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These raspberry macarons are tangy, sweet, and melt-in-your-mouth amazing! Since my trip to Portland when I tried raspberry Macarons at one of their famous bakeries, I became obsessed with recreating the ones I tried. They were in-sanely good. So I’ve made hundreds of macarons over the past month.
I also knew that we needed to make a video to share the recipe with you because it’s crazy important for you to see what “flowing like lava” really means. I adopted the macaron base and stirring method from Martha Stewart’s March 2014 Living Magazine because it seems to be the most fail proof.
I admit there were several moments of near pulling my hair out over the past few weeks as I tested and retested batch after batch after batch, but I was stubborn as tree sap on my favorite blouse, and let me tell you, it was worth it! Mastering these cookies made me feel like a baking ninja. I’m sharing ALL my secrets to success so hopefully you’ll get it right off the bat! Before you get excited and start, READ THIS:
Watch How to Make Macarons:
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How to Make Great Macarons (Tips for Success):
- Read through the recipe first, watch the video, and measure out all of your ingredients before starting.
- Weigh your almond meal and confectioners sugar. When I use store-bought large AA eggs, I don’t weigh the whites or the granulated sugar since it’s an exact 1/4 cup granulated sugar.
- Do not use wax paper. Use parchment or silpat (but let the cookies cool before removing them or they will stick).
- If you store almond meal in the fridge, bring it to room temp. Egg whites must be room temp also.
- Do not overbeat egg whites – they should not be dry and breaking.
- Sift your dry ingredients; very important or your macarons might be hollow.
- When mixing your flour and meringue batter, Do not overmix or undermix: When you pipe the cookies, the peaks should settle down into themselves within 10 seconds.
- Let your cookies rest before baking – this is important to form the feet. Rest anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour
- When I bake in 2 batches, my first set always bakes in 15 min and the second one takes 13 min (maybe my oven gets hotter the second go-around?). Keep an eye on it. Cookies should not turn golden in the oven, except ever so slightly underneath.
- Cookies taste best the next day – refrigerate overnight and bring to room temp to serve.
- If you can’t find freeze dried raspberries, they are pretty inexpensive online.
- Deep Breath. YOU CAN DO IT! 🙂
- Watch our easy video tutorial on how to measure correctly
What You’ll Need to Make Raspberry Macarons:
- A digital kitchen scale
- A good food processor
- A spatula
- Parchment paper or silpat to line baking sheets
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer (I prefer the hand mixer for more control)
- A sieve to sift flour and strain raspberries
- A pastry piping bag with a large round tip (a disposable bag will do and if you’re brave, you can make due with cutting the tip off to make a round 3/8″ tip – I’ve seen it done)
- This little dusting wand from OXO is really fun to use
Here is the Print friendly recipe for how to make macarons:
Raspberry Macarons Recipe (Video Tutorial)
Ingredients
Ingredients for Macarons:
- 70 grams about 2/3 cup almond meal/flour
- 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
- 1/4 cup freeze dried raspberries
Ingredients for Raspberry Buttercream:
- 3/4 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temp
Instructions
How to Make Raspberry Macarons: Prep: Line 1 XL or 2 regular baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat.
- In the bowl of a good food processor, combine almond meal and powdered sugar and pulse twice to combine then process for 1 1/2 min. Sift through a sieve into a large bowl, pressing down on clumps with the back of a spoon. You should have about 1/2 to 1 Tbsp of solids left over in the sieve - discard those (If you have alot more, pulse them a few more times in the food processor).
- Place 2 egg whites in a large bowl and beat until foamy. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar then increase to high speed and beat 2 1/2 min or until stiff glossy peaks form.
- Add sifted almond mixture and fold with spatula from the bottom of the bowl upward then press the flat side of your spatula firmly through the middle. Repeat until batter flows like lava and thick ribbons form as it flows off the spatula. (35-40 complete strokes).
- Fit a pastry bag with a large (3/8" wide) round tip and transfer batter inside. Pipe 3/4" round cookies onto the lined baking sheet, keeping them 1" apart. Drop the sheets 6" over the counter to release air bubbles about 15-20 times.
- Place freeze dried raspberries in a ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin until they are a powder. Use a small sifter or tea ball to dust the tops of the cookies with raspberry powder. Let cookies sit at room temp at least 30 min or until they form a thin film over the top and don't stick to your finger when poked. Meanwhile, complete steps 1 & 2 of the frosting (see below).
- While cookies are resting, Preheat Oven to 300˚F with rack in the center. Bake 15 min. If they didn't all fit on one sheet, bake in two separate batches. Slide parchment paper and cookies onto the counter right away and cool to room temp (15 min). Now you can finish off step 3 of the frosting and pipe frosting generously onto half of your macaroons and sandwich gently with the second cookie shell.
How to Make the Raspberry Buttercream Frosting:
- In a small sauce pan over medium heat, combine 3/4 cup raspberries, 2 Tbsp granulated sugar and 1 Tbsp lemon juice. Heat until bubbling.
- Mash up the raspberries with a spoon then push the mixture through a sieve, pressing on the raspberry seeds to get the most juice out. I got 1/3 cup syrup. Keep the syrup/juice and discard seeds. Let cool to room temp.
- In a medium bowl, beat 6 Tbsp butter until whipped and white (2 min on high), Add in room temp raspberry syrup and beat until whipped and fluffy (2 1/2 to 3 min on high).
Notes
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
I love that these raspberry macarons are sweet and sour – I find them irresistible. Do you have a favorite macaron flavor?
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Hi Natasha! Is it possible to tweak this recipe to make plain vanilla shells? Where I live, raspberries are hard to come by! I’ve always loved making your dessert recipes because they’re not overly sweet. The 2 times I made your chocolate cake, they came out perfect. I’m hoping to try my hand at macarons, the recipes I’ve tried so far are super sweet!
Hi Carmina, I bet that could work!
Can you use any type of flower or does it have to be almond flower. I’m allergic to nuts and have always wanted to try macaroons.
Hi Alex, Macarons are typically made with a nut flour and I haven’t tested with anything else. You might need to google that and follow a recipe that has tested that.
I swapped 5g of powdered (i powdered as much that i can and sieved. Mixed with the almond meal instead of sprinkling on top) with powdered sugar. I did not need to use food coloring.
For the filling, i boiled the raspberry puree and slowly added it to the egg yolks while Beating the yolks, then added the softened butter!
I added a pinch of salt into the egg white too! Thank you for the recipe!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me Elena!
Thank you very much Natasha. Greetings from Nicaragua.
You’re very welcome!
Does each egg white have to weigh 65 grams or both? I’m going to try to make them since macarons are very difficult!
Hi, that is for both egg whites.
I want to add food coloring to the macaron shell because I’m experimenting with different fillings and would also like to try to change the color of the shell. What step would I add the food coloring to the shell?
Hi Aviela, I haven’t tried food coloring in this one but if I did, I would put it in at step 3 where you fold the flour and egg whites together. You want to use a gel food coloring so the mixture doesn’t get runny and add just a little at a time.
Hello ill love your macaroon recipe bake few times already and i love them just one question why for me they don’t come out round like in your video? For me they are all different forms and i havo on the cooking paper round contour but they still not round
Hi Vicy, it is hard to say without being there. I recommend watching the video to see how we piped it.
Can I use regular raspberries instead of freeze dried raspberries? If so, how much?
Hi Audrey, you will need freeze dried raspberries that are fully dried without any moisture in them so when you roll them they crush into a powder. Frozen raspberries won’t work the same way.
Hi Natasha! Is there a way to incorporate the raspberry powder into the actual batter to make the cookie turn pink and get that raspberry flavor even better without compromising the integrity of the cookie?
Hi Brianna, I haven’t tested that to instruction that but if you experiment, let me know how it goes.
Hey, Natasha, my macaroons got huuuuge while baking – they spread enourmously. What can be the problem? I think I overbeat the egg whites. Thanks! I LOVE your recipes!!!
Hi Margarita, I recommend reading the tips section in the recipe and the comments. This happens often and is due to measuring and technique. I hope that helps.
I really like the dough recipe, however, the raspberries started to brown before the cookies were done. My oven is on the hot side, so I had it it on 340. Any tips to keep the raspberry powder from browning?
Hi Jen, it is usually due to an oven running hot. I would turn the heat down slightly more which will also help with macarons rising properly. Also, make sure it’s on conventional mode and not convection which will bake hotter and faster.
Hi Jen, I think it has to do mostly with variances in oven temperatures. Browned tops indicate too high of heat. I would suggest decreasing the temperature by about 10-15 degrees and testing it that way. I hope that helps!
I think you are missing the amount of sugar in the raspberry buttercream.
Hi Criselda, we have it in the recipe- “2 tbsp granulated sugar” I hope that helps.
Hi Natasha I loved these they were delicious, I just had an issue they did not come out of the sheet easily they were slightly sticking which made me brake some of them. Any tips on how not to have them stick on the sheet?
Hi Aleksandra, that could indicate that they need longer baking. Also, be sure to use a good non-stick surface like parchment or a silpat baking mat and avoid using wax paper.
My first time ever and they came out great! Question- if I wanted to make a chocolate shell with this recipe, what would I have to do?
Thank you!
HI Kelley, check out our eclairs recipe which we dipped in chocolate. I hope that helps!
Hello Kelley, I had a recipe for how to make the chocolate/brown shells and it used 10g of cocoa powder to 180g ground almonds. So working it out, you would need about 3.8 (say 4) grams of cocoa powder for this recipe. I am wanting to try this recipe today/tomorrow as it looks a bit different but easier than the one in Jill Colonna’s book!
Hope that helps 🙂
Hi ! This looks so yummy ! Can you please tell me what food processor are you using or reccomend? Thanks
It is yummy! I hope you can try this soon. Here’s the food processor that I used in this recipe.
Hello Natasha
how many macarons does this recipe make?
Hello Carolynn, servings: 21 macarons. You can also view this when you click on “Jump to recipe”
Hello Natasha.
I was wondering if I could use frozen raspberries instead of freeze dried raspberries?
Hi Lina, you will need freeze dried raspberries that are fully dried without any moisture in them so when you roll them they crush into a powder. Frozen raspberries won’t work the same way.
Where do you get your piping bags? I really need new ones and I want to ask the professional
Hi Yanna, we used this piping bag here often. We have some of our favorite tools in our shop here.
Mine lost their pretty pink color even though I cooked them only 14 minutes. Will try lowering oven temp next time. Also, as others had said, my raspberry syrup and butter would just not come together. I finally added some powdered sugar and even that didn’t do it. Like trying to mix oil and water !
Hi Peggy, that can happen if your oven runs too hot, or if you are using a convection oven. If you see it discoloring, reduce the heat by 15 degrees. Also, make sure to bake in the center of the oven and not too close to the heating elements in the oven. I hope that helps.
Hi Natasha,
Thank you so much for the recipe and your video!
I have been using your recipe, and I seem to be getting really beautiful macarons, with very tall feet, however sometimes my macarons turn out hollow, and I’m not sure why. Would love to get your advice on how to avoid this going forward.
Thank you!
Hi Roy, these cookies are really finicky and the food processor and weighing are extremely important with macarons. For the longest time I wasn’t sifting and they continued to turn out hollow – they looked beautiful but because I was missing that crucial step, they weren’t working out. I wish they weren’t so finicky, but these cookies (in my experience) work best when you use the food processor and precisely weigh the ingredients.
My first batch ever of macaroons were a success! Thank you for the detailed recipe
That’s so awesome Amber! Thank you for that amazing review!