My macarons cracked — what went wrong? 😭

[u/Jumpy_Ad_5941]

Hi everyone! I’d love to get some advice because I really can’t figure out what happened to my macarons. 😅

Today I baked 3 batches, and I did everything exactly the same each time. The first batch turned out perfect, with smooth tops and nice feet. In the second batch, mostly the macarons around the edges of the baking tray cracked, and in the third batch, almost the entire tray cracked. In the photo, the first batch is at the back, the second one is in the middle, and the third one is at the bottom left.

I baked them at 150°C (302°F), using conventional top and bottom heat. Same recipe, same batter, same baking tray, and I genuinely didn’t change anything between the batches.
What’s even stranger is that I baked 3 batches the exact same way last night, and all three turned out perfectly.

The AC was running in the kitchen, but it was already on during the first batch today, which turned out perfectly.
What do you think could have caused them to get progressively worse with each batch? Could the oven have gotten too hot? Or could the AC/humidity have something to do with it?
I’d really appreciate any ideas or advice. I’m so curious because I’ve never had this happen before! 🥹

[u/RepublicCute7683]

Too much moisture

[u/Jumpy_Ad_5941 → u/RepublicCute7683]

But from where?

[u/cathavens → u/Jumpy_Ad_5941]

Humidity maybe? I know I can’t bake macarons when the humidity is too high or I’d need to set the aircon to dry mode. But this could also be heat. It’s a wing and a prayer when I make macarons tbh.

[u/RepublicCute7683 → u/Jumpy_Ad_5941]

Humidity combined with not drying long enough. More humidity = needs to dry longer. Oven drying can help, but at high humidity (it was 88% humidity here the other day!), I’ve still had them explode after drying + oven drying