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You can totally make these Heart Shaped Macarons! It’s easier than you think, especially when you use this print-friendly heart template that I created just for you.
These darling heart-shaped macarons are perfect for baby showers, bridal showers, birthday’s, princess parties, and especially as Valentines Macarons! And, macarons are naturally GLUTEN FREE!
They taste irresistibly good with the tangy-sweet lemon buttercream sandwiched between the sweet almond cookies. These look just like French bakery macarons and you’ll definitely impress your family and friends. Watch the video to learn exactly how to make homemade macarons!!
Watch How to Make Heart Macarons:
If you’ve never made macarons before, be sure to read through our tips for making perfect macarons and why it’s important not to skip steps like sifting!!
Here are all of the tools that I used in the video:
Heart Macaron Template (free printable)
Boos Cutting Board
Glass Mixing Bowls
KitchenAid Hand Mixer
Cuisinart Food Processor
Silicone Baking Liner
Citrus Juicer
Mesh Strainer/Sieve
OXO Food Scale
Silicone Spatula
Wilton #2A Round Decorating Tip
Silpat Macaron Kit (with piping bag, round tip & food coloring)
⬇️ Print Friendly for Heart Macarons:
Heart Macarons with Lemon Buttercream (VIDEO Recipe)
Ingredients
For the Heart Macarons:
- 70 grams about 2/3 cup almond meal/flour, room temp
- 120 grams about 1 cup confectioners (powdered) sugar
- 2 large egg whites, about 65 grams, room temp
- 50 grams exactly 1/4 cup leveled granulated sugar
- 1 " strip Red or Pink GEL food coloring
- Sprinkles, optional
For the Lemon Buttercream:
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners, powdered sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, from 1 small or 1/2 large lemon
Instructions
How to Make Heart Macarons:
- In the bowl of a food processor, add 70 gm almond flour and 120 gm powdered sugar. Pulse twice then process 1 1/2 min. Sift and discard any solids (should be less than 1 Tbsp solids in sieve).
- Put 2 egg whites in large clean/dry mixing bowl and beat until foamy, then gradually add 1/4 cup granulated sugar and beat on high speed about 2 1/2 minutes or until stiff glossy peaks form. Add 1" strip red gel food coloring and fold with spatula just until incorporated.
- Add all sifted almond flour/sugar mixture and fold with spatula using this method: scrape batter around the bowl, then press the flat side of the spatula firmly through the center. Repeat until batter flows like lava and thick ribbon forms as it flows off spatula (35-40 complete strokes).
- Print 4 copies of heart template and place on 2 baking sheets under silicone liners or parchment paper (AVOID WAX PAPER) - you'll be able to see the hearts through your liner to guide you as you pipe hearts. Transfer batter to large piping bag fitted with 3/8" round tip. For each heart, pipe at the top left and pull down towards the bottom center then pipe at the top right and pull down towards the bottom center and flick the end up if it gets long.
- Add sprinkles to as desired. Firmly tap baking sheets over counter 15-20 times to release air bubbles. Poke any remaining obvious bubbles with toothpick. Let cookies sit at room temp 30 min or until no longer sticky to the touch - they should form a thin film on top. Meanwhile preheat oven to 300˚F.
- Bake one sheet at a time for 12-15 min at 300˚F. I usually do 15 minutes for the first batch and 12 minutes for the second batch - somehow my oven gets hotter the second batch. Let cookies cool to room temp before removing them from baking sheet. Once cool, they should slide off easily. Meanwhile make buttercream (see instructions below).
- To assemble, flip over half your cookies and pipe generous amounts of frosting onto the flat sides, piping in a heart shape. Find a well-matched unfrosted second half and sandwich cookies together.
How to Make Lemon Buttercream:
- In a medium mixing bowl, cream 6 Tbsp softened butter on high speed for 2 mins.
- Add 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (1/2 cup at a time and beating to incorporate between additions), along with 1/8 tsp of salt and once sugar is incorporated, increase to high speed and beat 2 mins.
- Add 2 Tbsp lemon juice and beat another 1 minute or until whipped and fluffy. Transfer to the same clean piping bag fitted with the round 3/8" tip.
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Love macarons? Make sure you try our well-loved raspberry macarons!
Q: Do you have any fun plans for Valentines Day? Whether you’re spending it with your best girl fran or your special someone, I want to know how you celebrate. I love hearing from you! I’m pretty certain we’ll be dining in with either filet mignon or lobstaaaa!! 🙂
Hey!
Thankyou so much for the recipe =) They taste wonderful! I made only half the batch of buttercream but I still have 1/2 of that left.Anyways,I printed out the heart templates and piped them on and baked them after 30 mins.They puffed out so much and didn’t really look like hearts ;P except a few.But I also tried the classic rounds and they came out absolutely perfect with feet.This was my first attempt at making macarons.Do you have any tips to get the hearts right next time? I’m surely keeping the recipe cuz it tastes wonderful
=)
Hi Shyma, it may be due to baking for 30 minutes – that is a really long time to bake macarons. I usually bake 15 minutes for the first batch and 12 minutes on the second batch.
Hello, may I know what type of egg white peaks are needed for this and how can you tell whether it is over beated or just nice? Thank you so much!
Hi Phoebe, I have that in step #2. Once you add the sugar, you should beat until stiff glossy peaks form.
Hi Natasha! Which do you get almond flour? Or do you make it at home?
Hi Natasha, I do buy almond flour and have tested both Bob’s Red Mill and the big bag at Costco (can’t remember that brand name), but make sure it is finely ground and white (without the brown flecks of almond skin)
Hi Natasha! I have made these mararoons a few times and they turn out so yummy and overall look great, except they always turn color in the oven. Using an electric oven, and started baking them on temp as low as 265 and they turn color and start to brown everytime. I only bake them for about 12 min, (until they come off the parchment paper) and by then the cookies have gotten a little brown shade on them. I don’t know how you baked yours on 300 for a longer time and yours turned out so beautiful. Any suggestions? I already put my oven rack low, and have been putting a pan on a top rack to shield from direct heat and i don’t see it making a difference.
Hi Julie, it sounds like your oven runs hot – mine don’t discolor at all at 300. I wonder, are you possibly using the convection setting on your oven? Using the convection setting circulates the air around the oven and bakes things faster. The only other thing is to maybe use an internal oven thermometer to gauge how hot your oven is actually getting. I hope that helps!
HI natasha! What blade did u use on the food processor i just bought one and i am not sure which one to use for this
Hi Alina, I used the multi-purpose medium slicing disk. It’s just the standard chopping/ pureeing blade.
Do you take the template out before baking and when so you don’t disturb cookies?
It is safe to bake with the paper template underneath the liner. You can remove it or leave it there. It doesn’t really make a difference.
These macaron turned out amazing. They looked great with the sprinkles that i added and they tasted delicious. I am going to give them out tomorrow for valentines day!
That’s awesome!!! Those are the best kinds of Valentines “cards” 🙂
Hi, Natasha!
I would like to make these the night before and bring them in the next day. Should I leave them out or refrigerate them?
Hi Lindsay, If it’s just for a day, you can leave them at room temp. You can also refrigerate if you wish and then bring them to room temp before serving. 🙂
Thank you so much! I can’t wait to make these!
Hello, I tried to make the macaroons in my gas oven and was successful. I doubled the cookie sheets so the cookies are a bit protected from the direct heat. However, you probably need to cook them for at least 18min. Also, for the person who said their cookies change color and don’t want to unstick ..they are probably not cooked enough and/or the egg whites are not beat/stiff enough before folding into the almond flour ..that happened to me and experimented with a few batches.hope this helps..ive been trying to make these for a while and finally getting close to having it perfect.
I tried making it in heart shaped but i guess one of my batters ended up too runny so not all of them were hearts 🙁
Thank you so much for sharing your insight with a gas oven!! I’m sure that will be really helpful for others.
Hi. Can you say exactly what temperature you used and how lond you baked. Thank you!!!! Today I baked with double parchment paper at 265F during 23minut. Result also was bad!!! I experimented so many time. Some days I did that 3 times…..Crazy…
i tried 300 and 290 for 18 min/20min . i doubled the sheet pans not the paper . check how you beat the eggs..if they are too beaten and aren’t smooth and shiny the cookies will not come out
Hi Natasha,
I’m getting ready to make these today for my sisters birthday tomorrow But I do not have a scale or a food processor. Can I still make these and have them turn out just as good without these two items? Thanks for your help.
Diana
Hi Diana, everything I’ve read says you have to weigh the ingredients and the food processor is important to get a really fine almond flour mixture. If your almond flour is too coarse, the cookies won’t form properly or look smooth. I wish it weren’t the case, but these steps are important in macarons.
Dear Natasha. I have tried many times to make Macarons, but each time the result is the same. I do everything strictly according to your recipe. I do not know what happened ….. dough became exactly like yours. When I bake, they crack the top, burst inside remains moist and do not depart from the parchment paper. I bake at the same temperature, just like you. I have a gas stove. What is most interesting, my sister-in-low is doing well according to your recipe uses the same flour as me – it all turns out, and I do not. She has electric stove. Prompt, what is wrong. I’d like to learn how to do them. Thank you!!!
Hi Maria, my oven is an electric oven as well. You might google/research about baking macarons in a gas oven. It may be a simple temperature or baking time adjustment, or both, but without testing it myself, I can’t really give you advice on making macarons in a gas oven. Keep me posted on what you figure out! I suspect the oven is the culprit. You might also consider getting an oven thermometer to check the true temperature of your oven.
Zdravstvuite Natasha. Ea segodnea 2 raza probovala ih prigitiviti. S testom problem ne bilo – oba raza ono polucealosi odinakovo. Vipekala ea na silekonovom kovrike v protivne razmerom 15×21 inch. Reshetka duhovki staeala na srednem urovne. Pecenia ne prilipali k rukam!
1. Perviy raz ea vipekala pri temperature 285 F 15 minut. Posle togo, kak ih dostala s duhovki, ea ostavila ih ostivati preamo v protivne.
Moi nabliudenia – pecenia vse bili tselie….no sverhu dostatocino silino podrumeanenie iiii prakticeski vse ne smogli iloiti ot silikonovogo kovrika…..
2. Vtoroi raz ea vipekala pri temperature 275F 20 minut. Posle togo, kak ea ih dostala iz duhovki, ea reshila srazu otlepiti ih ot silikonovogo kovrika – prishlosi prilojito nemnogo usiliy s pomoshiu kuhonnogo noja.
Moi nabliudenia – pecenia sverhu vse bili tselie….no opeati tsvet pomenealsea. Vmesto belogo tsveta oni preobreli koricnevatiy ottenok, iiiiiprishlosi nojom it “otkovirivati” ot kovrika, poka oni eshe goreacie.
Cito mogu skazati….progres hoti i ciuti, no esti – pecenia uje ne treskaiutsea, no vse ravno ne ideal. Nado dobitisea togo, citob ih tsvet ne menealsea tak silino i, cito bi oni legko ostavali ot kovrika.
Eshe ea zametila, cito te pecenia, kotorie nahodilisi s samogo kraia pravoi i levoi storoni protivnea podrumeanilisi osobenno silino, cem seredina protivnea. U menea protiveni idet na vsiu shirinu duhovki.
Posovetuite pojaluista, kakoi varian mne eshe poprobovati. Budu jdati. Spasibo bolishoe!!!
Hi Maria, I’m having a really hard time reading through your comment. If you could post it in english, that would be very helpful! Are you using a gas oven? I don’t have a gas oven so I can’t really experiment that way.
Hi Natasha. I tried to bake them 2 times on the silicone mat and in gas oven. I do not have electric oven.
1. I Bake 15 minutes at 285F. Cookies are not cracked on top, but changed color and unstick from the pan. I gave them to cool in the pan.
2. I Bake 20 minutes at 275 Cookies also not cracked on top, but again changed color. I decided immediately unstick them from the silicone mat – it was necessary to make a little effort. But almost all were whole.
In both cases, they are not cracked, but changed the color and was difficult unstick them from the mat. Which another option should I try? Thank you!
Hi Maria, thank you for replying. I haven’t tested this in a gas oven so I can’t really say for sure about the temp and time but if they are changing color, that means they are baking either too long or at too high of heat. I have done some reading, and it is suggested that you preheat the oven for 30 minutes to allow the temperature to stabilize in a gas oven before putting the cookies in to bake. I would also suggest using a digital oven thermometer so you can see the real temperature of your oven. Gas ovens tend to vary in temperatures and unfortunately macarons are sensitive when the heat gets too high.
Hi Maria, make sure that macarons’ top is not sticky (form film) before putting them in the oven – during cold season it might take longer than 30 min. to form film. I have noticed that my macarons are always better in summer time, when the temperature in the house is warmer than in winter or fall.
Natasha! My dear Natasha! Your website desperately needs a Raffello Cake recipe! I keep checking and wishfully hoping that you will post the recipe one day! How much I wish I had a recipe for Valentine’s Day! Lol! This is my greatest request! Love your work and everything you do. Blessings.
Hi Oksana, I don’t have one of those yet and I haven another dessert coming before V-day but I won’t have a chance to get that out before V-Day. I’ll add it to my list.
These are just gorgeous! I love the little sprinkles you used on them as well. I’ve never tried making macarons before but now I really want to!
Thank you Shelby! hey are just as good as they look!! If you try the recipe, let me know what you think!
What a cute little treat! It is a perfect recipe for the Valentine’s Day, thanks for inspiration!
It is so cute AND delicious!! Let me know what you think if you decide to make the recipe!
These look irresistible! Is there a different filling that I can use without butter? Maybe cream cheese with lemon juice? Or heavy whip cream? Anything but butter lol.
Hi Natalie! Thank you for the compliment! I do think my cupcake frosting would work well, but you’ll want to cut it down at least in half or you’ll end up with alot of frosting 🙂
These look so delicious and so pretty!
Thank you so much for that nice compliment! 🙂
Thank you so much for the recipe! These are super good! I’ve tried to make those last night and my husband loved it!
I wonder how can i make a different buttercream that taste almost the same but without butter?
p.s. My only mistake was that i didn’t got rid of all the bubbles throughly, and my hears were not as perfect lol but for the first time i think its good enough:)
You’re awesome!!!
Thank you again!
Awesome!! I’m so glad you enjoyed them! I you wanted a non-buttercream frosting, I do think my cupcake frosting would work well, but you’ll want to cut it down at least by half or more, otherwise it will be too much frosting 🙂
Perhaps cupcake frosting with raspberry or strawberry jam mixed in would be nice!
It does work well and I have tested it with raspberry jam but the color didn’t match the shells – it was a completely different kind of pink – almost a purplish color – so maybe strawberry would work better.
Natasha, these look sooo cute!! nice job!
cant wait to make these with my daughter.
Thank you Olga! You two will love them! Let me know what you think 🙂
I love your raspberry ones and I know I will love these! Thank you sooo much for making a new recipe! I asked in some other one. Look like my wish came true just in time for my birthday!
Perfect timing then hUh!?! Let me know what you think of these heart macarons!
The yummiest thing I have ate in my life! Totally the best! I have made others but they wernt as good. Totally a keeper!! I was thinking of putting the macaroons on lollipop sticks and giving them as gifts, what do you think?
Oh my goodness that would be cute!! I think it would work to sandwich a lollypop stick between the cookies inside the cream but the only way it would stay put is if you refrigerated them and served them chilled. The buttercream firms up when refrigerated and would hold the stick steady. I’m not sure the actual cookie is thick enough to contain a stick inside without falling apart. Let me know if you try it! I’m so glad you enjoyed the macarons! 🙂
Hi Natasha, a big thumbs up about your video great job on it!! These macarons look really good I want to try making these! And it does look fun!
Thank you Katya! They are SO good!
Hi Natasha! I absolutely love your cooking, I have done few of the recipes you posted. I have a question: is it possible to substitute almond flour to any other flour?
Hi Elena, I haven’t really tried using an all-purpose floor to advise. If you decide to do an experiment please let us know how it goes.