I have done so much research to try to figure out what I'm doing wrong with my macarons, but I just can't seem to figure it out. My problem is that the batter is literally turning into crumbs. I'll whip up the meringue and fold in about half of the flour mixture and then fold in the rest, but as I fold in the second half of the flour mixture, the batter just turns into legitimate crumbs (it kind of looks like when you beat sugar and butter together before it reaches the smooth state). I have no idea what to do or how to fix it. This is only my second time making macarons and I had the exact same problem my first time making them as well (different recipes). This time I tried adding an extra egg white after the fact (I had already messed it up so much I didn't think I could do much else to mess it up more). I beat the egg white then folded it into the batter. It helped a little but not to the point of making it actually look like macaron batter.
Please help! :)
what does your egg white look like when you're done whipping it -- is it a little loose?
How long are you folding? It takes a little while to get to the right stage. It may look like it's dry when you first get all the dry ingredients into the whites, but after folding and pressing the batter against the side of the bowl, it liquifies more. Your goal is to knock some of the air out of the batter. It should flow off the spatula slowly when you get to the right stage. "Flowing like lava" is generally how it's referred to.
y'know how sometimes we can't post replies -- origami messaged me and i'm not really a macaron expert -- so rychevamp -- here you go --
"For some reason I'm having trouble with the forum and it won't post my reply. I beat the egg whites to stiff peaks (I read somewhere it's best if they're so stiff that I could flip the bowl upside down and they won't fall out."
and origami -- you can keep messaging me if you want/need to and i'll post for you 
The best point to try for is "bird beak". When you hold the whip, the meringue tip should resemble a bird's beak shape, with a slight bend at the end.
This link shows what I mean Meringue
If the meringue is too stiff, it can cause hollow shells. Yes, it should stay in the bowl, but make sure it's still glossy and hasn't gotten to dry.
What recipe are you using? I have seen sone that aren’t great.
The proportion if your ingredirnts ent s is the most important thing, I think. Are you weighing the ingredients?
I have tried different recipes and techniques, but my preferred one is mixing half my egg whites into my almond and powdered sugar, and using a hot sugar syrup meringue- the “Italian method.”
I also don’t think using a “too stiff” meringue is a problem. Though I agree it still should be glossy when you have completed it. A hollow shell is due to not cooking the cookie enough. If it isn’t cooked/dry enough the interior of the shell collapses as it cools. That’s what causes the hollowness.
omg -- did origami's post ever show up -- had no idea it disappeared -- lemme try it again -- ok I remember now -- it all posted nicely with two pictures initially -- but then it all disappeared -- and the pictures are gone out of my messages too but anyway -- one of the pictures looked a little hollow inside -- can't remember the other one exactly -- I think I can post her current message maybe :
I tried beating my meringue less and that definitely helped. rychevamp, when it was at the crumb stage, I know it wasn't folding time that was my problem. I mean it was LITERALLY crumbs, not just super dry, but actual crumbs that I could pick up piece by piece. I tried making them again and I beat the meringue to the "bird beak" stage and per someone else's advice on another forum, I folded all of the dry ingredients into the meringue all at once instead of halving it. Both of those helped, but my batter still was a bit thick. Instead of it "flowing like lava" it was more like I had to whack the spatula to get the batter off. I hope my meringue still wasn't too stiff. After I cooked them, the shells came out like the pictures show..
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