Tried to make macarons for my sister's baby shower and batch #4 finally worked after 6 hours
Three trays went straight in the trash from cracked shells and hollow centers before I figured out my oven runs 25 degrees hot, and I'm praying batch 4 holds up until Saturday, so what's your foolproof way to check oven temp without a thermometer?
my oven runs 25 degrees hot" yeah that sounds about right, ovens are liars. one thing that took me way too long to learn is that most ovens swing way hotter right when they hit the set temp and then settle down after like 15 or 20 minutes, so if you're tossing trays in the second it beeps you're baking at the peak of the spike. try preheating a full 30 min before your first tray and see if the batches get more even. also you can toss a bit of sugar on a piece of foil and watch how fast it melts, it's not exact but it gives you a rough read on how hot you're actually running without spending anything.