Vanilla Macaron Recipe

Easy vanilla macaron recipe made using the Swiss method and using the leftover egg yolks to make the best vanilla bean French buttercream!

Once upon a time, I wanted to learn how to make macarons so I invested like 3 months of my baking life into making 5-10 batches a week until they were both perfect and consistent.

Some of those recipes made it to the blog but I felt like my base macaron recipe needed a place to live first so I’ll go into detail about everything on this post and I’ll teach you how to get the best simple vanilla macarons that you can easily adapt into other flavors like double chocolate, white chocolate raspberry, and lemon with cream cheese.

Generally I think vanilla is a very mild flavor but this vanilla macaron recipe is anything but boring! The secret? Vanilla bean paste and French buttercream! 

How to make vanilla macarons

You know how I always say “this recipe seems intimidating but it’s actually really simple”?! Well, this is not the case here lol. I’m going to be straightforward with you and tell you that macarons can be a total pain in the rear end. 

But that’s why I’m here, (and literally every other troubleshooting macaron blog post out there) to help you. The key is to be very, very precise in following the directions and measuring the ingredients. 

It is possible to make macarons without a scale but 99% of the time your measurement is probably just slightly off and these finicky babies are not going to forgive you. Don’t get me wrong, even when macarons crack and look ugly, they’re still edible and delicious so don’t give up! & please don’t ever expect your first batch of french macarons to turn out perfectly because many times, it’s just technique and getting the hang of it…but it’s so worth it because homemade macarons>>>store/bakery bought macarons. 

I’ve even used this recipe to make Mini Macarons and a Macaron Cake!

Ingredients:

• Almond Flour: I’ve always used almond flour for macarons and don’t recommend swapping it. Technically you can swap it for other nut flours but they’re not all made equally and I haven’t tried any of them. I do recommend buying store bough almond flour as it’s usually more finely ground then making it at home.
• Sugar: You will need both powdered sugar and granulated sugar here, it’s just how it be. Make sure to sift your powdered sugar well with the almond flour.
• Egg Whites: I use large egg whites and they almost always are right at 100 grams (give or take 5 grams). They whip up better when they’re not cold but it should be fine either way. I have had success with carton egg whites in the past HOWEVER, I don’t recommend it as it’s less stable and a little more finicky that using fresh egg whites.
• Vanilla: For the best vanilla flavor, make sure to use a high quality vanilla extract, vanilla bean paste or real vanilla bean from a pod.

Step-by-Step Photos:

1. Weight out almond flour & powdered sugar
2. Whisk together almond flour & powdered sugar
3. Weight out sugar over egg whites in mixer bowl
4. Whisk egg whites and sugar over a double boiler until sugar is fully dissolved
5. Beat egg whites & sugar for 3-4 minutes, until stiff peaks form
6. Sift dry ingredients over meringue
7. Mix macaron batter by scraping the edge of the bowl with a rubber spatula and then folding down the center
8. Mix just until the batter is runny enough to form a full “figure 8” without breaking (DON’T OVER-MIX)
9. Place macaron batter in a piping bag fit with a medium sized circle tip
10. Pipe even sized macarons on prepared baking sheet
11. Bang the pan on the counter a couple of times to release any air bubble
12. Rest just until the oven is done preheating and bake one pan at a time, on the middle rack

The Swiss meringue method 

I’ve tested the French method, the Italian method and the Swiss method of macarons and I will 100% confidently say that the Swiss method is my favorite. I can’t take any of the credit for the base recipe though, as I learned this method from Sarah of Broma Bakery. You can read about her trip to Israel where she learned it in her white chocolate pistachio macarons post. 

To make a Swiss meringue, the granulated sugar gets dissolved in the egg whites over a double boiler and then the two get whipped into a meringue. The powdered sugar and almond flour get sifted together and then folded into the meringue, along with any other flavors or food coloring. 

The reason I like this method is because cooking the egg whites will always give you a more stable meringue, meaning it’s slightly more forgiving than an uncooked meringue. I also love this method because it’s so easy to remember the ratio of ingredients, just 100g of egg whites, granulated sugar, powdered sugar and almond flour. 

Making macarons using the Swiss method also doesn’t require the same resting that the French or Italian method requires. I usually just preheat my oven while I’m piping and let them rest just a few minutes before baking the first tray. 

Environment of making macarons

The environment in which you are making macarons can drastically change the results. In the beginning, I could never get the macarons right in the middle of summer, just because it was too humid. Knowing what your batter should look like at all times (comes with practice and experience) is what will give you consistent results. 

When the batter is ready to be piped, it should ribbon off the of the spatula and if you form a figure 8, it shouldn’t break. If it breaks halfway through, fold a few more times and then test again. If you can form a figure 8 more than once, it’s probably a little over-mixed. Sometimes, this can be salvaged by letting it rest for about 30 minutes or refrigerating it if it’s humid.

Extra tips and tricks

• 100% recommend a digital scale for measuring ingredients (except the egg whites, I use 3 large and it’s usually +/- 5 grams, which is fine). 
• Once you have stiff peaks in your meringue, don’t over whip. 
• There is no perfect number of how many folds are needed to get the right batter but there is a technique. In the step-by-step photos, you’ll see how I use a firm rubber spatula to push the batter against the edge of the pan and then scrape it back off the edge. I repeat that process until it ribbons into a figure 8 without breaking. The intention here is to push out the air bubbles so that you don’t have hollow or cracking macarons. 
• When you go to pipe the macarons, I usually have a slight “nipple” on them right away but it should disappear or be very faint after rapping the tray on the counter a few times. If it doesn’t go away, dab your finger into water and then gently press the nipple down and it’ll flatten. Remember this for next time, because the batter probably just needed a couple more folds. 
• If you’re having trouble and have tried it a few times, I recommend an oven thermometer. If your oven is off by even 10 degrees it can change the results. 
• I use a convection oven (with a fan) so I don’t find the need to rotate them in the oven halfway through baking but if they’re browning on one side more than the other, you can rotate them 7 or 8 minutes into baking. 
• Don’t try to remove the macarons from the pan right away, they can break. Allow them to cool on the pan for at least 10 minutes. 

What kind of filling to use for macarons

You can use any kind of filling that’s not too runny but I love to use up the leftover egg yolks to make French buttercream, especially for vanilla macarons. Vanilla is such a mild flavor that sometimes the buttercream can just be too buttery or too sweet but French buttercream gives it a more custardy flavor. Make sure to use good quality vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste or real vanilla beans from a pod for the best vanilla flavor.

Of course you can also swap the filling for any other buttercream like American or Swiss Meringue Buttercream but I don’t prefer it because American is so sweet and the cookies are so sweet and Swiss will use up more egg whites and you’ll be left with so many leftover egg yolks.

Chocolate ganache on the other hand, is a brilliant idea. I believe a 2:1 (chocolate:cream) ratio would be stiff enough to pipe once it has cooled completely. You can also whip the chocolate ganache if you want it less dense.

Cream cheese frosting also works and with any of these options, you can always pipe a border around the edge of the macaron and then fill in the center with a more runny filling like I did for my caramel macarons.

How to make different flavors of macarons

I don’t recommend altering the base of the cookie too much however, you can add pretty much any extract and/or food coloring that you’d like to change the flavor and color. For chocolate I do remove a little of the dry ingredients and add cocoa powder. For coffee, I add espresso powder. I haven’t tried adding freeze dried fruit or changing the type of nut used for the flour. I’m sure it’s possible but I would think it would take some trial and error.

You can alter the flavor of the buttercream however you’d like with extracts, jams, freeze dried fruit, etc. I have many different flavors of macarons on my site that use this macaron as the base but I’ll link a few below!

How To Store Macarons

First, I recommend refrigerating these for several hours or overnight before serving – this allows the flavors and texture to kind of marinate together first.

I recommend storing macarons in an airtight container, refrigerated for 3-4 days or frozen for a few months. I remove them from the fridge just 30-60 minutes before serving but that depends on personal preference and the type of filling you used (buttercreams can get really firm in the fridge and require more time to soften where as cream cheese frosting is a little softer, etc.)

If you have any questions, comment down below and if you found this post helpful to your macaron baking journey, I would really apreciate a 5 star rating or review.

Remember that practice makes perfect with these babies and they’re edible even when they’re ugly!

As always, have a blessed day and happy baking!

Love, B