When a coworker asked if I could make her some strawberry macarons I was ecstatic! It was my first “real” order for my homemade macarons. Not wanting to disappoint I set out to make the best macarons I could.
I had made a raspberry buttercream for macarons before but felt like the fruit flavor didn’t stand out enough. After some research I decided to try out a new way to make a berry buttercream. Instead of just pureeing fresh fruit and adding it to the buttercream I reduced the puree over heat first. Taking the extra step to reduce the puree helped to remove some of the excess liquid in the natural fruit and bring out more of the strawberry flavor. I ended up adding 3 TBS of the reduced puree to the buttercream mixture and was happy with the flavor. Feel free to add more or less depending on your taste, but if adding more puree you may need to increase the amount of powdered sugar to keep the consistency right.
For this batch I chose to dye the cookies red, and opted to keep the buttercream at its natural light pink color. You could also add pink or red dye to the buttercream if you wish. I’ve found that using gel food coloring works nicely when making macarons and does not affect the batter. Again, you can add as much or as little coloring as you wish. But keep in mind that the coloring will fade some when baking, so add a touch more coloring than you think you would need for the desired color.
Happy Baking!
PrintStrawberry Macarons
Description
Delightful French macarons with a strawberry buttercream filling.
Yields 20-24 macaron sandwiches, depending on size.
Ingredients
Macarons
- 4 oz finely ground almond meal/flour
- 7 oz powdered sugar
- 3.5 oz granulated sugar
- 4 oz egg whites (room temperature, aged for 1–2 days)
- pinch cream of tartar
- red gel food coloring
Strawberry Buttercream
- 1/2 cup strawberry puree (from fresh strawberries)
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- red food coloring (optional)
Instructions
Macarons
- Sift together almond meal and powdered sugar.
- In a mixer with the wire attachment, whip egg whites on low-medium speed until foamy. Once foamy slowly add granulated sugar in a steady stream while mixer is on.
- Scrap down sides of bowl to ensure all sugar is incorporated.
- Add in the desired amount of red food coloring.
- Turn mixer on high and whip egg whites until stiff glossy peaks form, careful not to over beat.
- With a spatula, add 1/3 of dry ingredients at a time to egg whites and fold together gently. Continue with remaining dry ingredients until just combined. The batter should fall from the spatula in thick ribbons and resemble a slow lava-like flow.
- Pipe macaron batter into small circles on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Carefully slam trays down on the counter to help release any air bubbles.
- Let macarons sit on the counter for 30-45 min until a skin forms and the batter no longer sticks to your finger when touched.
- While macarons are resting heat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Bake one sheet at a time for 10-13 minutes. Tops of shells should be firm and the center should barely jiggle from the “feet”. Let cool on a wire rack in the pan for 2 minutes, then remove cookies from the pan and leave on rack until fully cooled.
Strawberry Buttercream
- Add strawberry puree to small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally until the mixture has reduced by about 3TBS (10-15 min). Pour into small bowl and place in freezer or fridge until cold.
- In a mixer, beat butter until fluffy and pale in color, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Mix in 1 cup powdered sugar, 3 TBS reduced and cooled strawberry puree, vanilla extract, and food coloring if using. Beat in remaining 1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar until combined. If needed, add additional 1/4 cup powdered sugar for desired consistency.
Notes
- Store in fridge. Let come to room temperature before serving.
Aunt Sandra
Those look beautiful and your pictures are so well done. I want to just pick up a cookie and enjoy.
Roseann
WOW! Those look amazing. So professional looking. To good to eat. Your getting to be
very good at this cookie baking. Job well done.