Macaron Piping Tips

A tray of just-piped Lemon Mini Macarons.

Once you get the hang of it, you'll be filling trays fast and efficiently.

Don't get pulled into buying special kits, piping guides or indented silicon mats for making macarons. There are many "macaron cheats" on the market today but forget it, you don't any of those to make macarons and in the end, believe me, you don't want them.

To pipe macarons, all you need is your batter, disposable piping bags and four parchment lined sheetpans. It just takes a little practice and soon you'll be able to make beautiful macarons in any size you desire. Plus, piping macarons the old-fashioned way means there are no mats to wash and store!

A mat from Williams Sonoma that retails for $19.95 and an indented red silicon mat that retails at World Market for $7.99. You need four lined sheet pans for one recipe of macarons. Do you really want to buy four of these and have wash and store them them after each use? I don’t. Parchment paper works just fine and gives you the freedom to pipe the macarons any size you like.

This is just part of a single recipe of Cherry Mini Macarons that I recently made, sorted into pairs and ready for filling. I got 80 completed macarons!

Completed Blackberry and Cherry Mini Macarons

Here are a few helpful piping tips to get you started:

Tip #1: Start Small

Begin by making small quarter-sized macarons. Smaller macarons are easier to pipe and you'll get approximatley 80 out of one batch so you'll get a lot of piping practice when you make them. Take your time and just go for it.

Tip #2: Give The Tip A Straight Clip

When you cut the tip of your disposable pastry bag, clip straight across.  A diagonally cut makes wacky shaped macarons.

Tip #3: Take Your Time

Cut your pastry bag just about 1/3 of an inch from the bottom, creating a small hole for the batter to flow through. The batter won't come out fast but you'll have more control of the batter and can take your time to concentrate and pipe the best even-sized macarons that you can.

Tip #4: Tie The Bag

Don't forget to tie the top of your pastry bag with a rubber band or clip. This keeps the batter from spilling out the top of the bag as you pipe which trust me, is very frustrating.

Tip #5: Be Ready To Go

Before you even begin piping, have four sheetpans lined with parchment paper and be ready to go. Once you start piping, you want to stick with it until the end without having to set your bag down to get another pan ready.

Tip #6: Cut Yourself Some Slack

Practice makes perfect so don't expect to be a pro the first time you pipe macarons. Give yourself time to practice and improve and remember that a misshapen macaron tastes just as good as a perfectly round one.