Trouble Shooting Tip No. 1

Coz us women want to look drop dead gorgeous we go to extreme lengths to hold on to our youth...  pressures abound whether we like it or not and you only have to open a magazine to find advertisements for anti-wrinkle cream, botox, plastic surgery and the like.
Anyway, the great news is that with macaron the first trouble shooting tip is to AGE your egg-whites. Yes, ladies we definitely don't have to worry about botox, plastic surgery or moisture creams here... we want those egg whites to lose some elasticity and dehydrate.  If we did this to ourselves however, we'd end up looking like prunes and this is definitely not a good look. 

Tip No. 1 - To age your egg whites place in a bowl, loosely covered with cling wrap the night before and leave on the kitchen bench.  Alternatively, you can place them in a bowl and leave in the fridge for up to 5-6 days but make sure you bring them back to room temperature again prior to use.

The reason we age the egg whites is to remove moisture to produce a more stable macaron with a smooth shell.  Aged egg whites are more tolerant and more difficult to over beat which means goodness especially when you're starting out and still learning.  If you happen to over beat your egg whites they become grainy and the water molecules disassociate from the albumen -  if this happens throw your egg whites out and start again.