What You Need To Make French Macarons Successfully

I've been making french macarons for quite some time now and I always hear people say "I've always wanted to make them" or "I tried making them but they didn't turn out right". My answer - "No, they won't". Unless you're an experienced baker you might get it fast, most of the time you're not gonna nail it in your first try. 

I learned how to make and perfect them under the watchful eyes and skillful hands of someone who lived and breathed macarons for quite a while. It's a temperamental creature. We will skip that story and get down to business. The tools and conditions you might need to make beautiful and successful macarons are:

1. A good recipe - that makes all the difference

2. Read the recipe carefully

3. Understand the kind of meringue you're gonna use for the macaron mixture, and familiarize yourself with it

4. Use finely ground almond flour - I highly recommend ground almonds from the company called Mandelin. It can be ordered online. I can't find them here in NYC, it's not available in your supermarket shelf

5. A heavy gauged mini sauce pot to cook your sugar syrup if the recipe calls for an italian meringue

6. A stand Mixer like kitchen aid is very helpful for consistent speed and very handy when pouring the sugar syrup

7. a digital scale to measure ingredients

8. a tamis or fine sieve to sift almond flour and powdered sugar together

10. a candy thermometer

11. 2 baking sheets of the same kind - Buy from professional kitchen supply stores

12. parchment paper or a silicone mat

13. A french whisk or a balloon whisk to mix the almond flour and powdered sugar

14. a deep-medium size mixing bowl and a rubber spatula for folding the mixture 

If you have questions about macarons, please feel free to ask me.