your own macarons.

Still, when I baked my macarons on the silicone mat, I discovered that because of the silicone they kept a little bit of moisture inside. Not the worst thing in the world, but I personally was looking for a crisper crunch with my macarons.

To fix this, I placed a piece of parchment paper on top of the mat, making sure that the template was still visible.

After I piped out the batter, I transferred the silicone mat onto the baking sheet, and then I gently pulled out the silicone mat underneath the baking paper.

This might seem like a bit of a convoluted process, but if you have the time and patience, this is a fantastic way to create the crispiest, most perfect macaron shells you’ve ever had!

Get Rid Of Any Air Bubbles

I cannot stress this enough; you need to make sure any air bubbles are out of your macaron batter.

After mixing, the macarons will have some air bubbles trapped in them. To get rid of these pesky bubbles, make sure you give the baking sheet a few solid taps on your kitchen counter so any trapped inside can escape.

This step is the difference between having macaron shells that either look like the surface of the moon or are perfectly smooth.

Drying The Macarons

So, up until now, we’ve covered the mixing and tapping process, which really only takes around 15 minutes. Perhaps the hardest part is letting them dry out (mostly because when I made these I couldn’t wait to try one!).

Leave macarons to dry out for at least 1 hour or until they are no longer sticky to the touch. 

Do I Need A Scale For The Macaron Ingredients?

I’ll be honest here; yes, you do. You can forget about cups with this recipe! We’re using grams to make sure we get the measurements just right.

You’ve been warned, but if you wanna use cups, you can try for yourself and see how it goes. Personally, I love to get out my scale and measure every gram correctly, just like the French pastry chefs do. 

How To Make Cherry Macarons

Step 1

Assemble your ingredients.

Separate egg whites into a clean bowl. Cover them with a paper towel and set them aside overnight.

In a mixing bowl, combine almond flour and powdered sugar.

Step 2

Beat egg whites together with a pinch of salt until soft peaks form. Add a few drops of lemon juice. Add granulated sugar and beat until firm peaks form.  

Fold in vanilla.

Step 3

Sift in almond flour and powdered sugar. Do this in 2 batches. Add 1/2 and mix with a handheld mixer. Add the 2nd batch and mix again. The batter is well mixed if you can lift it with a spatula and can draw a figure 8 without it breaking. 

Step 4

Fill the piping bag with the macaron batter. Pipe the batter on a silicone mat, a silicone mat with a macaron template, or baking paper that is on top of the silicone mat.

Pipe 1-inch of the batter. Make sure your piping bag is at a 90-degree angle.

Transfer the silicone mat with the parchment paper onto the baking sheet. Gently pull out the silicone mat underneath the paper. Tap the baking sheet few times on the kitchen counter. You will need two trays for this recipe.  

Leave the macarons for 1 hour to dry or until no longer sticky to the touch.
Preheat oven to 325°F.

Bake the macarons for 17 minutes. Remove them from the oven and let cool.

Step 5

In a saucepot, combine cherries, water, and sugar. You can use fresh or frozen and cherries. Cook until the cherries are soft. Puree the cherries using either a blender or immersion blender. Cook them for 1 minute more.

Step 6

In a bowl, beat together butter and powdered sugar.

Add cherry jam and beat with a mixer until smooth.

Step 7

Fill the piping bag with the cherry buttercream.

Pipe the filling onto 1-half of the macarons.

Step 8

Close with the macarons with the 2nd half.

Pipe small dots of the remaining cherry filling on top of the macarons. Add the sugar flowers. Brush the macarons with silver or gold edible glitter and serve! 

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