Dedicated an entire Saturday afternoon to make 180+ macarons for a sorority bake sale. Such a fun experience and something I hope I’d have a chance to do again someday. The gems of student life… Shout out to the best sorority I have had the privilege to be part of (though back then we thought we were crazy to join), some of my best girlfriends for life, and my family away from home.

To make macarons in bulk, definitely dedicate an entire few hours to do it. Blast some nice music (I was really into Korean soundtrack music that time…) and do it in a relaxed mindset. Some main tips:

• Do not try to bake two trays at one time, even with a fan forced oven; there will definitely be some uneven spots that will lead to poor rise and even cracks in some of them
• Macaronage in batch sizes that you are used to. It’s ok if you leave them out to dry longer than the desired time, but don’t compromise good technique for time
• Play with flavor variations! I made coffee, vanilla, salted caramel (their favorite), and chocolate ganache. These were the simplest but you can definitely expand with more flavorings and add-ins
• Put some thought into packaging as well if you are going to sell them – so many cute options out there
• It takes a bit of effort, but these French macarons are well received on campus and make good profit! We spent perhaps only $20 for the raw ingredients, but raised $400+ for our organization’s philanthropy project.

Recipe: adapted from Salted caramel macarons by Ann Readon’s How To Cook That.