About macarons

Macarons are delicate sandwich cookies with a slight crunch with an overall chewy texture as one bites through the dessert. That texture is what truly makes a macaron marvelous.

There are two main methods for making a macaron - the "French" method and the "Italian" method. The difference between the two is the way the meringue is made.

In the French method, egg whites are whisked until stiff-peaked meringue forms. From there, sifted, ground almonds and powdered sugar are folded in slowly until the desired consistency is reached. This process of knocking out air and folding is called macaronage.

The Italian method involves whisking the egg whites with a hot sugar syrup to form a meringue. Sifted almonds and icing sugar are also mixed with raw egg whites to form a paste. The meringue and almond paste are mixed together to form the macaron mixture. This method is often deemed more structurally sound yet also sweeter and also requires a candy thermometer for the sugar syrup.

Macarons are notoriously finicky. Beat your egg whites too little or too much and you're left with flat macarons. Fold in your powdered sugar and almond flour a few too many times and the tops crack. Even a rainy day (something completely out of your control) can ruin them.

Macarons last for 7 days at ambient temperature and for up to 7 weeks in the fridge, so they do have quite a good shelf life. However, when storing them at ambient temperature, it is probably best to keep them in an airtight plastic container, to keep as much air out as possible so that they don't dry out.

You can have home made macarons and they are by far more delicious because you can have them fresh and you can fill them with your favorite filling.