Raspberry Macarons

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Pink raspberry macarons are French sandwich cookies consisting of 2 delicate meringue shells encasing a sweet raspberry filling. With this detailed tutorial, making macarons is easy and fun! They’re perfect for Valentine’s Day, wedding showers and baby showers.

📌 Pin Raspberry Macarons

Raspberry macarons are so delightful. These delicate wafer cookies with a raspberry filling almost melt in your mouth. They’re lightly sweet with a luxurious satisfying texture. All at once, slightly soft, crunchy, and chewy.

Macarons are very finicky. But with a little practice, you can definitely master the techniques for making these beautiful French cookies. Then you can branch out and make them in a whole host of different colors and flavors like these Halloween pumpkin macarons.

Basically, once they’re baked, the macaron shells are like beautiful blank slates ready to be filled with whatever your heart desires: fruit jam, lemon curd, buttercream frosting, cream cheese, or chocolate ganache.

At tea time, raspberry macarons are commonly paired with tea, coffee, or milk. They’re often served on tiered trays alongside one-bite confections, savory nibbles, and cool and refreshing cucumber sandwiches.

NUT ALLERGY ALERT: As macarons are made with almond flour, they are NOT suitable for anyone with a nut allergy. If serving these confections at a party, make double sure to label these cookies as containing “almond flour.” It’s always better to be safe than sorry!

🥣 Tools for Making Macarons

This list of must-have kitchen tools for macarons contains Amazon affiliate links. This makes ordering the products easier than ever!

• Stand Mixer or Electric Hand Mixer
• Metal Bowls (if no stand mixer)
• Egg Separator
• Food Scale
• Fine Mesh Sieve
• Baking Tray
• Silpat Macaron Mats (or parchment paper)
• Piping Bags
• Ateco 803 (or another metal tip like Ateco 806, Wilton 1A, or Wilton 12)
• Oven Thermometer

🛒 Ingredients

For Macaron Shells

• Egg whites: These are the base of the meringue. They do not have to be room temperature, but they must be 100% free of any drop of grease (from kitchen tools), water, or egg yolks.
• Granulated sugar: Stabilizes the meringue while adding sweetness.
• Pink gel food coloring (Wilton or Americolor): For coloring macarons you must use gel coloring, not liquid food color. Liquid coloring adds additional water that will destabilize the egg whites resulting in cracked macarons.
• Powdered sugar: This ingredient adds sweetness to the macaron shells while making them light and crisp.
• Almond flour: This is a key ingredient for French macarons. Select a high-quality, super-fine almond flour. I recommend Bob’s Red Mill.
• Vanilla bean powder: For this macaron recipe I used Neilson Massey. A tiny bit of this product goes a long way. If you don’t have vanilla bean powder, just leave it out. Do not substitute with vanilla extract.
• Cream of tartar: This acidy ingredient helps to stabilize and strengthen the egg whites.

For Raspberry Buttercream

• Unsalted butter: This ingredient is the base of the buttercream filling. Make sure it’s fully softened so the buttercream doesn’t end up with lumps.
• Seedless raspberry jam: Seeded jam will also work, but the seeds can easily get caught in the piping tip and block the opening.
• Powdered sugar: This ingredient adds sweetness and structure to the raspberry buttercream.
• Salt: A pinch of salt can tamp down sweetness. Use as needed, depending on the level of sweetness desired.

👩🏻‍🍳Before You Begin

• Below are detailed step-by-step instructions for assembling the meringue for the macaron shells, making the raspberry filling, and finally assembling the French raspberry macarons.
• Before you begin, read through the instructions all the way through. I also highly recommend measuring (they MUST BE measured by weight) all the ingredients so everything’s ready to go so the meringue doesn’t dry out while you’re measuring things.
• If this is your first time making macarons, check out the Recipe FAQ section, specifically the links provided there to additional resources. They can provide an extra boost of confidence as you move forward with this recipe.

📖 Recipe Steps

Macaron Shells

RECIPE TIP: To help prevent the over-whipping of egg whites, it’s highly recommended to age them. One day in advance, separate and weigh the egg whites. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before using.

RECIPE PREP: Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set them aside. On stovetop, bring a small pot of water to a simmer.

1. Place metal bowl of a stand mixer (or a heat-safe bowl) over the simmering water. It’s important the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Add egg whites and granulated sugar to the bowl. Whisk constantly for 2 to 3 minutes until sugar is fully dissolved and the egg whites look foamy.
2. Connect metal bowl to stand mixer with whisk attachment. (If no stand mixer, transfer mixture to a large bowl. During the transfer, be extra careful not to get any condensation from the bottom of the warm bowl into the egg whites. Pull out an electric hand mixer.)
3. Add cream of tartar to the bowl. Beat the egg whites on medium speed for 4 to 5 minutes, or until stiff peaks form.
4. Add 1 to 2 drops pink gel food coloring. Slowly and gently fold it in with a rubber spatula OR mix briefly on low-speed until just combined, about 30 seconds max! It’s okay if at this point the gel coloring does not get fully incorporated. It’s more important not to over-mix as macaron batter deflates easily.

1. Add the powdered sugar, almond flour, and vanilla bean powder to a fine-mesh strainer (sieve). Sift them over the pink mixture. With a spatula, gently fold the dry ingredients into the egg whites, being very careful not to deflate the egg whites.
2. Once the dry ingredients are incorporated, we’ll be doing a crucial step! It’s very important not to over-mix during this process. Gently smush meringue against the side of the bowl then fold it back together. Smush and fold another 4 times. Check to see if meringue has reached the “lava stage.” Lift the spatula straight up. With a slow continuous stream, draw a figure 8. Meringue should flow like lava without breaking AND should sink back into the mixture in about 10 seconds. If it takes less time, the batter is too thin because of over-mixing. If it takes longer, slowly smush and fold, then test it again.
3. Adjust oven rack to the center position. Preheat oven to EXACTLY 325°F. Spoon meringue into a piping bag fitted with a round piping tip. Pipe 1-inch rounds of batter on the prepared tray, spacing raspberry macarons 2 inches apart. On a firm surface, tap baking tray hard 4 to 5 times to release air bubbles. This helps avoid cracks on the top of the macarons.

1. Set the tray of raspberry macarons aside. Let them dry for 30 to 60 minutes. We need to give them enough time to develop a skin so they’re no longer tacky on top. Test them by lightly tapping them with your finger to make sure the meringue doesn’t stick to it.
2. Double check that your oven temperature is a true 325°F. BAKE MACARONS on the middle rack, one tray at a time, for 12 to 13 minutes. If your oven bakes unevenly, rotate the tray halfway through baking. Let the macarons cool on the tray before lifting and removing.

KITCHEN SMARTS: Don’t trust your oven temperature. Invest in an oven thermometer. Most are less than $10 USD. They’re especially helpful for sensitive baking projects like raspberry macarons. Below is an Amazon affiliate link for the exact oven thermometer I use in both of my kitchens.

Raspberry Buttercream

1. Fit the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Add butter and seedless raspberry jam to the bowl. Beat on medium speed until fully combined. Reduce speed to low.
2. Slowly add powdered sugar to the bowl. Once the sugar has been fully incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat raspberry buttercream on medium-high speed (about 45 seconds) until it’s light and fluffy.
3. Transfer filling to a piping bag fitted with a metal tip of your choice.

Assemble Raspberry Macarons

1. Transfer the macaron wafers from the baking tray to a large piece of parchment paper. Pair up similar-sized macarons. Flip over one cookie from each pair so the flat side faces up.
2. Pipe a dollop of buttercream on each upward-facing half. Place the other wafers on top and gently press them together to form sandwich cookies: raspberry macarons.
3. Place raspberry macarons in an air-tight container lined with parchment paper. Age the cookies in the fridge for 24 hours so the filling has a chance to soften the interior of the shells.

🧑🏼‍🍳 Expert Tips

• Recommended resources for beginners: Mike Bakes NYC Ultimate French Macaron Guide, Sweet and Savory by Shinee Macaron Troubleshooting Guide, and Bigger Bolder Baking’s Macaron Recipe Guide with template.
• Age egg whites for macarons before whipping: Age them for at least 1 day, but it can be done several days in advance. Separate the egg whites, cover the dish and refrigerate. Let them come to room temperate before whipping them until stiff.
• How to pipe perfectly round macarons: Use a silicone mat specifically created for macarons. It has a template for 1-inch circles to help you pipe perfectly round macarons. Use a round tip for piping. For French macarons I favor Ateco #803.
• How to store macarons: Macarons are very sensitive to moisture. Store them in an airtight container lined with parchment paper and refrigerate 1 to 3 days. Macaron shells without filling can be nestled together and frozen.
• How to freeze macaron shells: Once cooled, stack the macaron shells (without filling) in an airtight container lined with 3 layers of parchment paper. Place additional layers of parchment paper on top and freeze up to 1 month. When ready to enjoy, defrost for 30 minutes at room temperature.

👨🏻‍🍳 Recipe FAQ

These are the most commonly asked questions when making raspberry macarons, and the most helpful answers for recipe success.

🍪 More Cookie Recipes

If you love serving and eating raspberry macarons, you’ll also want to make these delicious cookies. They’re perfect for parties and everyday enjoyment. Print out the recipes or pin them Pinterest so you’ll have them for later.

• White Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Vanilla Creme Sandwich Cookies
• Biscotti Cookies
• Iced Oatmeal Cookies
• Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Friends who’ve made these raspberry macarons have reported great success. After mastering the basic techniques, they’ve moved on with confidence to try other macaron flavors with different fillings.

If you agree this recipe’s a keeper, give it a 5-star rating in the comments. Then be a recipe hero! Share it with a friend. 📌 Pin it to Pinterest.

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Raspberry Macarons 👉🏻 Join the Convo

Have you ever made macarons at home? What was your experience with the recipe? Would you like to make these Valentines macarons for a special occasion? Share your thoughts below. I’d love to hear from you!