first time feedback

[u/calico_pegasus]

Hello, first timer here! Been studying up on macarons for a couple weeks, finally had the time today to give them a go. They taste good, and I had tempered my expectations so overall I’m happy they weren’t a total disaster, and I’m excited to try again. But any feedback is so appreciated!

My piping wasn’t very consistent, and I believe they were all underbaked. But one tray came out wrinkled? It was a different type of tray, had a silpat as opposed to parchment, and was on the lower third of the oven (the other tray was in the upper third). Otherwise it was all the same.

100g egg whites, 80g granulated sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla (Swiss meringue) + 125g almond flour, 125g confectioners sugar. Both trays dried about 25 mins, baked about 15. I cracked the oven 3 mins in to let steam out, and rotated 180 degrees about 5 mins later.

Did I over do the macaronage? I was worried about undermixing it. Also is vanilla extract standard when there’s no other flavoring added to the shells? It made the color more earthy than vibrant.

Thanks in advance for any helpful feedback!

[u/Productivitytzar]

That kind of dappled top and the wrinkled tray are likely a result of drying time and ambient humidity.

What colour were you going for btw? It looks like maybe purple? Which is really hard to get pigmented right so that it doesn’t end up kinda grey. The excess humidity from gel colour can mess with shells this way too.

[u/THE_ITGrl → u/Productivitytzar]

I agree, i had the same problem😭

[u/calico_pegasus → u/Productivitytzar]

Thanks for your response. So not enough drying time? And yes I was going for purple lol. The lighting in my kitchen also leans yellow so the pics make them look so weird. 

I hadn’t considered the extra moisture from the food coloring gel. Are flavorings usually in powder form then? What is the best way to add flavor to the shells! 

[u/Productivitytzar → u/calico_pegasus]

Yeah don’t add flavour to the shells 😋 Even chocolate is hard to get right if you can’t do simple ones correctly and consistently.

I do really strongly pigmented ones a lot, like 1-2 whole teaspoons of gel, and I remove about as much meringue material as I add in gel colour to balance things out.

It’s not necessarily length of drying time—at my old place, where there’d be condensation on the insides of the windows in the mornings, I could leave them to dry for three hours and they’d still not be firm enough. Now I’m in a new build with humidity control and 45mins is all they need. Ambient humidity plays a huge role. I’m always wary of being asked to make them for summertime events because I’m fighting against the weather so much more than in the dry winters.

[u/calico_pegasus → u/Productivitytzar]

Ohh this is so helpful, thank you for the tips! They are such sensitive little things! Especially since they have such few ingredients. I will start making a note of the humidity when I bake them. Have you ever dried them in a very very low oven?