Strawberry Macarons

image of a strawberry macaron that's been decorated with white sprinkles and royal icing

5 from 4 ratings

Learn how to make these adorable strawberry macarons! My step-by-step tutorial & detailed recipe will help you master these delicious little cookies.

Prep Time1

Cook Time19

Additional Time30

Total Time1 49

Course: Macarons

Cuisine: French

Servings: 25 macarons

Calories: 116kcal

Author: Chelsey White

Equipment

Kitchen Scale
Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer
Silpat Mats or Parchment Paper
2 Large Baking Sheets
2 Large Piping Bags or Freezer Ziplock Bags
1 Small Piping Bag
2 Medium Round Piping Tips - Like a Wilton 10
1 Small Round Piping Tip - Like a Wilton 5
Scribe or Toothpick

Ingredients

Strawberry Macarons

110 g aged egg whites - about 4 large egg whites
pinch cream of tartar - optional
110 g granulated sugar 1/2 cup + 2 tsp
140 g superfine almond flour - blanched 1 1/4 cups
120 g powdered sugar 1 cup
5 g freeze-dried strawberry powder - optional
Red and neon green gel food coloring (I love Americolor and Chef Master)
1 Tbsp yellow or white nonpareil sprinkles

Buttercream Frosting

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

Additional Decorations / Fillings – Optional

1/4 cup strawberry jam or jelly

Instructions

Strawberry Macarons

Place two Silpat mats in two large baking pans and print out this strawberry macaron template. Set aside.
Pour 110g of aged egg whites and a pinch of cream of tartar into the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk and mix on a medium speed until the surface is covered with small bubbles and looks opaque.
Add 110g of granulated sugar to the eggs and mix on a medium-low speed (speed 4 on a KitchenAid Mixer) for 30 seconds. Increase the mixing speed to a medium-high speed (speed 6 on a KitchenAid Mixer). Keep mixing until stiff, glossy peaks form. This usually takes me about 4-6 minutes.
Sift 140g superfine almond flour, 125g powdered sugar, and 5g of freeze-dried strawberry powder into a large bowl and set aside.
Fold the dry ingredients into the meringue using a circular motion. Once the dry ingredients are mostly incorporated into the meringue, place about 2/3 of a cup of batter in a separate bowl and add a drop of neon green gel food coloring.
If you want to make both pink and red strawberries like I did, divide the remaining batter evenly between two bowls and add a small squirt of pink gel food coloring to one, and a very generous squirt of red gel food coloring (1/2 tsp) to the other. If not, just add a very generous squirt (1/2 tsp) of red gel food coloring to the remaining batter. Mix both bowls until the ingredients are combined and a thick ribbon of batter runs off the spatula when it's lifted. Be careful not to over-mix the batter! I like to mix both batters slightly less than normal, so that they have a little more dimension and keep their shape better!
Pour the red and pink batter into large piping bags fitted with a medium-sized round piping tip (like a Wilton 10). If you don't have that size of piping tip, you can cut a 1/4 inch or about 1/2 cm opening at the base of the piping bags. Seal the top with a rubber band or clip and set aside (and angle the tip of the bag upward so that macaron batter doesn't flow out as it sits). Pour the green batter into a small piping bag fitted with a small round piping tip like a Wilton 5. If you don't have that size of piping tip, you can cut a 1/8 inch or about 2mm opening at the base of your piping bag. Seal the top with a rubber band or clip and set aside.
Place the template (if you chose to use it) beneath one of the Silpat mats before piping, and remember to remove it from the pan once you’re done piping. Pipe these one tray at a time. Start by piping the berries (wait to add the green top). Bang the pans firmly on the counter a few times to release air bubbles, then pop any remaining air bubbles that come to the surface with a scribe or toothpick. Then sprinkle white or yellow nonpareil sprinkles over the red part of each shell to look like strawberry seeds. I only added sprinkles to half of the shells since the other half won't be visible because they'll be the bottom of each macaron. But you can add them to all if you prefer!
Pipe the green tops above each strawberry using the green macaron batter. I recommend not banging the pans again after adding this part, so that the strawberry tops can have a bit more definition.
Let the macarons rest for 30 minutes to develop a skin. The macarons should look matte once the skin has formed. As the macarons rest, preheat your oven to 315 F.
Bake one tray of macarons at a time on the middle rack of your oven for 18-20 minutes, and rotate your pan halfway through. I also place a large piece of foil over the tray halfway through baking them to prevent them from browning. This helps them keep their color a lot better. Just be careful to kind of tent the foil upward, so that it isn't resting directly against any of the macarons.
Remove from oven and let the macarons cool on the pan (about 15 minutes), then gently remove them from the mat.
The additional decorations are optional, but you can use green and white royal icing (I made a half batch of the royal icing in this recipe) to add details to the leaves and create little blossoms once the shells are fully cooled.

Buttercream Frosting

While the macaron shells rest and bake, beat 56g of room-temperature butter on a medium speed for 1-2 minutes with a whisk attachment until it becomes lighter in color and smooth.
Mix in 4g vanilla extract and a pinch of salt on a low speed.
Slowly mix in 125g of powdered sugar and 5g of heavy cream on a low speed.
Continue to mix on low for a couple of minutes 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).
Place in a piping bag with the same round piping tip (like a Wilton 10) you used to pipe the macaron shells and set aside, or cut a 1/4 inch hole at the base of your piping bag.

Assembling These Strawberry Macarons

Pipe a ring of frosting around one macaron shell and fill the center with strawberry jam. Top it with another shell to create a little macaron sandwich.
Place the finished macarons in an airtight container and chill in the fridge overnight, then let them warm to room temperature and enjoy!

Video

Notes

Recipe Yield:

This recipe makes about 50 macaron shells, which can be used to make 25 macarons. You can double or triple this recipe to make more macarons if needed.

You can also pipe smaller round shells and not use the template! If you go that route, this recipe makes about 25 classically shaped macarons (my shells are usually about 1 1/4 inches in diameter).

Tips for Making the Best French Strawberry 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.
Use gel food coloring if you want to color your macarons. If you try to use liquid food coloring, it can throw off the consistency of the batter.
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!
Print out this template to help you pipe consistently sized macarons.
FIRMLY bang your pans on your counter after piping your macarons. This helps release any air bubbles that may be trapped and prevent cracked or hollow shells.
Rest your macarons for 30 minutes before they're baked to allow them to develop a skin.
Pipe a small number of macarons on a mat to test your oven for hot spots and see if it bakes accurately. That way, you won't waste a whole tray of macs if your oven runs hot or cold.
Let your macarons mature in the fridge overnight once they're filled! Letting them rest overnight while they are filled softens them (in a good way) and allows the flavors to develop.
If your first batch of macarons doesn't turn out, please check out my macaron troubleshooting guide.

Making These Strawberry French 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.

Macarons can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days in an airtight container.

Macarons can be refrigerated for up to 5 days 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 filling! It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to a month.

Nutrition