Welcome to howtocookthat.net.
I am Ann Reardon.
So you want to make the perfect macaroons; smooth shells, cute little foot around the
bottom, beautiful colors; so today I am going to answer all your macaroon questions.
2025474 says Can I please have the recipe quantities?
Yes you can if you go to the link below this video or below the macaroon recipe video there
is a link to the blog and all of the quantities are there for you.
VAngelBang: Someone said that macaroons taste better if you fill them with fillings and
leave them in the fridge overnight instead of eating them straight away, is that true?
Well if you fill it with a flavored ganache then that just gives a chance for the flavors
to incorporate through the shells as well, so yes they can taste better that way.
If youíre filling them with just whipped cream, then you don't want to do it the night
before because it is too much moisture and the whipped cream will absorb into the shells
and make them soggy so it depends what you are filling them with.
But if you eat them straight away they taste good anyway.
Blaze2001asks is there a way to make these without almond meal or almond flour, I am
allergic to nuts.
Yes there is, I have someone in my family that is allergic to nuts too so I've developed
a nut-free macaroon recipe where there is no nuts, there's no seeds of any sort in it.
Blackcornvest97 asks can you substitute the almond meal with anything else?
Yes, if you want the nut-free recipe then follow the link under this video to the nut-free
recipe otherwise you can use different ground nuts.
You can use ground hazelnuts, you can use ground pumpkin seeds or anything that's got
a similar nutritional composition to the nuts will work fine.
Paularjfv99 asks you fill them with chocolate g-what?
Chocolate ganache; it is a mixture of chocolate and cream.
If you go to the chocolate ginger macaroon recipe I show you how to make the ganache
there and how to flavor it so you can flavor it and not just for the ginger, you can use
it for whatever you like to flavour it there.
Eireader is asking is baking paper or greaseproof paper the same as non-stick paper?
No it is not.
So the non-stick baking paper is what you need to use so that the macaroons don't stick.
If you use just normal greaseproof paper, they are going to stick even when they are
done.
Craftsforyou asks can I add cocoa powder.
Yes you can and lots of other people have asked do you have a recipe for chocolate macaroons.
Yes just search for chocolate ginger macaroon recipe and you will find the recipe for chocolate
macaroons.
My macaroons don't have a foot, they more have a skirt.
They have a little bit sticking out around the edge.
That means your oven temperature is too low, you need to increase it.
Try increasing it by 10 degrees and see how you go.
SpikePanda asks what does rap the tray on the bench mean?
Rapping the tray on the bench means once you've piped the macaroons bang it firmly on the
bench a few times, turn the tray around and bang it firmly on the bench few times on that
side as well.
That helps the macaroons not to crack.
Khakichef96 says can I use liquid color?
Yes you can, but only a tiny amount.
You are better off using gel color or powdered color if you want strong colors.
Why can't you use liquid color?
Well if you add too much liquid color your macaroons aren't going to work, it adds too
much moisture to the recipe and they will turn out flat and lumpy.
My question is my macaroons turned out lumpy.
If your macaroons turned out lumpy they are likely to be under mixed.
To make sure that you are folding them carefully and making sure that all of that egg white
and all of that almond meal is evenly incorporated.
There shouldn't be any little lumps of egg white that you can still see.
If it is already looking runny and you can still see lumps well then you are probably
stirring not so much folding.
If you fold it, you go around the edge and around, then you are going to give yourself
more time to incorporate them more smoothly and evenly.
If you just stir you're going to have about 3 stirs before it gets runny and you are going
to end up with a lumpy and flat macaroon, it's not going to work.
Someone else asks I can't get a hold of caster sugar, can I use powdered sugar for both halves.
Yes you can, I've tried it, it works go for it.
Can I use normal sugar instead of caster sugar?
I've tried that as well and you get mixed results, sometimes it works, sometimes it
doesn't so you are better off using powdered sugar for both.
And can I use icing mixture?
Lots of people have asked that.
Yes you can, it doesn't have to be pure icing sugar, it can be icing mixture which is just
a icing, powdered icing sugar with a little bit of corn flour mixed in, they still work
fine, yes you can.
Jo says how do I flavor the macaroon recipe?
You don't usually flavor the shells when you are making the macaroons, you usually flavor
the fillings and as you leave them that flavor infuses through the whole thing.
The shells are quite finicky and if you add much to them they aren't going to work, especially
if you add anything liquid.
bookwormatstarbucks asks don't you have to leave them on the bench before you bake them?
No you don't.
I've experimented with this particular recipe leaving them on the bench for half an hour,
for two hours, for 10 minutes and its made no difference, the macaroons baked just the
same as if you put them in the oven straight away.
Agirlwholovestobake; great name; asks what is almond meal?
Almond meal is just almonds that have been blanched, the skin removed off them and then
they have been ground finely.
It is also called almond flour and you should be able to find it in most supermarkets markets.
mranimegirl1 says, I don't have a piping bag!
Thatís okay, you can still make them.
All you need to do is get a Ziploc bag, cut the corner off it and pipe with that.
I need to make 100 of these perfectly by tomorrow, can you help me please?
Well what you need to do is get practice and get it fast.
You make up one batch and as you are folding it, I want you to under fold it to the point
you know it's definitely not folded enough.
Put some spoons into a Ziploc bag and pipe out 3 or 4 macarons.
Then fold it a bit more, 5 or 10 more folds, put some more into a Ziploc bag and pipe them
out.
Repeat that until your mixture is all gone and then that is going to give you a good
indication and a good feel for exactly how much you need to fold your mixture, because
that is the main area where people run into trouble and make a mistake.
Bishonistas says can I put two trays in at a time.
You can.
I find the best results are you put one tray in on the top shelf and once they are looking
like they are nearly ready but they are still sticking to the paper the bases aren't quite
done, then move that tray down to the bottom and then put a new tray in on the top shelf
with the ones that are waiting to go.
Melisa says is your recipe in customary or in imperial cup units?
If you don't know what that means, Australia and the UK use a cup size of 250 mls and the
USA uses a cup size of 230 mls.
The recipe is using the Australian cup sizes, so 250 mls, but I have tested it with the
customary units as well and it still works.
Vincejust says can I use less sugar?
No you can't, theyíre not going to work.
Anisekeyjane says my egg whites don't whip up stiff and dry and they still look wet and
foamy.
That usually means that you've got some egg yolk in your egg whites.
Egg yolk works acts an emulsifier so that means that it allows the things that wouldn't
normally mix to mix together.
So egg whites and air don't mix that why you get all the bubbles, if you add egg yolk to
it, it allows them to mix so it doesn't form a proper foam.
Anna says can I use wheat flour?
No.
No, you can't.
Kathy says do I have to use a stand mixer?
No, you don't have to use a stand mixer, I use a hand mixer lots of times.
Jody5196 asks can you replace the egg whites with something else?
No you can't, sorry.
I hope you have fun making macaroons but even more fun eating them and sharing them with
your friends and family.
Enjoy!