Macaron Troubleshooting
While I’d love to think everyone’s first batch of French macarons will turn out perfectly, my own experience has taught me that’s not how things usually go. That’s why I’m sharing this macaron troubleshooting guide.
Macarons are incredibly temperamental, and it might take a few tries to get them just right.
It took me several batches to get them just right, with those perfect little feet and a smooth, shiny top.
Below are some of the issues I’ve run into when baking macarons, along with ways to prevent them from happening again.
Macaron Troubleshooting Issue #1: Why Do My Macarons Have Cracked Shells?
Cracked shells were the first issue I ran into when I started baking macarons.
A few different things can cause cracked shells, including too short of a rest, trapped air bubbles, too hot of an oven, or under-mixed batter.
Potential Fixes: Bang your pans firmly before resting your macarons, rest your macarons until they form a skin, check your oven for hot spots, or mix your batter slightly more.
Macaron Troubleshooting Issue #2: Why Are My Macarons Hollow?
Hollow macarons have big air pockets between the top of the shell and the base. This can happen when the meringue or batter is undermixed or if air bubbles get trapped before being baking.
Potential Fixes: Make sure you’re not under mixing your meringue/batter, or bang your pans firmly against your counter before letting them rest.
Macaron Troubleshooting Issue #3: Why Are My Macarons Sticking to My Baking Sheet?
Your macarons may stick to your mat/parchment paper if they’re underbaked, or if you didn’t let them cool fully before trying to remove them.
Potential Fixes: Let your macarons fully cool before trying to lift them, or bake them slightly longer.
Macaron Troubleshooting Issue #4: Why Don’t My Macarons Have Feet?
If your macarons don’t develop feet, it could be because your batter is too wet, your batter was over-mixed, or you didn’t let your macarons rest for long enough.
Potential Fixes: Try using aged egg whites, make sure you’re not using liquid flavoring/food coloring, or let your shells rest until they form a touchable skin (20-60 minutes).
Macaron Troubleshooting Issue #5: Why Are My Macarons Crispy/Hard?
Sometimes if your batter is overmixed, it causes your shells to spread more and bake up crispy. They may also just be overbaked!
Keep in mind that macaron shells soften once they’re filled and have time to mature in the fridge. Don’t be disheartened if they seem a bit firm once they’ve cooled.
Potential Fixes: Mix your batter less, bake your macarons for less time, brush the bottoms with milk, or fill them and see if the maturation process softens them.
Macaron Troubleshooting Issue #6: Why Are My Macaron Shells Brown?
There’s nothing worse than baking up a tray of macaron shells only to see they’ve browned! This is caused by overbaking or hot spots in your oven.
Potential Fixes: Turn down your oven temp by 5-10 degrees F, bake for slightly less long, bake with a pan above the macarons to protect them from the heat, or bake the macarons with two pans.
Macaron Troubleshooting Issue #7: Why Are My Macarons Uneven?
This can be caused by an uneven baking tray or mat, an oven that bakes unevenly, or from uneven piping.
Potential Fixes: Make sure you’re using a good quality pan and silpat mat, test your oven for hot spots, or take your time when piping and use a template to ensure your macarons are consistent in size and shape.
My Tips for Making the Best French Macarons
- Wipe your mixing bowl and whisk with lemon juice or vinegar. This removes any traces of grease before making your meringue and helps your egg whites whip up better!
- Separate your own eggs and age them if possible! Do not use egg whites from a carton.
- Measure your ingredients in grams with a kitchen scale. You really need to be precise with this recipe, and your macarons will turn out best if the ingredients are weighed.
- If you want to color your macarons, use gel food coloring! Liquid food coloring can throw off the consistency of the macaron batter.
- Use a macaron mat or print out a template to help you pipe consistently sized macarons.
- FIRMLY bang/drop your pans on your counter after piping your macarons. This helps release any air bubbles that may be trapped and prevents cracked or hollow shells.
- Rest the macarons for 30 minutes before they’re baked to allow them to develop a skin.
- Pipe a small number of macarons on a few sheets to test your oven for hot spots and see if it bakes accurately. This way, you won’t waste a whole tray of macs if your oven runs hot or cold.
- Let your macarons mature! Letting them rest overnight while they are filled softens them (in a good way) and allows the flavors to develop.
Making French Macarons in Advance & Storage Tips
French macarons need to mature overnight (or ideally 24 hours) in the fridge before being eaten! They taste best 24 hours after being made.
Filled Macarons can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days in an airtight container.
Filled Macarons can be refrigerated for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
Filled macarons can be frozen for up to a month, but the length can vary based on the filling.
Unfilled macaron shells can be frozen for up to a month in an airtight container.
Your filling can also be made ahead of time, or save any leftover filling! It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a month.
Let Me Know What You Think!
I hope you found this macaron troubleshooting guide helpful.
If you have any questions or issues I didn’t cover above, please leave a comment below. Hopefully, we’ll be able to figure it out together!
If you think the issue might be the recipe you’re using, I recommend trying my French macaron recipe! I walk through the recipe step by step and include a video tutorial that will help you master macarons once and for all!
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Thanlss for sharing your tips and secrets, I have tried 3 batches already of macaron recipes, but neither has developed a skin! I’ve waited several hours beforr baking and nothing, I’ve put a fan close to them as someone told me that I should do that and still nothing, what can I do?
I use this baking scheme:
Pop freshly piped shells into a 200 degree oven for 12 mins, then turn heat to 350 and let bake another 9-11 mins depending on your oven. The 200 degree baking will dry them. When timer goes off finally touch the top of a Mac and see if it wiggles. If it does then bake another 2 mins and recheck.
Thank you so much Gabrielle, will definitely try this!
@Gabrielle Russell,
Hi Gabrielle. The wiggles checking is at 350 degree or 200 degree?
My macarons always develop a ‘nipple’ when I pipe. How do I stop this?
@Janette Brendish, make sure your batter isn’t too thick before you start piping! The batter should fall in ribbons and dissolve into the rest of the mixture in ten seconds.
I tried your recipe today and am wondering if your macs never developed a skin or just took way way longer than what people have said it would take. My have been resting for almost an hour and a half and I got nothing. Help please!!
Please can you give us some tips of how to bake macarons in a gas oven? ?
I’ve been struggling from a long time! ?
Thanks for your tips! will definitely take them into consideration next time! ?
@Fatima,
Doesn’t look like she’s answering questions anymore. I have been baking them for years in my electric oven. Moved to FL. My oven is gas. They are not turning out!!! Lots of issues– cracking, no feet and burning. I think gas oven temperatures are not as accurate as electric, so I would check your oven temp first and make adjustments. I found mine was a full 25 degrees cooler than what I set it at. Secondly, gas ovens are more humid than electric ovens so this could be a problem. Meringue likes dry heat. Thirdly, because it’s so humid here in sunny FL, I am not getting a super dry skin on them when I rest them, even for over an hour. I have put a very mild fan on them to help but it didn’t seem to work all that well. If you are serious about baking them you might consider a table top electric convection oven. Get one with enough inner space for a decent size pan though– the small ones don’t work too well. I tried that too. I don’t have a lot of counter space so I am going to put it on a cart with wheels and store it away until I need to use it. Hope this helps.
@Fatima, I’m no expert but do have a gas oven & it’s a pain.Taken to getting an oven thermostat and did my first ever passable batch the other day on gas 2.5 middle of the oven but think for my oven it should have been gas mark 3. Sorry it really is going to be trial & error but definitely worth investing in an oven thermostat.
I have tried macs tonight for the 3rd time, (temperamental little buggers) My batter is thick every time, I dont get to the figure of 8 ribbon stage. Should I keep folding it in (scared of over mixing) or should I add a little more egg whites? I have been weighing my ingredients to the t but still no cigar ?
@Adel,
Well sometimes depending on the humidity it takes a long time to macronage to the correct consistency. Adding more egg whites may help– I would try a different recipe first. I have found the variation in ratio of almond flour, confectioners sugar and egg whites to be outrageously inconsistent from recipe to recipe. For being so “temperamental” as they say you would think the recipes would be more consistent. Sometimes if you have over beaten the egg whites (easy to do) they are too dry and then you can’t get the consistency.
@Adel, your almond flour brand will make a huge difference. I ran out of my regular brand I was using and the next bag I bought was a different brand. Every single batch was way too think and nothing saved them. But more egg white or even reducing the flour. Be sure you’re buying a good quality, it really does matter.
@Adel, keep mixing. drag the batter up the side of the bowl and let it flow down. you’re goal is to get some of the air out of the batter.
My batter turned out very think. Not sure what went wrong. It was my first try.
@Marlene, your almond flour brand will make a huge difference. I ran out of my regular brand I was using and the next bag I bought was a different brand. Every single batch was way too thick and nothing saved them. Not more egg whites or even reducing the flour. Be sure you’re buying a good quality, it really does matter. I use Bob’s Redmill superfine and it works well.
Thanks this was my most successful batch of macarons ever. The sails melted into the batter and the first batch baked with a beautiful shiny and smooth surface. The other 95% of my macarons baked with terrible cracks. The only batch that did not was the one that I air dried with a blow dryer however, the color in this batch looked off and there was no smoothness.
my macaroons came out hard and blackened bottom.. i was wondering what i did wrong? 🙁 what is the perfect way to make them?
That’s wild! Are you using a dark pan and parchment paper? I find using light colored pans (aluminum) and silicone mats helps prevent browning on the bottom of the shells a lot! It also might be that your oven runs warm? Is the pan on the middle rack of your oven? Sometimes if it’s too close to the heat source like on a bottom or top rack, that can also cause over browngin!
Good day. Do you have an online course to make Macarons. I would like this line to my business.
Theo
Fudge Queen Cakes and Decor
Hi Theo,
Sadly I don’t! But I share all my recipes on here with lots of tips on perfecting how to bake macarons. Sorry I can’t be of more help!
@Theo Spies, If you do some self research you can find videos on the Macaron making process.
How should I alter this recipe and technique for baking at a really high elevation? Does anyone have experience with this particular recipe at high elevation?
Hi Alison,
Sadly I’ve never baked macarons at high altitude, so I can’t help too much with that :/ But here’s a great article that walks through some tips: https://www.lespetitsmacarons.com/high-altitude-baking-tips
Hope that helps, happy baking!
How do I make my macarons fat mine are to thin?
Hi Laura,
If your macarons are baking up thin, it might mean that either your slightly over-mixing your batter so it can’t keep it’s shape once its piped, or you may be banging your pans too much and that might be causing them to overspread. I’d recommend trying to mix your batter a tiny bit less next time and see if that helps. Hopefully it does, fingers crossed your next batch!
Some of my Macarons seem undercooked when I look at the bottom. They batter still seems raw. The more I keep putting it in the oven the harder the shell gets. Should I be concerned about this matter or is it okay for me to leave it like that?
Hi Sanuli,
Are you able to peel them off the mat cleanly, or are they sticking? If they’re sticking I’d recommend baking them a bit longer, especially if the center seems raw!