These foolproof Lemon Raspberry Macarons have the perfect classic French Macaron smooth crisp shell and chewy center with the most delicious raspberry lemon buttercream filling sandwiched in between. If you are looking for more tips and a full video tutorial, check out my French Macarons!
Macarons
Macarons have a bad reputation for being difficult to make and that’s because it truly is a science. If you don’t have the right amounts or forms of ingredients then the correct chemical reaction will not occur to create that beautiful look and texture of a classic macaron. As long as you follow these simple directions, you’ll be able to create the most beautiful and delicious Lemon Raspberry Macarons.
How to make this Macaron Recipe:
- Sift your almond flour and powdered sugar twice. This ensures that your ingredients are fine and not clumped together so that you get a smooth top surface.
- Use gel food coloring to tint the shells. Liquid food coloring adds too much moisture to the batter.
- Make sure your eggs are room temperature. It usually takes about 3 hours for them to warm up to room temperature but if you forgot to set them out, place the eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.
- Use a kitchen scale to measure your powdered sugar and almond flour. This is the most accurate way to measure.
Tips for the perfect Macaron
- Beat the egg whites and sugar until they form stiff peaks. You should be able to turn the bowl upside down without the meringue sliding or falling out.
- Be patient! Let the piped out batter dry for 30 minutes (or longer!) until you can touch it without it being sticky or tacky. If they are not dried all the way they will spread and won’t form the signature look- the feet.
- Cook only one pan at a time. This allows the macarons to cook evenly. I’ve actually found the last pan to go in usually turns out better so letting them dry longer is not a problem.
Macaron Variations
There are so many ways to make this delicious macaron recipe, but the easiest way to switch it up is to introduce other buttercream flavors. These are some of my favorites: strawberry buttercream, lemon buttercream, and eggnog buttercream.
After making and devouring this amazing Macaron recipe you’ll kick yourself for not trying your hand at them sooner. There’s nothing quite like that smooth crisp shell and a moist chewy center. The flavor combinations are endless so watch out for more delicious variations!
See a video HERE for how to make the perfect macaron!
Macarons
Ingredients
Macaron Shells
- 1/2 cup (100 g) almond flour
- 1/2 cup (100 g) powdered sugar
- 2 large egg whites room temperature
- 1/4 tsp. (1.42 g) cream of tartar
- 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp. (4.2 g) lemon juice
- 1-2 drops yellow gel food coloring
Raspberry Lemon Filling
- 5 tbsp. (75g) butter room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups (156g) confectioner's sugar
- 2 tbsp. (28g) fresh raspberries
- 1/2 tsp. (2.1 g) lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp. (2.1 g) lemon zest
- 1-3 drops red gel food coloring
Instructions
Macaron Shells
- Sift almond flour and powdered sugar into a medium mixing bowl. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat. While beating, add about 1 tablespoon sugar at a time. Increase speed to medium-high and mix until stiff peaks. You should be able to turn the bowl upside down without it sliding. Add the lemon juice and gel food coloring and beat on medium until combined.
- Add the almond flour and powdered sugar by sifting it into the meringue (this is the second time sifting). Use a rubber scraper and gently fold the ingredients together by scraping the sides clockwise, starting at the bottom and then cutting down through the middle once you get to the top. The batter will thin up as you mix. Test the batter by dropping some back into the bowl. It will fall off the spatula like thick lava and the edges of the dropped batter will dissolve within ten seconds.
- Place batter in a piping bag fitted with a Wilton A1 piping tip.
- Pipe out 1.5 inch rounds 2 inches apart on 3 baking sheets covered with parchment paper. (I recommend using templates under the parchment paper and pulling them out after piping.)
- Slam the baking sheets firmly on the counter a few times to get the air bubble out so that they don't crack the macarons while baking.
- Let the batter dry 20-30 minutes or longer until you can lightly touch it without it sticking to your finger.
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 18-20 minutes. Place pan on a cooling rack for 15 minutes and then slide the parchment onto the cooling rack and let the macarons cool completely.
Raspberry Lemon Filling
- Beat butter for 2 minutes until pale. Add the powdered sugar and beat another 2 minutes.
- Place raspberries, lemon juice, and zest in a small bowl and mash together (or if you have a small food processor or blender, puree it). Pour through a mesh strainer into another bowl until you're just left with seeds and discard them. You'l be left with about 1 tablespoon puree. Add to the buttercream and mix until smooth and creamy. Add a couple drops of food coloring if desired.
- Place in a piping bag and squeeze about 2-3 teaspoons onto the bottom of a cooled macaron. Place another macaron on the frosting to make a sandwich and gently press until the filling spreads to the edge of the cookie.
- Refrigerate the cookies in an airtight container for at least 3 hours before serving and up to 5 days. Freeze for up to 4 months.
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Melanie, from Garnish & Glaze, is a Midwest girl currently living on Long Island with her husband and two little girls. She fell in love with baking and cooking as soon as she discovered how yummy banana bread batter is. She loves spending time in the kitchen creating healthy dinners and indulgent desserts.
Hi there! I just tried this recipe today. My first macarons ever.
Flavor is ok, however the feet spread while in the oven. Any idea of what went wrong?
It means the oven is too hot. I learned to just watch them closely, bring the heat down once I notice the feet spreading, and then I also rotate the tray half way through the bake
I love the recipes, I hope to try one soon
Can I use something other than almond flour? I’m allergic to that particular ingredient but would like to try making these. Thanks in advance for your help!
Unfortunately, no. Macarons do need almond flour.
Yes, actually you can by making your own pumpkin seed flour,witch is just ground up pumpkin seeds or raw sunflower seeds. I hope this helped, with the recipe that I was looking at many do call for something called malt powder?..
Hi. Super-excited to make these with my niece. As I read through the recipe, it says to add salt but salt is not listed in the ingredients. How much salt should we use?
I have a quick note – the measurements for the powdered sugar in the frosting don’t quite seem to match. Which is the correct amount of powdered sugar?
Good recipe and tips – and for my first try, they came out pretty good. Powdered sugar qty for the frosting seems wrong (too much) … I got something approximating a fondant, and had to add more lemon juice and raspberry to get to anywhere near piping consistency. Also, frosting recipe makes about three times more than you need for a batch of these macarons … I ended up with around 18 cookies, but they were small… had close to 2 cups of the filling.
Had to only bake it for 11 minutes (not 18) to get the right consistency!
Same thoughts: how much salt? And I added more more lemon and raspberry to make the filling the right consistency.
Question: If I want to make vanilla or almond macarons, could I substitute the same amount of vanilla or almond extract for the lemon juice?
I just made these last night following the recipe as it is. (Some comments mentioned too much powdered sugar in the icing, however, I believe this was fixed). This was my first time making macarons and they came out great. They are a little sweet, but tart as well. The recipe made 18 exactly.
Mine did not rise going to keep trying and researching till I get it
I finally got it to work properly I think my almond flour was to damp