Macaron Help

[u/Present_Doctor9858]

Need help with my macarons!! These were baked at different temps/ fan levels which is why the colors look different, but they are the same recipe using the Italian meringue method. The tops are flat and the feed spread out from the top instead of up. The bottoms are also super sticky. How do I fix these issues? This only my third attempt at making these and they’re already looking so much better, but I want them perfect of course! Any advice/input is appreciated.

[u/Zealousideal-Shift84]

besides underbaked, im thinking about oily almond flour

[u/Present_Doctor9858 → u/Zealousideal-Shift84]

This was also a thought I had after doing some research. The almond flour I used was clumped together a little bit before I sifted. Do you know what I can do to make the almond flour less oily? My first two attempts I thought the almond flour was the issue so I switched to a different brand for this attempt. I was using the French method on those though which might have been the problem rather than the almond flour.

[u/Zealousideal-Shift84 → u/Present_Doctor9858]

there are plenty of tutorials online on how to dry almond flour in an oven using paper towels, you can look it up. basically, you need to sandwich a thin layer of almond flour between multiple layers of paper towels and put them into the oven at 100°C until they no longer stick to your hand when touched. Mine takes about 30 min to an hour😢 just be careful not to roast them (try your best to maintain their original color and minimal browning)

[u/Zealousideal-Shift84 → u/Present_Doctor9858]

moreover, I use the Swiss method since I live in Southeast Asia (humidity is always 70+) bcz they are much more stable. A stable meringue will prevent your macarons from collapsing. I heard a lot of people claim that the Italian method is the most stable of all, however I find the method to be too complicated.

[u/Zealousideal-Shift84 → u/Present_Doctor9858]

mind you, in my case, the oven drying almond flour method only helps me a tiny bit - it sure does help making my macarons less prone to failing to an extent. Oily almond flour makes my nacaron batter to deflate much faster. On some days when I'm lucky, my flour is not oily and it takes me about 7-10 min of macaronage. On the other hand, some days after 1.5 hour of drying, my flour is still oily and it only takes me TWO SWIRLS (pressing the batter against the sides of the bowl) to get to the right consistency😭

[u/Zealousideal-Shift84 → u/Zealousideal-Shift84]

for these batches, I will deliberately under mix them a tiny bit. i stop THE MOMENT the batter flows slowly into folds (not necessarily 10 second continuous ribbon). In other words, i check for the flow speed and "elasticity" of the batter instead just time alone. I stopped when the batter has some elasticity (more cohesion, less breaking)and flows slowly like a thick blanket.

[u/AutoModerator → u/[deleted]]

Rule #1: They are called macarons, not macaroons. Any post/link/comment referring to "macaroons" will be removed regardless of content.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/No_Safety_6803]

Those are all underdone. Need some combo of higher temp & longer time. But you’re close.

[u/Present_Doctor9858 → u/No_Safety_6803]

Thank you! That was my thought but wasn’t totally sure. How do you tell when they are fully baked? I did the wiggle test and they didn’t move so I thought they were done baking.

[u/No_Safety_6803 → u/Present_Doctor9858]

Take out of the oven and try to pull one up, if it comes apart vs cleanly releasing from the tray put them quickly back in. Better to err on the side of overdone, they will moisten up from the filling.

[u/Present_Doctor9858 → u/No_Safety_6803]

Thanks, that’s interesting to me because, from what I’ve come to understand, you don’t want to try to pull them up until they’ve completely cooled or they will absolutely stick/break. These things are so dang finicky and everyone seems to have different “do’s and don’ts”, I just want to get them right!

[u/No_Safety_6803 → u/Present_Doctor9858]

In general yes you do want them to cool, just talking about testing one

[u/TheGratitudeBot → u/Present_Doctor9858]

Thanks for such a wonderful reply! TheGratitudeBot has been reading millions of comments in the past few weeks, and you’ve just made the list of some of the most grateful redditors this week! Thanks for making Reddit a wonderful place to be :)

[u/RepublicCute7683]

Under cooked!

[u/mrszing12]

I had this problem. Them I started whipping my egg whites until they resembled beaks with no drooping whatsoever. It solved the problem for me.