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Hi i've tried making macarons a couple times and ive encountered multiple problems. My first batch was just a regular almond macaron. my batter felt a little thick to me, since when i made a peak, it sank but didn't sink completely back into the batter. I also piped very small dots that time. I rotated the pan halfway during the baking but i didn't leave the door ajar with a wooden spoon. many of the macarons had tumors but non burned and some had offset feet.

My second time was a maraschino cherry flavored macaron where i mmixed in a couple tsps of the liquid from a maraschino cherry jar and some red food coloring with some extra almond to balance it out. The mixture still seemed a little thick to me. I piped larger discs than the first batch. During baking, many tumors formed and after, some had airpockets that opened popped open after i took them out of the oven. One pan also had burnt bottoms.

So how would i increase the perfection rate of these cookies? (ie having smooth surfaces, no burns, no tumors, etc) Also, how would you get rid of the air pockets while piping?
sorry for this gargantuan post i just really want to try and make perfect macarons. :]