When French macarons form huge pied or feet during baking, it is most likely a sign of too much moisture in the batter. Once in the oven, any moisture in the batter will turn to steam and force its way out. This is actually the reaction that creates le pied in the first place, but it needs to be tempered and happen slowly at a low oven temperature. Two culprits of excess moisture in macaron batter are too much food coloring or wet flavoring and resting the piped batter for too long. Yes, you read that correctly! Contrary to a range of available (not so great) advice, you can rest the batter for too long. The tops become very dry trapping moisture in between the batter and the parchment. Once in the oven the moisture can't escape easily. So, voila! What you get are huge macaron feet that rise high in the oven cracking the tops along the way. And cool splat on the baking sheet. To hedge your bets for frilly, modest le pied, keep additions to the batter at a minimum and rest for no longer than twenty or thirty minutes. And mind your oven temperature! Unless it's brand-spankin' new, your home oven is most likely lying to you. Investing in an inexpensive oven thermometer will reveal the truth. If your oven happens to run hot, it can surely be why your French macarons are not meeting expectations. Too high an oven temperature will encourage the macarons to rise too quickly, creating an explosion of feet that are unstable and eventually fall and spread.