I have been baking, baking, and more baking. One thing I have not been doing, as you might have noticed, was writing. I have like four different dessert recipes that I should put up here! We just had several birthdays and lots of guests over which means lots of opportunities for sweet treats. So today I am starting out with one of them, the pinnacle of baking (this is at least what I like to call it), Macarons. I made some several years ago with my mom and a friend who was very good at baking, but now, it seemed to be a different story. All alone and no one to support me with good advice, I might have been lost, if it hadn’t been for my dear friend…The Internet. I did a ton of reading beforehand to make sure I knew of any potential pitfalls. So in this recipe, I tried to also write down all the important steps and tricks that will make it a smooth and painless process so you too can have a successful time baking!

The Susslife Tip: Put the eggs in a bowl of warm water, so they are at room temperature. (Picture 9)

Recipe for about 50 Macarons

Ingredients:

Macarons:

100g peeled, ground almonds
110g powdered sugar
75g egg white (2 - 3 eggs) (at room temperature, they are easier to beat stiff that way)
1 pinch of salt
40g sugar
Yellow food dye (powder or paste are essential. Be careful of liquid dye, as that changes the consistency of the macaron dough too much)

Filling:

Juice of 1/2 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
110g soft butter
100g powdered sugar
120g cream cheese

You also need a pastry bag with a round nozzle.

Instructions:

Grind the almonds with the powdered sugar to a fine mix. (In a mixer or blender) Then sift it through a sifter, whatever doesn’t fall through, you can grind again. (Important step, so that the surface of the macarons is smooth) (Picture 1 + 2)
Beat the egg white with the salt. (Measure the egg white exactly, to make sure your mixture has the right consistency.) Slowly add sugar and mix well until the mixture is pointy when you remove the mixer) (Picture 3) Now add the food dye and mix for another minute. (Picture 4)
Add the almond mixture in 3 steps and carefully mix it with the egg white until it almost seems gooey. Fill it into a pastry bag and prepare a baking tray with a baking sheet. Make about 1.5 inch big dots with the mixture on the sheet. (Picture 5) (Don’t make them to close, because the macarons “melt” a little) Now lift the baking tray a few inches above the counter top and drop it twice. (Like this, you can make sure there are no air bubbles left in the macarons.) Let the macarons rest for 30 minutes. (Macarons don’t like open windows!) (Picture 6)
Preheat the oven to 145° C (290° F) and bake the macarons for 12 - 14 minutes. (Don’t open the door while baking. The macarons shouldn’t turn brown) There should be little “feet” at the bottom of the macarons) Pull the macarons off the tray with the baking sheet and let them cool down. (Makes it easier to remove them from the sheet later) (Picture 8)
For the filling, mix butter until creamy. Slowly add the powdered sugar and mix well. Then add the lemon zest, and lemon juice and the cream cheese. Mix well again. Then let this filling mixture harden in the fridge. (You can also add food dye to this mixture) (Picture 7)
Fill the filling into a pastry bag and form circles or dots on one half of the macarons. Then take another macaron and use it as a lid. Now you only have to enjoy!

Perfect Lemon Macarons: A Step-by-Step Guide