Recipe for Lemon Macarons

Macarons are one of our favorite desserts. Light, airy, chewy, and delicious, they are naturally gluten free, and easy to make dairy free if you have a mind to the filling. My kids like to make them too, and they’ve gotten pretty good at it!

Watch our video on making Almond Macarons:

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A couple tricks to making a good macarons: first, make sure the egg whites are room temperature. (And save the yolks! We usually make a batch of baked custard with our extra yolks.) Second, when piping the macarons, pipe from above, keeping the tip of the piping back pretty close to the baking sheet so that the batter spreads. Finally, make sure you let them sit before baking!

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They’re macarons, not macaroons, you imbecile! One ‘o’, not two.
― Lauren H. Brandenburg, The Death of Mungo Blackwell

Lemon Macarons

Serves: 20
Prep time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 14 minutes
Cook method: bake

Ingredients:

Ingredients for the Macarons:

• 3 egg whites, room temperature
• 225g powdered sugar, sifted
• 105g almond flour
• yellow food coloring, if desired

Ingredients for the Filling:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1-2 tsp lemon juice

Instructions:

1. Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks with an electric mixer. Gradually whisk in half the sugar, continuing to whisk for 2-3 minutes until stiff peaks are formed and the batter is thick and glossy, and adding a bit of the. yellow food coloring at the end.

2. Mix the rest of the sugar with the almond flour, then fold gently into the eggs.

3. Put the batter in a piping bag (1/2-inch tip, or pipe without the tip), and pipe 1-inch disks onto baking sheets lined with parchment or baking liners, leaving space between them.

4. Tap sheet once against the counter to release any bubbles.

5. Set aside for 20-30 minutes to allow a slight skin to form on their surface.

6. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F and bake for 14-18 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

7. Cream the butter til soft, then add the powdered sugar 1/4 cup at a time. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice, and if necessary a tiny bit of water to get the filing to the desired consistency.

8. Assemble the macarons by sandwiching two together with the buttercream in the middle.

Check out some of our other favorite dessert recipes:

• Panna Cotta from Italy
• Pear Tarte Tatin from France
• Lemon Posset from Great Britain
• Authentic French Meringues

By Peg Kern

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