It is time to create some absolutely beautiful and delicate macarons with this French Vanilla Macarons recipe.
Not only do they show off nicely, but they taste like Heaven.
You know what I love most about french macarons? How beautiful they are. They really show off so well. You can change up the colors and photograph macarons in every shade of the rainbow.
They are delicate and oh-so-amazing. The first bite is a light and flaky cookie. As you continue to eat them, you discover the sugary filling which is basically sugar, egg whites, and vanilla.
The substance of the macarons is in what you don’t experience: heavy flour or a filling that is overly rich.
These are pure perfection. I love making them for my family and seeing them disappear. It just means I have to make more.
Here are some more of our favorite macaron recipes. We even made a Keto macaron recipe with no sugar.
Vanilla Macarons Shopping List
You might think that there are a ton of ingredients, but there aren’t. Surprisingly, there are only 7 ingredients:
- Powdered Sugar
- Almond Flour
- Egg Whites
- Salt
- Granulated Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
Tools & Supplies
Stand Mixer with Whisk Attachment
Baking Sheets with Parchment Paper
How to Make Vanilla Macarons
Macaron shells can be a bit tricky to make, but with these steps hopefully they will be a bit simpler.
Line a few trays with parchment paper. You will need at least two, depending on the size of your trays.
Normally I use silicon baking mats however, after a few tests I found that they tend to trap too much moisture. The goal is to have a perfectly dried out macaron.
Start by placing the almond flour, powdered sugar, and a half teaspoon of salt into a food processor.
Sift the Almond Flour
Although your almond flour might say that it is “finely ground” it still needs further processing.
This helps avoid lumpy macarons. Pulse a couple dozen times and you should be able to tell that the mixture is more powdered than it was.
Using a sifter, tip the almond flour mixture into the food processor out and gradually sift the dry ingredient mixture into a bowl.
This step is very important and also helps with getting a smooth top on the macaron. Once you are done, set the dry ingredients aside.
Carefully crack three eggs into a bowl without puncturing the yolk. Using clean hands, scoop out the yolk one by one and hold it above the bowl so that all of the egg white slides off.
Repeat this with the two remaining yolk. I tried using a carton of egg whites for this step, however it can be difficult to figure out the exact volume of three egg whites.
Although some information lists it as 30mL per egg white, I found it to be just over 40ml per egg white with the eggs I was using.
Add a half teaspoon of salt to the egg whites and begin to whip using the whisk attachment. Cream of tartar is also traditionally used as a stabilizer.
Whip the egg whites on high speed until they get fluffy and add the granulated sugar and vanilla extract. Continue to whip them until you get stiff peaks.
Sometimes you will get peaks that appear stiff, but if they tip over at all, they are not stiff enough. Properly whipped, the egg whites, now a meringue, will not come out of a bowl even if you tip it upside down.
Grab a spatula and begin adding the dry mixture to the meringue a quarter at a time.
When adding it, make sure to fold the merginue and dry mix together by scooping from the bottom of the bowl upwards and folding it over.
Continue this until all is incorporated and keep folding. You will know it is ready by doing the figure 8 test.
This means you can dip the spatula and pick it up and to a complete, continuous figure as the batter drips off.
Use a little dot of the batter on the underside of the four corners of parchment paper. This helps keep the paper in place while you are piping the macaron batter.
Fill a piping bag with a half inch tip and begin piping small, walnut sized circles of batter onto the parchment paper.
Give each bit of piped batter space in case it spreads slightly. Depending on the size of your baking tray, you may be able to fit 6-8 per tray. Once you finish one tray, set it aside, and start on the next.
Pick up each tray and drop them onto the counter lightly to knock any loose air out from under the macarons.
When all the batter has been piped, let it sit on the counter for at least 30 minutes.
This is an important step! It causes a film to form over top of the macaron, and will help it retain it’s shape while it is baking.
If you don’t do this, the result might not look as close to what you envision when you picture a macaron.
While waiting, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Place the first tray in and bake for 15-18 minutes. Do not be tempted to open the over door while it is baking, because this can result in an uneven bake.
Take the macarons out. If they are not perfectly dried out, then you can pop them back into the over for a few more minutes.
You will be able to tell when they are ready because they will come off the parchment without sticking at all.
Let them cool completely before adding any filling. You can use any number of fillings, including piping a layer of butter cream.
You can freeze macarons in an airtight container for for up to two months.
What’s the Difference Between Macarons and Macaroons?
Don’t confuse macarons with macaroons. It’s easy to mistype them, but they are very different to make and eat.
A macaron has an egg-shell like crust and is filled with a meringue or buttercream.
A macaroon is chewier, with lots of sugar and normally features coconut.
Equipment You Will Need
To make these macarons, I recommend getting a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch tip. If you don’t have one, you can either spoon round dollops of batter onto the baking sheet or make a pastry bag by snipping off one corner of a large resealable plastic freezer bag.
What is the Filling for Macarons?
There are a number of filling options for macarons. Many times, a simple buttercream can suffice. Chocolate and white chocolate ganache can also be used. You can also create another batch of meringue to use as a filling.
Vanilla Macarons Recipe
Are you ready for my vanilla macarons recipe? Here’s a printable recipe card. Don’t forget to pin this post so you can find it again. After making these once you’ll want to make them for lots of other events.
Vanilla Macarons Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Cup powdered sugar
- 1 Cup almond flour or almond meal
- 1 tsp Salt
- 3 egg whites large, room temperature
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line a few trays with parchment paper. You will need at least two, depending on the size of your trays. Normally I use silicon baking mats however, after a few tests I found that they tend to trap too much moisture. The goal is to have a perfectly dried out macaron.
- Start by placing the almond flour, powdered sugar, and a half teaspoon of salt into a food processor. Although your almond flour might say that it is "finely ground" it still needs further processing. This helps avoid lumpy macarons. Pulse a couple dozen times and you should be able to tell that the mixture is more powdered than it was.
- Using a sifter, tip the contents of the food processor out and gradually sift the dry ingredient mixture into a bowl. This step is very important and also helps with getting a smooth top on the macaron. Once you are done, set the dry ingredients aside.
- Carefully crack three eggs into a bowl without puncturing the yolk. Using clean hands, scoop out the yolk one by one and hold it above the bowl so that all of the egg white slides off. Repeat this with the two remaining yolk. I tried using a carton of egg whites for this step, however it can be difficult to figure out the exact volume of three egg whites. Although some information lists it as 30mL per egg white, I found it to be just over 40ml per egg white with the eggs I was using.
- Add a half teaspoon of salt to the egg whites and begin to whip. Cream of tartar is also traditionally used as a stabilizer.
- Whip the eggwhites until they get fluffy and add the granulated sugar and vanilla extract. Continue to whip them until you get stiff peaks. Sometimes you will get peaks that appear stiff, but if they tip over at all, they are not stiff enough. Properly whipped, the egg whites, now a meringue, will not come out of a bowl even if you tip it upside down.
- Grab a spatula and begin adding the dry mixture to the meringue a quarter at a time. When adding it, make sure to fold the merginue and dry mix together by scooping from the bottom of the bowl upwards and folding it over. Continue this until all is incorporated and keep folding. You will know it is ready by doing the figure 8 test. This means you can dip the spatula and pick it up and to a complete, continuous figure as the batter drips off.
- Use a little dot of the batter on the underside of the four corners of parchment paper. This helps keep the paper in place while you are piping.
- Fill a piping bag with a half inch tip and begin piping small, walnut sized circles of batter onto the parchment paper. Give each bit of piped batter space in case it spreads slightly. Depending on the size of your baking tray, you may be able to fit 6-8 per tray. Once you finish one tray, set it aside, and start on the next.
- Pick up each tray and drop them onto the counter to knock any loose air out from under the macarons.
- When all the batter has been piped, let it sit on the counter for at least 30 minutes. This is an important step! It causes a film to form over top of the macaron, and will help it retain it's shape while it is baking. If you don't do this, the result might not look as close to what you envision when you picture a macaron.
- While waiting, preheat the over to 300 degrees.
- Place the first tray in and bake for 15-18 minutes. Do not be tempted to open the over door while it is baking, because this can result in an uneven bake.
- Take the macarons out. If they are not perfectly dried out, then you can pop them back into the over for a few more minutes. You will be able to tell when they are ready because they will come off the parchment without sticking at all.
- Let them cool completely before adding any filling. You can use any number of fillings, including piping a layer of butter cream.
More Dessert Recipes
Want more baking inspiration? Here are some of my favorite recipes.
Vanilla Macarons Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Cup powdered sugar
- 1 Cup almond flour or almond meal
- 1 tsp Salt
- 3 egg whites large, room temperature
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line a few trays with parchment paper. You will need at least two, depending on the size of your trays. Normally I use silicon baking mats however, after a few tests I found that they tend to trap too much moisture. The goal is to have a perfectly dried out macaron.
- Start by placing the almond flour, powdered sugar, and a half teaspoon of salt into a food processor. Although your almond flour might say that it is “finely ground” it still needs further processing. This helps avoid lumpy macarons. Pulse a couple dozen times and you should be able to tell that the mixture is more powdered than it was.
- Using a sifter, tip the contents of the food processor out and gradually sift the dry ingredient mixture into a bowl. This step is very important and also helps with getting a smooth top on the macaron. Once you are done, set the dry ingredients aside.
- Carefully crack three eggs into a bowl without puncturing the yolk. Using clean hands, scoop out the yolk one by one and hold it above the bowl so that all of the egg white slides off. Repeat this with the two remaining yolk. I tried using a carton of egg whites for this step, however it can be difficult to figure out the exact volume of three egg whites. Although some information lists it as 30mL per egg white, I found it to be just over 40ml per egg white with the eggs I was using.
- Add a half teaspoon of salt to the egg whites and begin to whip. Cream of tartar is also traditionally used as a stabilizer.
- Whip the eggwhites until they get fluffy and add the granulated sugar and vanilla extract. Continue to whip them until you get stiff peaks. Sometimes you will get peaks that appear stiff, but if they tip over at all, they are not stiff enough. Properly whipped, the egg whites, now a meringue, will not come out of a bowl even if you tip it upside down.
- Grab a spatula and begin adding the dry mixture to the meringue a quarter at a time. When adding it, make sure to fold the merginue and dry mix together by scooping from the bottom of the bowl upwards and folding it over. Continue this until all is incorporated and keep folding. You will know it is ready by doing the figure 8 test. This means you can dip the spatula and pick it up and to a complete, continuous figure as the batter drips off.
- Use a little dot of the batter on the underside of the four corners of parchment paper. This helps keep the paper in place while you are piping.
- Fill a piping bag with a half inch tip and begin piping small, walnut sized circles of batter onto the parchment paper. Give each bit of piped batter space in case it spreads slightly. Depending on the size of your baking tray, you may be able to fit 6-8 per tray. Once you finish one tray, set it aside, and start on the next.
- Pick up each tray and drop them onto the counter to knock any loose air out from under the macarons.
- When all the batter has been piped, let it sit on the counter for at least 30 minutes. This is an important step! It causes a film to form over top of the macaron, and will help it retain it’s shape while it is baking. If you don’t do this, the result might not look as close to what you envision when you picture a macaron.
- While waiting, preheat the over to 300 degrees.
- Place the first tray in and bake for 15-18 minutes. Do not be tempted to open the over door while it is baking, because this can result in an uneven bake.
- Take the macarons out. If they are not perfectly dried out, then you can pop them back into the over for a few more minutes. You will be able to tell when they are ready because they will come off the parchment without sticking at all.
- Let them cool completely before adding any filling. You can use any number of fillings, including piping a layer of butter cream.
Where is the recipe??? It will not open.
This recipe looks lovely, and I am about to try it. However there is one glaring mistake that should be corrected by the author. Instruction number 7 and instruction number 9 are identical. Instruction number 7 needs to be deleted because it is in the wrong placement. If you check it out you’ll see exactly what I mean. Best wishes to all! And thank you for this recipe!
I have updated the post and the recipe to account for any issues. Let me know what you think.
I’m not sure which instructions you are looking at but they are totally different.
Everything is fixed and updated to make it easier to understand exactly what to do.
These look so pretty! Yum! Pinned! Thank you for sharing on Merry Monday! We hope you will join us again next week!
Kim
Just pinned to make later! I loove vanilla macarons!
Thank you so much!
Is #7 and #9 the same? Should #7 be omitted?
Yikes! Seems like there’s something wrong with this recipe?!? Pipe some and then add the flour mixtures? I’m SO confused!!! Guess I’ll search for a new recipe? And yes, what about filling?
These are probably delicious… but I couldn’t finish with the given recipe. Please update!
I have updated the post and the recipe to account for any issues. It is very detailed and should guide you much better now. Let me know if you have questions.
How about the filling?
Thats what I was wondering too
I added filling ideas and will be working on more recipes for the fillings. Right now, I have an easy butter cream linked above.
Me too. Where is the filling????
I have added filling ideas and will be working on more recipes for the fillings. Right now, I have an easy butter cream linked above.
I’ve always been intimidated by macarons, but I think with the recipe I will give them a shot. This looks great.
ummmm don’t follow this recipe
I am so sorry you feel that way. I did my best and have worked thru any kinks that were present previously. The update instructions are very detailed and should guide you much better now. Let me know if you have questions.
I made the recipe and had to modify it as follows.
1. Had to add one more beaten egg white. With only three it was dry and stiff. A fourth made it flow easier.
2. I lowered the temp to 325. At 350 the heat cracked the surface and the center wasn’t cooked.
3. Once I made these adjustments the cookie was perfect.
When did you add in the dry ingredients?
I have updated the post and the recipe to account for any issues. It is very detailed and should guide you much better now. Let me know if you have questions.
I’m so upset as I was so excited to try this. My mistake for not reading thru the recipe, but you make no mention of adding in the dry ingredients? I didn’t know if I added it in with the sugar and vanilla or what? Has to through this all away.
I am so sorry. I did my best and have worked thru any kinks that were present previously. The update instructions are very detailed and should guide you much better now. Let me know if you have questions.
Dry and cracked on top?? What?!?
I am not sure what you are asking. I have worked thru any kinks that were present previously. The update instructions are very detailed and should guide you much better now. Let me know if you have questions.
I just made these macarons yesterday and they came out fabulous. I didn’t alter anything. Thank you! This was my first attempt at macarons and I was thrilled to find it so easy.
That is wonderful. SOO HAPPY TO HEAR THAT! We worked really hard on this recipe!
If you can’t say something nice. Then don’t say nothing at all. I love how some people have the worse food etiquette. People and there opinions today. You have a great day.
Thanks Judy! I appreciate the LOVE! 🙂
So I’m going to try again but I also think I needed another egg white. The batter was very thick. I did pipe them out and bake them but they didn’t rise. They almost looked like they melted. However I will say that I still tasted them because I see no use in wasting a good snack and the flavor was delicious. Going to try with another egg white and hope they rise this time.
Don’t know if I’m doing something wrong or what? I followed the steps exactly and at 300° my macarons continued to stick to the parchment, even after 20 min in the oven. Any recommendations?
Thank you! This was only my second time making macarons (after a major fail the first time around) so I was a little nervous! Your instructions were very clear and easy to follow. My first batch cracked on top and collapsed on me so I figured I didn’t let them sit long enough and my oven was too hot. I lowered my oven temp to 275 degrees F and my second batch came out great! They were so yummy and I can’t wait to try again!
Were the macarons completely cool when you tried to take them off? I know I get impatient to eat them. If they were cool, you might need to bake them longer. Not all ovens are created equal and they might need a little more time.
I made these today!! Thank you so much for the recipe.
I measured the egg whites 120ml for this recipe. For me that was about 3 3/4 eggs. I believe that makes a huge difference. To many egg whites makes is spread.
I sifted after I measured then I used the food processor then I sifted again. Time was more 18-19 mins via convection oven. Make sure you let them cool for awhile before trying to peel off parchment paper.
Other than those comments ya added, I followed everything to this recipe.
So happy to hear that!! 🙂
I always try the recipes and I feel happy, but this one was the worst, I’m just disappointed… 😞😞😞
I’m sorry. What was the problem? Tell me and we can troubleshoot.
This was my first attempt at macarons. They seem to be very runny and they spread out a lot. Did I miss a step? Is this a common issue with first timers?
I was feeling brave and wanted to try to make macaroons, (honestly figuring it might be a train wreck but being okay with that) BUT the instructions were so clear and I ended up extremely happy with my first try! Thanks so much!!
My second batch turned out great but before I did 300 C and burnt them because for C it is actually 150. If you add 150 C as well as 300 F the recipe is amazing.
I love macarons
I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong on these. I’ve tried them twice now and my batter comes out too thin/it’s the right consistency when mixing, ribbon, but when I go to pipe they completely flatten out. They end up flat cookies both times. I notice your meringue uses less granulated sugar than other recipes I’ve used and more powdered sugar with the almond flour. Has anyone else had a similar issue? Did you adjust ingredients?
I made this recipe with my friend and they turned out great! The recipe was easy to follow:) We needed to reduce the baking time and we piped them larger than 1/2 in.
I would definitely use this recipe again
I’ve tried this recipe many times and it hasn’t worked once not sure what is happening it seems that are melting. I feel like there is too much powdered sugar in the batter.
We made these yesterday and it went very well! 🙂 17 minutes was a bit too long for our oven, even 15 seemed to long they got a crispy shell. We will absolutely try them again and some flavors too. 🙂 Maybe even a bit more egg white. The egg whites took way longer than I anticipated to thicken up. Lots of fun. Thanks.
This looks so good! What a fun treat to make for friends to enjoy!
Thanks for sharing! Do they keep long?