Macarons – the elusive, dreamy cookie recipe that haunts home pastry chefs! These little finicky cookies are a real treat to enjoy and can be a real treat to make, once you get a hang of it! This French macaron recipe for sweet 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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Tips For Macaron Success!
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 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.
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!
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Need some supplies 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!
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!
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! 🙂
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 🙂
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! 🙂