Lemon Macarons

Oh man. 

Look at these!!! I had a friend (Hi Sunitha!) over to make these for another friend. We went through all the odds and ends of making macarons, including sometimes having the first batch just fail for some reason or another.

I gave her warning that it may happen, and it did! The second batch, made exactly the same way, worked out perfectly. Not to mention, that lemon flavor! Delicious, fruity, perfect for summer. These guys are a keeper. Absolutely delicious.

Adapted from Sweet&Savory

For the Macarons
1 cup finely ground almond flour
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Yellow gel food coloring

For the lemon butter cream
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
4 teaspoons heavy cream
2 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

To start making macarons, start fearless! Worst case scenario, they don’t grow feet, look funny, or crack. Which means you have a bunch of macaron shells to eat and you just make another batch. Start by whipping your egg whites until foamy. Add in pinch of cream of tarter. Add in your granulated sugar 1 tbsp at a time until all incorporated. At this point, your egg whites should be glossy and form stiff peaks. Add in the zest, extract, juice, and food coloring until it’s a yellow you’d like. Whip until incorporated.

Sift in your powdered sugar and almond flour. Fold your dry ingredients into your egg whites until the ribbon of batter dissolves in 10 seconds. This part is crucial. There are thousands of videos on the internet demonstrating what the perfect consistency looks like. I don’t know how to upload video so google away!

Pipe your batter onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet approximately 1 inch rounds leaving room for them to spread. You can use a #1 piping tip or simply cut a sizable hole out of the corner of a ziploc bag. Slam them on to the counter (literally) until the tops are smooth and they are sightly flattened. Let them dry on the counter for 15-30 minutes depending on the humidity of the kitchen.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Your macarons will be dry when you touch them gently and they don’t stick to your finger. Be patient and gentle when testing! If the batter still sticks to your finger, give it more time. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the macarons easily lift of the parchment paper. If you have an extra baking sheet, I like to bake them on two sheets stacked on top of each other to prevent burning. Let cool and make the buttercream.

For the buttercream, you can beat all the ingredients together all at once. Easy peasy. I would recommend starting slow so powdered sugar doesn’t get everywhere. Pipe onto a macaron cookie, starting from the edge and working in. Then, find a matching macaron and gently press on top to make a store worthy cookie.

Refrigerate several hours or overnight to let the flavors meld and let come to room temperature before serving. Don’t worry if you have some that don’t look perfect, simply eat them and don’t share those!

Enjoy!