Macarons for me are whimsical beings......they choose when to succeed and when to fail! Having tried to conquer them as part of a new year's resolution, I've made them with varying degrees of success. Some tips I've picked up along the way? <br />#1 – Age is everything! Macs work best when the egg whites are 'aged', so they turn from thick to thin and liquid. Various people leave them overnight on the counter to age/refrigerate them for a few days (always getting them back to room temperature before use). You can also (rather delicately) use the microwave to get them to a similar state in about 10 seconds but you'll need to watch rather carefully. Also, spread and leave the almond meal/flour to 'dry' on the counter for a week or pop in the oven at 150 deg C for 5 minutes to dry! <br /> <br />#2 – Ensure everything is sieved. Sieve the eggs whites before you measure/weigh them. And keep extra on hand in case of emergency (accidents). Sieve the almond meal, and the icing sugar and the chocolate! <br /> <br />#3 – Make it easy to get whole macarons by using a silicone mat/silpat! If you don't have a piping bag, a ziploc snipped at the end works FINE. <br /> <br />#4 – Experts suggest doubling up your baking sheets! So instead of one baking tray, use two! This prevents the bottoms of the macarons from over-baking and over-browning!

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