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4.89 from 26 ratings

Conversation Heart Macarons

These conversation heart macarons look just like your favorite Valentine's Day candy, complete with adorable sayings!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Additional Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Macarons
Cuisine: French
Servings: 250 mini macarons
Calories: 10kcal
Author: Chelsey White

Ingredients

Macarons Shells

Buttercream Frosting

  • 56 g unsalted butter, room temperature 1/4 cup
  • 2 g vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 1/2 tsp
  • 1 g fine salt 1/8 tsp
  • 125 g powdered sugar 1 cup
  • 15 g heavy whipping cream, room temperature 1 Tbsp

Equipment

Instructions

Mini Heart Shaped Macaron Shells

  • Line four large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. If you don't have that many, line as many as you have and pipe and bake the macarons in stages. Set aside.
  • Pour 110g of aged egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk and mix on a medium speed until the surface of the egg whites is covered in small bubbles. Add 1/4 tsp cream of tartar and continue to mix until it reaches the soft peak stage and leaves visible tracks.
  • Gradually mix 110g of granulated sugar into the egg whites over a few minutes while mixing on a medium-low speed. Increase the mixing speed to a medium-high speed. Keep mixing until stiff, glossy peaks form.
  • Sift 140g of superfine almond flour and 125g of powdered sugar into the meringue. Use a rubber spatula to break up any big clumps and press them through the sieve.
  • Fold the ingredients together with a rubber spatula. Use a circular motion that sweeps around the edge of the bowl and then pulls through the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is getting mixed together. Don't forget to scrape off the inside of the spatula intermittently. Sometimes meringue can get stuck there and not get mixed in properly.
  • As soon as the dry ingredients seem mostly incorporated, divide the batter evenly between four bowls (about 115g per bowl).
  • Add gel food coloring to the bowls of batter to make blue, pink, yellow, and purple batter. Fold the batter in each bowl until a thick ribbon of batter runs off the spatula when it's lifted. You should be able to draw a couple of figure 8s with the batter running off your spatula in a continuous stream when it's the right consistency. If the stream of batter breaks before you're able to do this, you may need to stir it a bit more.
  • Pour each batter into a small piping bag fitted with a small round piping tip like a Wilton 10. If you don't have that size of piping tip, cut a 1 cm opening at the base of each bag. Pipe small hearts on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 cm apart. The hearts I piped were about 1 1/2 cm, and I was able to fit about 125 hearts per baking sheet.
  • Gently tap the pans on the counter a few times to release air bubbles, then use a scribe or toothpick to pop any visible bubbles and reshape any hearts that need a little extra love.
  • Let the macarons rest for 30 minutes, or until they develop a skin. The macarons should look matte once the skin has formed. While the macarons rest, preheat the oven to 315 F / 158 C.
  • Bake one tray of macarons at a time on the middle rack of your oven for 16-18 minutes and rotate the pan halfway through to help the macarons bake evenly. Place a large piece of foil over the pan halfway through the baking process when you rotate the pan to prevent the shells from browning. Take care that the foil doesn't touch any of the shells.
  • Remove the macaron shells from the oven and let them cool fully on the pan (about 15 minutes). If they're properly baked, they should peel off the mat cleanly and have a shiny bottom.

Buttercream Frosting

  • Beat 56g room-temperature butter on a medium-high speed for 1 minute with a hand mixer until smooth. It should become lighter in color as air is incorporated into it.
  • Mix in 2g of vanilla extract, and 1g of salt on a low speed.
  • Slowly mix in 125g of powdered sugar. Halfway through add 15g of heavy cream or milk to make the frosting easier to mix. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula.
  • Mix on low for a minute until the ingredients are fully incorporated and the desired consistency is reached. 
  • If the frosting is too thick, add in additional heavy cream or milk (1 tsp at a time). If the frosting is too thin, add more powdered sugar (1 Tbsp at a time).
  • Once the frosting is the right consistency, place it in a piping bag fit with a very small round tip (like a Wilton 5) and set aside.

Assembling These Conversation Heart Macarons

  • Once the shells have cooled, use a red edible marker to write cute little messages on half of the shells. Then pair up the macaron shells and pipe frosting onto the bottom macaron shell. Gently press a second shell on top of the filling to create a sandwich.
  • Place the finished macarons in an airtight container and chill in the fridge overnight, then enjoy!

Notes

Recipe Yield

This recipe makes about 500 mini heart macaron shells, which can be used to make 250 mini heart macarons.
You can double or halve this recipe as needed.
The yield and bake time will vary based on the size of the macarons you pipe. I piped these shells with a diameter of 1 1/2 centimeters.

Tips for Making the Best Conversation Heart Macarons

  • Measure your ingredients in grams with a kitchen scale! You really need to be precise with this recipe. Your macarons will turn out best if the ingredients are weighed.
  • Separate your own eggs and age them if possible! Do not use egg whites from a carton.
  • Carefully read through the directions before making these macarons. There are quite a few steps and it's good to know your game plan before you start!
  • Rest the macarons for 30 minutes before they're baked to allow them to develop a skin.
  • Let your filled macarons mature in the fridge overnight! This softens them (in a good way) and allows the flavors to develop.
  • If your macarons don't turn out, please check out my macaron troubleshooting guide for help!

Making These Conversation Heart Macarons in Advance & Storage Tips

  • French macarons need to mature overnight (or ideally 24 hours) in the fridge before being eaten! They taste best 24 hours after being made.
  • These macarons can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.
  • Filled macarons can be frozen for up to a month, but the length can vary based on the filling.
  • Unfilled macaron shells can be frozen for up to a month in an airtight container.
  • The frosting can be made ahead of time too or save any leftover frosting! It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 10kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 2mg | Sugar: 1g