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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
- 3 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, 3 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). You can add powdered sugar to taste if a sweeter cream is preferred.
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?
Hi Nathasha,
I made the raspberry cream macarons last night. The taste was amazing! Although I found a few of my macarons stuck to the silicon Mats. Should I be greasing the Mats?
Thanks
Lisa
Ps. I also made your recipe for Panna Cotta with Raspberry Sauce (I could find any strawberries.) It was amazing!!
Hi Lisa, no, you do not want to grease the mats; some may stick but make sure they fully cooled until you room if you find they are sticking.
Natasha-
Might wanna review this recipe or take it and your video down. You forgot a key ingredients for the raspberry butter cream…the powdered sugar, heavy cream, salt.
Hi Lynette, the recipe is correct, but you can modify if you prefer a different cream.
Recipe was wonderful. I just have a question did anyone have trouble with the dough coming out to fast?
Thanks
Maryann
Thank you, Maryann! I didn’t have that problem before but maybe others can share their experience here too? You might also want to check the comments section below the recipe for more tips.
Hi. Do you know how many grams are in 6 tbsp butter?
Hi there, this Ingredient Weight Chart should help.
Natasha, greetings from Singapore! I have been following so many of your recipes and I’ve never failed and turned out great each time, which is a miracle as I’m an amateur. It’s just very encouraging each time! Can’t help to comment on this one as it is an amazing recipe. I would’ve never thought I can bake my own macaroon! I follow every step of it and voila! I made my own macaroon and it’s super good 🙂 All gone within minutes. Thank you for your amazing recipes and keep up with your good work!
Love it, Carrie! That is so great to know, thank you so much for sharing that with us. It is very inspiring for me when I see some great feedback.
Hi! Could I use a open star tip to pipe both the frosting and the cookie?
Thank you!!!
Hi Elowyn, I haven’t tested the star shape tip for the cookie itself. I worry about air pockets, but I imagine it may work. It just may not turn out to be a perfectly round and smooth cookie; if you happen to test that, I would love to know how you like this recipe.
I tried the recipe but it turned out hollow n second batch was sticky
Sorry to hear that it didn’t work well for you. I’ve never had that issue before, was there anything that was changed in the recipe or ingredients?
These were so delicious! I didn’t think I could ever make macarons, but your video and tips made it easy.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review, Stephanie!
H Natasha
I made this recipe and the shapes and all turned out great but the powder on top turned brown and the filling was too sour. Any tips
Hi, it may be that your oven runs hot in which case, I would reduce the temperature next time. Also, be sure to bake on regular bake mode and not convection. If you find the mixture is too sour, you can sweeten it up. It’s a nice contrast with the sweet macaron shell but you can adjust for sweetness preference by beating in more sugar.
I have made these twice, yet both times the cookies were hollow inside. Here’s what I did.
-I used a scale to weigh the ingreds.
-I was also careful with not under or over mixing the egg whites.
-I counted to 35-10 strokes to mix in the dry ingreds.
-I thought I may not have sifted well the first time, so I was very careful the second time.
-And I dropped them many times to knock out the bubbles.
What could be making them hollow? Any advice? They also barely have any “feet”…
Hi, the biggest issue with hollow cookies that I came across was not sifting adequately. Make sure to use a fine-mesh sieve like the one in the post above and also read through the “Tips for Success” in the post which may help with troubleshooting.
Thank you, I am going to try again as soon as I get a better sieve! I love all your recipes! I’m saving my yolks to make tiramisu for xmas!
Natasha, I have been this macarons a couple time and i love it!! Can i make this macaron in advance? Like 3 days before the event? Is it gonna be still good?
Hi Shanty, yes! these can be frozen in an airtight container up to 3 months or refrigerated for about a week, just bring them to room temperature to serve. They would be ok at room temperature for a couple of days, but I would refrigerate if keeping longer than that.
I’ve been making macarons for months now, tried about 20 different recipes but always keep coming back to this one as a basis for the shells. The ratios are perfect and make he tastiest macarons!
That’s so awesome! Sounds like you found a favorite recipe!
Hey! I love all your recipes, as each one so far has been great!
This will be my first time making macarons. I saw that Trader Joe’s carries both almond meal and blanched almond flour. Do you have a suggestion of which one to get?
Thank you!!
Hi CG, I use Honeyville Blanched Almond Flour (superfine grind). I’ve purchased 2 different kinds, (1) the Costco brand and (2) Bob’s Red Mill, and both did have a light cream color but no larger brown pieces. Look for a bag that says almond flour on it.
Hello! I love this recipe and I’m anxious to try it. Can I make the cookies one day and finish the the next or 2 days later?
Hi Beryl, yes you can refrigerate overnight and bring to room temp to serve.
Everybody says to age/dry egg whites before using. Your recipe doesn’t call for it – do your macarons always turn out well despite not aging the whites?
One of my goals in my recipes is to skip unnecessary, time-consuming steps. If I can skip something without a negative effect on the recipe then I do.
Hi! I have a question- I just moved from oregon to NC and am trying to bake macarons but they keep cracking on the top. I have make them a bunch of times in OR and they always turn out great, but for some reason they are turning out badly here! I am leaving them out to rest longer and am making sure it’s not raining outside because I heard that affects the baking. Any tips you would be able to give me? Thank you!
Hi Sophia, the moisture could be the culprit, I recommend making this is a less humid environment.
hi Natasha,
It’s such a good recipe and I just made it today. It came out perfect and it’s so yummy. I baked quite a lot but I found it’s so easy to follow your recipe . Thanks for sharing and I for sure will make it again.
I’m so happy you enjoyed this Rita!
Hi Natasha,
Since this is my first time making macarons, I wanted to clarify some things. The recipe asks me to pipe 3/4 inch cookies and to keep them 1 inch apart. I was wondering if it is correct because 3/4 inch cookies are quite small. Additionally, in your video, it looks like the cookies are 1 inch in size while keeping them 3/4 inch apart.
Thanks!
Hi Sharon, yes, we pipe thin into 3/4 inch cookies but as we drop the sheet to let out the air bubbles they will slightly expand in size – very minimal. They are smaller cookies. I hope this helps.
Hello Natasha!
I finally made these today, and have a couple of questions to ask. I didn’t have freeze-dried raspberries, so I used freeze-dried strawberries thinking that it should have the same effect. However, the strawberry powder on top and around turned brown after baking. I was wondering if it was because I used strawberries or if it was because of something else. Additionally, I made a template with 3/4 inch circles. When I had finished piping out 42 cookies, I still had around half of my batter left over. Is 3/4 inch the radius or diameter of the cookie? Also, I was wondering why my cookies turned out hollow? Overall the macarons were super delicious, and I will definitely use this as a base recipe for any macarons I make in the future.
Thanks!
Hi Sharon, they should be 3/4″ in diameter. I suggest watching the video to see if your batter thickness was the same or at what point maybe things started to look different (thickness of how they were piped, etc).
I made same mistake using dry freeze strawberry because I couldn’t find raspberries in my grocery store they did turn brown. I no longer try to substitute. After making more batches with experience I think I perfected this recipe! By the I’m making some for a baby shower!
Thank you for sharing that feedback, Larisa!
I never leave reviews, never! But this time I just have to do it!
So it was my fifth or sixth time baking these little devils and the first time using Natasha’s recipe. I thought that it was something wrong with me (and maybe it was lol) but they never turned out good (hollowed, cracked, burned or all of the above). But this time they are perfect!
I didn’t have freeze dried raspberries, so I made them with freeze dried strawberries and they are sooo delicious (I already ate 3 ).
Thank you for the recipe, Natasha!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that Maryna! Thank you for that awesome review!
Hi Natasha. Love your recipe. It did work out for me. But I have a quick question. When I bake my macarons fully, they become yellowish. So if I want to keep the color, I need to bake them just a little under, which makes the foot of the cookie to fall apart too easily. Any suggestions on how to keep the beautiful color and bake them fully?
Hi Lana, 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.
Hello Natasha,
We made some macarons with a different recipe and could not get the egg portion to fluff up after beating it with a hand mixer for more than ten minutes. Do you know how we can fix that?
Hi, without testing the different recipe, it’s hard to say, but make sure your bowl is clean and dry and free from oils.