Seeing as she's someone who bakes and bakes and bakes, I fully believe that she can't mess them up.

I can't say the same for me.

This is on my list of things to try to do this weekend!

The only thing I would consider a "failure" is if I burn the crap out of them.

I want a NO FEAR! sticker on my fridge.

I've been considering attempting macarons. Timely post.

I've been wanting to make these for some time now, but they seem incredibly daunting. Maybe this will help me overcome my fear and just go for it!

@Rachael from Domestic and @HeyNowTex,
They're really not that bad. I've made them 4 or 5 times now and each time they just get better. Time consuming yes, but worth it.

I've made macarons maybe half a dozen times, all from Martha Stewart's recipe from the iPad cookie app, and while it's a very detailed process it's not as intimidating as I expected. They get better every time I make them. I've never aged the egg whites past the couple of hours it takes for them to get to room temperature, and I've used hazelnuts and pistachios as well as almonds. I've always dried them for 15 minutes before baking but I'm glad to see that I don't necessarily have to. The part in Martha's recipe where I've messed up a couple of times is that you preheat the oven to a certain temperature (375, I think), and then turn it down to 325 once the cookie sheet goes in...forgetting to turn the temp down does not make for light and fluffy macarons.

I highly suggest anyone interested in making French Macaron's visit this site
http://www.pastrypal.com/2011/01/master-the-french-macaron/
Irina created a special download edition of her blog dedicated to this delicious treat.

I don't know if I can trust her advice if she's never been to France! ;) I've never had a macaron - homemade or storebought - as perfectly textured as the fresh ones at Ladurée.

I made macaroons recently (bon appetit & martha recipe)..they were good, but the macarons were crispy and hollow instead of crispy and cake like. Are there two types of macarons? I was aiming for the cake like innards...

Why the heck are comments with differing opinions and links deleted? I said nothing mean about the post, just offered that leaving egg whites out is unnecessary and posted a relevant tutorial on my cooking blog, and interestingly enough, that comment is deleted. And from how many comments were also deleted that had nothing wrong with them, I'd guess this one will be too. What the heck, kitchn? That's a bunch of garbage.

Uh, actually now that I notice, the entire article is gone and now there's just a link to someone else's blog. What happened here? Plagiarism? I'm pretty confused.

Blah, now I feel like an idiot. There's two posts posted on the same day just hours apart, about the same topic, using the same heading picture. Yikes.

I agree with her about nationality being a ridiculous reason for feeling that macarons don't turn out well. You wouldn't say Rick Bayless is inherently unable to make good Mexican food, would you?

We made these in school... It's super not hard. They're like meringue cookies but with ground almonds in the mix. If you can make a meringue cookie, you can make a macaron.

I'd love to try a decent filling though. The fillings we had were... unpleasant. Had the texture of raw, curdled batter. Not cool.

I'd have to check out her instructions, but when I baked macarons in school without letting them dry, they had cracked tops. I'm a pastry chef, btw, and I bake them pretty frequently, and drying them is essential. That entire crust is elevated when the egg whites expand in the heat of the oven. It lifts that entire top. If they're not dry, then the weak spots will also expand, creating the cracks.

The shells look like they could be hollow, but I don't know for certain. I checked out the blog and they look cute, but especially that last mac on the bottom, the spacing looks like they could be hollow inside (which has happened before to one of my cooks), and not full. To each his/her own.

Thanks AshleyM! I'll have to give it a go soon!

I think if it's your first time, I'd age the eggs and wait for a sunny day. For instance, aging the whites makes them easier to whip and the meringue has a greater volume.
I've been baking macarons every week for more than a year now (I have a macaron business) and I do think they are temperamental.
I agree that once you nail the meringue and other steps you don't need to be that careful. But if it's your first time, the the precautionary steps and you'll be thankful.

my mother and I (two avid cooks and bakers) wanted to try making macarons and I must say we were nervous. We researched and prepped and when it came time to start we had trouble because we were SURE they wouldn't come out well, but the were awesome! the only thing we didn't have down pat was our piping but the taste, look and texture of the cookies was awesome. i think they do take attention to detail and some basic baking skills but they were not as hard as they seemed.

To a certain extent I agree with Stella's comments, macarons are not difficult to make time and time again - if you don't mind settling for something less than perfect.
I have been baking these for some time now and while most of the time I'm happy with the results, they don't always have a perfectly rounded shell with smooth tops, cute puffy feet, no cracks and no hollows... AND don't get me started about the correct texture or making ones that are not too sweet. I have also eaten macarons from a couple of patisseries (including a French one... which ironically they had the worst macarons) and they have all been different. I'm acually yet to try one that has truly impressed me. I think I will have to go to France after all...

Luckily I find it gets easier every time! There is a great base recipe that hasn't failed me since on The Traveler's Lunchbox. The link to it can be found on my blog here: http://sweetfalcon.wordpress.com/2011/02/08/the-elusive-macaron/
And when I'm feeling lazy about making fillings, a good jam or Nutella will do!