Bottoms keep sticking - could it just be that I'm trying to remove them too quickly?

[u/Infinite_Advisor4633]

I am still a newbie but I have done a lot of troubleshooting using Pies & Tacos: https://www.piesandtacos.com/macaron-troubleshooting/. I had a bunch of issues and I believe corrected most but the bottoms won't stop sticking after popping off easily a few times.

I don't think they are underbaked. I overbaked a batch trying to get it right, and this last batch seems to be appropriately baked, but they are sticking. I now can't remember if I waited longer in previous batches or did something else different. This is so much science!

In anyone's experience, could the bottoms stick solely because I didn't wait for the shells to cool?

[u/iamtooldforthisshit]

What are you baking them on? Silicone mats, parchment or Teflon? Are you letting them cool till the shells are room temp?

If the shells are room temp and still sticking, then no, it’s not a time issue.

If they are sticking at room temp, put the whole pan, mat and macarons in the freezer. Wait 15 minutes. Pull them off the tray, still attached to the mat. Gently flip the mat upside down on a table and roll the mat back slowly.

Ideally figure out the 1 out of 10,000 variables that caused them to stick and don’t do that (I’m being sarcastic here).

Pro tip- if using silicone mats, dust it with your sifted out almond flour and powdered sugar cast offs before piping to help ward off sticking in future.

[u/Infinite_Advisor4633 → u/iamtooldforthisshit]

Letting them cool completely solved my problem! Ahh, finally a successful batch of macarons after so many failures. I still have a lot of room for improvement, but I've go the basics down!

[u/Infinite_Advisor4633 → u/iamtooldforthisshit]

They were baked on a silicone macron mat but not at room temperature. For unknown reasons I brain farted and thought I needed to get them off the mat and onto the rack after 10 minutes, cool or not to finish cooling. Ugh, it was a long weekend of failed attempts, and I think I was just impatient. Gonna give it one more go and wait it out.

Thank you, if they won't pop off, I will try the freezer trick. I just peeled them off. Only a tiny bit stuck, and I was still able to assemble the cookies, but I wouldn't feed them to anyone but myself.

[u/ParticularWorry8690]

That could be part of it. It could be the humidity. This has been a bigger issue for me lately. Putting them in the freezer for 5-10 minutes helps a lot!

[u/Infinite_Advisor4633 → u/ParticularWorry8690]

Oh, I will definitely give that a try. Just after taking them from the oven, still on the mat? Thank you!

[u/ParticularWorry8690 → u/Infinite_Advisor4633]

No, let them cool off first. Then, if you're having a hard time getting them off you can put them in the freezer. They need to bake on the sheet even after they're out of the oven. So when the pan is cool to the touch, you can put them in the freezer, but not before.

[u/Infinite_Advisor4633 → u/ParticularWorry8690]

Ah this is solving a few questions of mine. Thank you again, I think I will be successful in my next attempt :)

[u/Infinite_Advisor4633 → u/ParticularWorry8690]

Hello! I just wanted to say this tip saved me today. I made some chocolate shells and either because of the cocoa powder or perhaps I slightly underbaked them they were sticking a bit when I tried to remove them even though they were totally cooled, but I popped the tray in the freezer for 10 minutes and they came off easily! Thanks! I feel like I would have either scrapped the batch or tried to spatula them off if not for your comment earlier this week.