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I am a baker and used to teach classes on how to make macarons. Your instructions are great, but I would add just a couple of small hints.

Aging the egg whites is helpful. Just leave them uncovered in the fridge overnight. It reduces the amount of water in the egg white.

If you use parchment, you don’t need to butter it. Parchment has a little bit of silicone in it, so things don’t stick. Also, silpats work really well for macarons. If you use one, just dip your cookie cutter into flour and touch the silpat. It will leave just enough of a ring to show you how large to make your cookie.

When you whip your egg whites you want them to be glossy and stiff. Don’t overwhip them until they start to look dry and almost curdled. They will start to separate if you do, and be more difficult to fold into the flour mixture.

Folding until you get a ribbon is the key. And after you have piped them, leave them to dry a bit, until they have “set”. When they are set you can gently touch them and they won’t stick to your finger. Setting is what allows the cookies to form a “foot”. The time may vary depending on how humid it is in your kitchen.

We always filled them with an Italian buttercream (yummy). However, when you make it, be sure to use a European butter. American butter is made from sweet cream, and European butter is made from clabbered (soured) cream. Because of that, the European butter has more of a “tang” to it, and it is just wonderful in buttercream. When made with American butter, it just tastes like sweet grease.

Good luck. They are just yummy!

I am a baker and used to teach classes on how to make macarons. Your instructions are great, but I would add just a couple of small hints.

Thanks for the hints/tips. I especially like the one about making a ring with a cookie cutter dipped in flour.

As for butter, Plugra is the only European style butter in stores here. Is it okay for Italian buttercream?

I love watching baking trends..For awhile it was cupcakes, then macarons, wonder what's next..

Once again, thanks for your macaron tips.

Many thanks for the tips. They're already printed out and filed along with the recipes for next year.

This past week it's been really hot, and humid, here in the Tampa area. Baking all the Christmas cookies, I had the AC cranked all the way down, and it still took me three times longer than I figured, because had to pop the dough back into the freezer like every 5 minutes..

Tomorrow I'm baking several lemon meringue pies, and I'm wondering if you have any special tips/hints. Sometimes they come out perfectly..almost too pretty to eat, sometimes, not quite so.

Thanks again, and a Merry Christmas to you all..