Lemon Raspberry Macarons Recipe (video)
Macarons – the elusive, dreamy cookie recipe that haunts home pastry chefs! This French macaron recipe for sweet lemon raspberry macarons filled with a tart lemon filling is the first macaron recipe I ever tried! To add the most raspberry flavor, I add freeze dried raspberry powder to the macaron batter for real raspberry flavor, plus some more on top as garnish. The zesty lemon buttercream filling is the perfect complement to the sweet raspberry cookies!
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Lemon Raspberry Macarons Recipe (video)
Ingredients
- 110 grams almond flour
- 200 grams confectioner’s sugar
- 10 grams freeze-dried fruit powder, plus more for decorating
- 100 grams aged egg whites, or at room temperature
- 50 grams white granulated sugar
- gel food coloring
For Lemon Buttercream:
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- Zest from 1 lemon
- 2 to 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 cups confectioner's sugar
Instructions
Preparing the Dry Ingredients:
- For the berry flavor in this recipe, use freeze-dried berries. Simply place the berries into a food processor, pulse for a few seconds and sift through fine mesh strainer.
- Premeasure all your ingredients using a digital kitchen scale. Sift the freeze-dried berry powder, almond flour, and confectioner's sugar into a large mixing bowl and discard any large pieces that don't pass through the sifter.
Making the Meringue:
- Next, prepare the meringue. Place the egg whites and sugar into a medium-sized mixing bowl or stand mixer. Whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form. (turn the bowl over, egg whites should not move)!
- Add the meringue to the dry ingredients then begin folding. Fold and mix from the bottom of the mixing bowl, until a uniform mixture forms.
- The macaron batter needs to have a specific consistency. Not too thick or too thin, should fall off of your spatula in a ribbon. Fold and flatten the batter against the side of your mixing bowl until it reaches the right consistency.
Piping & Resting:
- Line two large baking sheets with silicon mats or parchment paper.
- Transfer the macaron batter into a pastry bag tipped with a simple round tip. If you have the time, you can draw circles on the back of the parchment paper to use as guides.
- Pipe even sized dollops onto the baking sheet, spacing the cookies at least an inch apart and pipe directly from the top. Tap pan multiple times to release any air bubbles.
- Let the cookies stand for 1 HOUR (very important, do not skip this step!) to form a thin film or shell over the top. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 300F.
Baking Instructions:
- Bake the macarons at 300F for 16 to 18 minutes. They should lift off the parchment paper easily but not brown on top. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Making Filling & Assembling:
- For the lemon filling: Whisk the softened butter in medium-sized mixing bowl for a few minutes until fluffy. Next, add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and confectioner's sugar. Continue to mix until a light and creamy buttercream forms.
- Pair up the macaron shells and turn half of them over. Transfer the buttercream into a piping bag and pipe onto half the macaron shells, then sandwich with the second half.
- For best results, place the macarons into an airtight container and refrigerate for 24 hours. Soften them at room temperature for 30 minutes prior to enjoying. These will keep in the fridge for 1 week, or in the freezer for 1 month.
Nutrition
Supplies & Tools for the Recipe
Need some supplies or tools to make this recipe? You can get them here (Amazon affiliate links):
- This set of jumbo cake decorating tips includes a simple round tip that I use for piping the batter.
- I love using disposable pastry bags for all my desserts!
- Get your freeze-dried raspberries online! These add so much raspberry flavor!
Tips For Making Lemon Raspberry Macarons!
I won’t lie – I took me three attempts at this recipe before getting it right! I was so frustrated by round 3, I almost gave up on making them again! But I’m so glad I pushed myself to try again and again.
Now, I absolutely LOVE making macarons! They’re one of my favorite desserts to make and I experiment with different flavors all the time. In my video tutorial, I’m breaking down the recipe to show you to make these elegant cookies! Here are a few crucial tips for making these cookies:
- Whisk the egg whites just until they reach stiff peak stage. Under mixing will result in a flat batter; over mixing can cause the cookies to spread while baking.
- Fold the batter thoroughly, flattening the egg whites against the side of your mixing bowl. BUT, be careful – you don’t want to over mix the batter! That will also cause your cookies to be just flat, shapeless disks.
- Allow those cookies to REST! Let the cookies stand for an hour at room temperature, allowing a thin shell to form on the outside. This shell gives the cookies their shape so it’s crucial! If your macarons are cracking on top, you might need to let the cookies rest longer. If you live in a humid climate, extend the timing even more as humidity and moisture will prevent a shell from forming.
Storing French Macarons
These raspberry macarons are perfect all on their own, or you can use them to garnish a cake (I do that all the time!).
Once you have the cookies assembled, I recommend placing them into an airtight container and set them into the refrigerator to ‘mature’ for 1 to 3 days. This will allow the macaron shell to soften, creating an unforgettable cookie!
When you’re ready to enjoy them, simply take them out of the refrigerator about an hour before serving them, to allow the filling to thaw.
Lemon Buttercream Filling
These delicate raspberry cookies are filled with a simple lemon buttercream made with lemon juice and lemon zest! This recipe would also work great with my newest Lemon Buttercream recipe, featuring lemon extract and citrus acid to make the lemon filling extra tart!
More Recipes!
Looking for more fruity macaron recipes? I’ve got you covered with so many different options! Check out some of my other unique macaron recipes!
- Raspberry Pistachio Macarons – these are simply divine! Pistachio cookies with pistachio and raspberry filling!
- Triple Strawberry Macarons – strawberry cookies with strawberry filling and berry preserves!
- Triple Lemon Macarons – lemon shells with lemon buttercream and lemon curd!
- Sparkling Grape Macarons – all the grape and wine flavor in these extra fruity and delightful macarons!
- Heart Sugar Cookies – the best, soft sugar cookie recipe with raspberry buttercream! Perfect for Valentines’ Day!
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Hi tatyana i have a question about this recipe. Im gonna try making these tonight for tomorrows party and i was wondering how do i store them after im done with them?
This is my first time making macarons, the shape came out perfect and I got the nice little “feet”, none of them cracked or anything. But then when I went to remove them from my parchment paper about a third of them would stick, and some of the inside of the cookie was torn off. The texture of my cookie is chewy…I don’t think they are supposed to be chewy? I baked at 300 for 12 minutes, and turned the pan halfway, and that was too long because they browned 🙁 I checked them at 11 minutes and they looked perfect…and then at 12 boom! And they Browned and lost their color! But do you think I need to cook at a lower temp maybe? I don’t know why they are chewy inside…I could not find almond flour so I used trader joes almond meal-it’s pretty fine…please let me know what you think! Thank you
Now I’m off to find a perfect filling for these (I don’t like buttercream and my hubby and kids don’t either). Any suggestions? Thanks!
Hi there! 🙂 I had the same problems the first time around! They looked perfect but wouldn’t come off. I found out that they are actually underbaked at that point. Each oven bakes differently. Try adjusting your oven temperature down to 280 or even 275. They will bake longer but they will be baked through and not browned. Hope that helps! 🙂
I was thinking the same, thank you for the quick reply I will try that!
Thanks for a great recipe. Mine stuck too, but the longer I let them sit easy to remove. These are good the 1st day but fabulous the 2nd day!
Does the recipe double using exactly double proportions?
Yes, you can double the recipe by doubling the measurements! 🙂 I’m glad they turned out for you!
Did you add food coloring to get that pink color? or did they get that color from the dried raspberries?
Yes, I did add red food coloring! The best kind for this recipe is the thicker gel type
thank you!! Love your recipes!
At what point do you add the gel food colouring , and how much ?
You can add the food coloring when you’re mixing in the egg whites or directly into the mixing bowl when you’re mixing them. Food coloring vary in concentration so add a little at a time until it’s reached a nice, deep color
can I put less sugar? would it affect the results because I know that macarons ingredients are strictly measured
I’m not sure how the recipe would be affected. The ingredients do have to be measured precisely…
what are all the measurements in cups?
I use standard American measuring cups for all of my recipes. IF you need to convert the cups to grams, I recommend using Google 🙂
Dear Tatyana! I love your website,all the recipes,that I always wanted , are here. The macaroons are my kids favorite, that was my second time making them. These macaroons end up to be very delicious, but I had to face the challenge again to separate them from the baking paper,some of them fell apart. Any advice? Thank you!
I’m glad you enjoyed them! If the macarons are sticking to the paper, it usually means that they are under-baked. Try turning down your oven temperature by 10 degrees and baking them a bit longer. When they are baked properly, they should come right off the paper. I had the same problem when I first started making them, too! 🙂
Hello,
Can I use Freeze Dried Strawberry instead of Raspberry? Thank you!
Yes! Strawberry would taste great, too! 🙂
Thank you very much!!
I made this specific recipe and for some reason they cracked on top. That has never happen s for me in other recipes. Wonder why, would you know? Thank you!
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Confectioner’s sugar, about 5 cups – 5cups????? 5x250ml???
Sorry, mistake on my part! It’s about 2 cups but you can use less. Add the sugar until the buttercream reaches a consistency and flavor that you like
Every time I try to make macarons with fruit powder I have an issue. First it was they “melted” into one big mess that peeled up like a fruit rollup. Last night I tried your version and they cracked. Any suggestions?
Hi Nicole! I’m so sorry that your macarons didn’t turn out! If they spread too much/too flat, that means the batter is over-mixed. Same with the cracks, could be from over-mixing and also not resting them long enough. I rest mine for 1 hour, but if you live a high-humidity climate, this can take a lot longer…
For the filling you have cognac, but not the amount. How much do I use?
Hmm, I didn’t add cognac. I added a few tablespoons of lemon juice and lemon zest
If your cookies stick to the parchment, wet a towel with hot water and ring out. Place parchment directly on towel for four minutes and cookies should come off intact. Credit to my wonderful sister-in-law Lola for the fix.
Thanks for the tip! 🙂
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Hi Tatyana,
I’m thinking of doing these, but also adding a little bit of lemon curd to the center of each macaron, and then surrounding the curd with the lemon buttercream. Do you think this is okay? or do you think it will be too much lemon flavor?
Hi Drew! That would be a great idea! I think it would taste phenomenal 🙂
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Hi Tatyana! I wanted to make these tonight and was wondering when you added in the food coloring? Was it gel coloring or another type and what color?
Hi Ella! These are one of my favorites; always come back to this recipe. I usually add concentrated gel food coloring into the egg whites when they’re done mixing. I add then mix for a few seconds. You can also use powder color or add the food coloring directly into the batter as you start mixing it.
Thank you! I made these yesterday and i got the feet and my buttercream turned out great. A couple things though, the macarons did stick to the baking sheet even after i cooled them(i had to pry them of the sheet with a spatula) Also, the color of the macarons did brown a little bit in the oven. One more thing, they turned out somewhat hollow. After they cooled, i touched the top of one and it cracked. Any suggestions? They tasted great with the buttercream though. I will for sure come back to this recipe, i think i just need a bit more practice. Thanks for sharing the recipe! (also sorry for the long note)
First time attempting macarons here. I don’t know how I did it but the batter managed to be too thick and too thin simultaneously. It didn’t ribbon because it was too thick but they spread out too much like it was too thin.
Oh, no! 🙁 Macarons are always a little tricky – I had to try 3 or 4 times before mine worked for the first time. Did you use a scale for your measurements? That’s the best way to make sure that everything is right. It might be the egg whites – maybe not whisked enough? Hope your next batch turns out! 🙂
HI
Can I please know how to measure 100g egg whites ? instead of ml
or how many eggs of egg whites for this recipe
Thank you
Dimu
Hi Dimu! I recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh out the egg whites. 100g is approximately 3 large egg whites. Hope that helps! Enjoy! 🙂
Hi, what diameter are the macaroons you made? Just curious. I want to bake some for the first time using your recipe.
Hi! I usually make mine about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Not too big and not super small. Enjoy!
Hi Tatyana – I’m in the Uk where most of use have fan – convection – ovens. is your macaron recipe based on a conventional oven or convection? Thanks, Lesley
Hi Lesley. All my recipes are based on a conventional oven. In the US, we have both but I use the regular setting. Enjoy!
Hi, I’d love to make this but I couldn’t find freeze dried raspberris anywhere. Can I make it without them and add raspberry jam in the middle of the filling?
Hi! Oh, no – have you tried Amazon or online? Yes, you can make these without the freeze-dried raspberries. The raspberry jam will be a great addition. Enjoy!
I really want to try this but i don’t have almond flour and no stores I go to sell it soo-
Hi! Are you able to purchase online? Amazon sells almond flour. 🙂