Thank you all for sticking with me on this fabulous journey on learning how to not make french macarons. I remember being in school and being told WD40 was named as such because it took them 40 tries to get the end product. Something about that story makes me persist when I want to give up. It was arguably the best teaching moment of my life. After all, I can say Macaron Mishaps #12 is when my failure turns to success.

Let me explain the “ah-ha!” moment. Here I was watching a cooking show talking about angel food cake. The host talked about not over-beating the egg whites so they can expand properly. I started watching other angel food cake videos and a french chef explained how over beating egg whites could lead to the cake falling, the sponge being tough, gaps in the cake. A few other bakers said similar. The majority recommended going to soft medium peaks. It was then I had an ah-ha moment.

Could these macaron makers be confusing what a stiff peak is in reality? They all say to go to stiff peaks, but then say not to over beat. When you add sugar to egg whites, it’s nearly impossible to over beat your eggs. This usually only happens when you have no or very little sugar. And when you heat the sugar, no matter how much you whip that meringue, it stays at a nice solid medium peak state.

I started thinking about the meringue kisses and cookies I’ve made in the past. If you beat to stiff peaks, they often had hollows or the center texture becomes stiff and dry. When I went to medium, where the batter just clung to the bowl when turned upside down, the meringues were perfect. Could this be the issue?

For me, it was indeed the issue. Finally! Today, failure turns to success! The desired macaron. Every. Single. One. Now, I did over mix the batter a bit and the feet flared out as a result, but they looked absolutely breath taking to me. And they tasted delicious because I filled them with plain yogurt and strawberry puree. More importantly, I was beginning to understand how to make the worlds most difficult cookie.

The secret? Don’t take your batter to stiff peaks as so many tell you to do. Look for medium peaks where the tips turn curl down when held vertically and the mixture doesn’t tip out of the bowl. One day, when I purchase more almond flour, I will do a tutorial. When they are done right with a tart filling, they are amazing. When they are done wrong, they are still quite edible. Either way, don’t give up. It took me over six weeks and nearly 1000 cookies to crack the macaron. You can, too.

Update on French Macarons

As promised, here is the french macaron tutorial I spoke of many months back in this final chapter of macaron mishaps. As you will see, I did indeed get much better and have since made dozens of flavor combinations. I’ve made thousands of macaron shells since then and rarely have an issue thanks to my journey through macaron mishaps. In fact, I have since gathered a troubleshooting guide to share what I’ve learned in one area. So don’t worry if you are currently in the struggling phase of macarons. It will get easier. Failure turns to success with perseverance.