Some macaron recipes will instruct you to age your egg whites in order to reduce the amount of moisture in them before using them. I don’t find that this step is necessary. It’s also very inconvenient if you like to bake macarons on a whim…which is what I usually do.

I never add extracts or emulsions to my macaron shells. Adding additional moisture (even a small amount) can ruin the outcome when making macaron shells. The only exception to this is the addition of a dry ingredient like cocoa powder or matcha powder, but even those can be tricky. All of the flavor comes from the filling that you choose to use.

I use American buttercream or chocolate ganache for my fillings. You can find recipes for both on my website and socials. I also love the addition of a curd or a jam to add another layer of flavor.

Depending on the brand of almond flour you may need to pulse it in a food processor to get smooth shells. Be careful to not overdo it as this can release excess oil and cause problems for your merengue.

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If your almond flour is oily it will cause your batter to become thick during the macaronage process. You can dry the almond flour in the oven at 300F for 10 min to help with this.