# French Macaroon



## mgchef (Jul 17, 2009)

Today, I went on a baking site trying to get ideas of what to make as a dessert for today and tommorow. I made a panna cotta for today, and tommorow I want to start making macarons( not macaroons). But I have a question. Is almond flour the only flour you can use, or can I use regular AP flour, self-rising flour, or any other type of flour. If not, why can you only use almond flour.


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## cakeface (Mar 20, 2010)

I think the word ' flour'  is the reason for the confusion here. The almond 'flour' mentioned in your recipe is ground almonds (almond meal or almond powder) so no you cannot subsitute it with self raising flour.  Let me know us know how they turned out or if you need more advice


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

By definition a macaron is an almond cookie. If you sub for wheat flour, it won't taste like almond, so it's no longer a macaron. Kinda like a risotto without rice, or a guacamole without avocado.


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## mgchef (Jul 17, 2009)

It's not an almond cookie by definition. Theres so  many different flavors you can make, and I just looked up what they are in Larousse Gastronomique. It sais it's a biscuit(cookie) that's very moist and airy, with an egg shell like exterior. Has a meringue base and is made with egg whites, almond flour and sugar. I heard in Japan they use peanut "flour", so could you try it with ground peanuts, or any other ground nut?


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## cakeface (Mar 20, 2010)

Macarons have been around for some time and were said to have originated in Italy,  but the Macaron that you would seem to want to make are French in origin and  have been credited to

a patissier in Paris-Ladurée.  Almonds were/are a central ingredient in the recipe,  so French Fries is right there.

That being said, there are always  different versions of original recipes- so there is no harm in trying almond subsitutes.  We tried an all coconut macaron-replacing the ground almonds with very very fine coconut- it wasn't as light as the original.  When  we left the almonds in and subsituted some with a smaller amount of coconut it did work out better.   

Before you experiment with other nuts though, I would recommend you try out your original recipe first-then you can get a feel for macarons and can iron out any problems.

good luck with them anyway, they are a fantastic thing to learn


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## cakeface (Mar 20, 2010)

If you are experimenting, keep in mind....any subsitute you do use has to be very fine- even  ground almonds, which are already fine, should be sieved twice before use (this was why after two attempts, the coconut macaroon using dried coconut was not repeated-it was a pain in the arse trying to get it so fine- coconut parfum all the way for me now!)


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

mgchef said:


> It's not an almond cookie by definition.
> 
> (...)
> 
> I just looked up what they are in Larousse Gastronomique. It sais it's a biscuit(cookie) that's very moist and airy, with an egg shell like exterior. Has a meringue base and is made with egg whites, *almond* flour and sugar.


Have you ever eaten a macaron? Sounds like you've never had one before? Try them to understand what they are before you try to twist the recipe, I think. Once you try a few different types, you'll understand what role the almond has, and what role the other flavors have (hint: they're mostly for the filling).


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## cakeface (Mar 20, 2010)

But you are right though French Fries


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

Thanks cakeface. I'll be honnest, I've never attempted to make macarons - maybe one day. But I can tell you, I've eaten a whole LOT of them, with just about any filling you can think of. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/lol.gif


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## mgchef (Jul 17, 2009)

Originally they were created to be an almond cookie. Now though, you can't really say that  anymore. I went to France over the summer while I was in Europe and had a honey macaron which didn't taste like almond at all. Other than that, I know he's right, it's a almond cookie, but I don't think they should be called that anymore, they have so many different flavors. And of course i'm gonna start learning how to make them with almond "flour" before using something else. I was gonna do that either way, I just wanted to see what was so important about the use of almond in a macaron.


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

Well I guess you can also make meringues without egg whites. 

mgchef, are we talking about the double-cookie with filling in the center macaron? If yes, then the cookies are made with almond flour. IMO that's one of the things that defines the taste of that particular cookie. As cakeface said, the almonds are a central ingredient to the cookie. The filling can be any flavor you want, honey or whatever. 

If you have the opportunity, try to do one batch of the regular recipe with almond flour, and another batch where you substitute with cake flour or AP. Then ask for someone's help and proceed to do some blind taste tests. I imagine you'll find the all-wheat macarons to be blander. In my opinion the macaron doesn't have a strong distinctive almond flour, it's more subtle, but it's still an important part of a macaron.


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## mgchef (Jul 17, 2009)

I know that it's ground almonds, i just don't get why you need almonds to make them. It was just a question, there's so many other types of nuts you could substitute if it's just for the flavor. Now that I know, I'm gonna learn how to make macarons for about a month and get used to my oven, and then I'm gonna try using different nuts.


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## pete (Oct 7, 2001)

Other than flavor, I don't know what "almond" flour brings to the recipe, but having read many, many recipes for macarons, I have noticed that even if they use another nut such as pistachio, the recipe only replaces some of the almond flour with finely ground and sieved pistachios.  It seems that, in my experience, almond flour is always used to some degree.


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## neonmeatedream (Apr 5, 2010)

Why bother making them? They're never going to even approach the ones you can buy.

This is an interesting article, which includes a food-writer trying to follow a macaron recipe by a maitre-patissier:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/feb/25/macarons-pierre-herme


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## mgchef (Jul 17, 2009)

Are you serious? Why not bother making them? Why bother making anything if we can get it anywhere? That person made them once and thats it. You have to get a feel for making them, you have to get used to your oven. Almost nothing you do will be perfect on your first time. I wanna make them to be a better chef. If I screw up all it means is something went wrong. If something went wrong, there's a question. And if there's a question, there's an answer. And that's how you learn. Also, where the hell can I get macaron's in florida? Yea, that's what I thought.


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## cakeface (Mar 20, 2010)

Neonmeatedream. 

Macarons have a reputation for being difficult, but honestly, they are not.  The ingredients and technique mentioned in the article are correct.

Looking at the picture of the macarons that the journalist created-it seems that it was her piping skills that let her down-resulting in an uneven and thick macaroon.  It is not the recipe she has to conquer-it is her technique.

Some patisseries use a template instead of piping the macarons-that way, no matter who is making them, they are always the same shape and size.

Of course, Herme is famous for the fillings that he uses with his macarons.  But again, if you have the desire to master the basic techniques and rules for making ganaches and cremes-the possibilities are endless (but being defeatist will get you no where)


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## chocdoc (Feb 21, 2010)

he-eats.com/2009/08/24/pierre-hermes-salted-caramel-macarons/ Here are great instructions for macarons. Only one translation glitch - you don't need to cool the syrup to 115C before pouring it into the egg whites.


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## lalmajid (Jun 1, 2010)

hi ! i have been making macaroon  at least 50 times  but my problem is that they r sticky o un cooked from the bottom i have tried  by increasing baking time it is overcooked i will tell u how i make

45 gm almond powder
38 gm egg white
18 gm Castor sugar
75 gm icing sugar
pinch of cream of tater
 
sift almond powder and icing sugar keep a side
start beating after little foam add pinch of cream of tarter  when half way start adding caster sugar slowly
when it is stiff then start folding almond and icing sugar  when  it is shining and thick mixture not flowy  pipe on silicon mat
keep it for 30 min when i touch it is not sticky
now on double tray i bake it on 140 c for 16 min  my oven is convection oven   fan oven
now the problem is if i increase the temp it is volcano  if i bake for little  more time it is crispy and hard
believe me  i am so disappointed  i have studied all the web site for macaroons next month we have to start selling them
with piping i have become better
i hope u under stand my problem


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## sweetbake (Nov 12, 2012)

They use almond flour because it was cheap and full of nutritien back then in France when everything went expensive. It used to be only one piece almond cookie until the 20th century that people make double decker. I guess you can use other nut flour but it will give you different flavor and texture. I understand your point Mgchef, there are differences style, flavor and look in Japan. It's pretty amazing! Try it! Maybe you can find something even better!!


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## azzacca (May 22, 2013)

Actually, every single macaroon I have ever eaten was a shredded coconut base. Totally different type of cookie, I'm guessing, but I'm also talking about ones made for Passover. I've never had one made with almond flour.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/coconut-macaroons-recipe3/index.html?rsrc=search is more like the macaroons I have had.


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## kaneohegirlinaz (Apr 24, 2011)

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ-BJzJDhoSwkXjzHB_HIJKv5lk-u5o1




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kaneohegirlinaz


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May 22, 2013












  








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kaneohegirlinaz


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May 22, 2013








These are French Macarons above ...





  








images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRP4vIV3xwy_ep29NbSAGkZkMm3qujnq




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kaneohegirlinaz


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May 22, 2013








... and these are Coconut Macaroons above...


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