So today I am jumping out of my comfort zone and making one of my favorite things to eat but also one my most feared things to bake... Macarons. But not just any macarons... Salted Caramel Macarons.... and guess what they weren't all that bad to make you guys, i was tressing over nothing. Once you bit into these little morsels of chewy soft salted caramel goodies, you will be making them on repeat.
So I am really excited about these Salted Caramel Macarons you guys… and that simply is because it is one of my first fall inspired recipe of the season and my first macaron recipe on the blog! It is just the end of August and yet I am starting to feel those fall feels and I couldn’t help it. Most of my recipes have been light and fresh and fruity and summery but I’m ready to break out the rich, heavy, and caramel recipes now.
So let me tell you why I am extra excited about fall this year. Me and my husband grew up in upstate NY, and if you are from upstate NY you know what i mean when I say Fall is something special here. It’s almost treated like a holiday in and of itself… the rolling mountains covered in red, orange, and yellow leaves, hay rides, apple picking, cider, and fall festivals. I am getting the feels just talking about it. So long story short about 4 years ago me and my husband moved to the south west (El Paso Texas to be exact) so that my husband could attend medical school there. Well let me tell you it is beautiful there… but when the our first September hit there i just remember thinking “when does fall happen here”. Then October came.. November and still NOTHING. No leaves change, no festivities, no apple picking. So Sad. The south west is amazing but one thing it doesn’t have is seasons (not like in the north east anyway) and I truly missed that. So anyway we just moved back to NY this year and this will be the first time in 4 years that we will have a “true” fall again. I am so excited i might go extra heavy on the pumpkin spice this year!
TIPS TO MAKING THE PERFECT MACARONS EVERY TIME
- I like to start by blending my almond flour and powdered sugar mixture in my food processor. This just helps keep it super fine and gets ride of some of that lumpy look you may have seen before.
- A key step is to sift your almond flour mixture TWICE, this significantly helps you get a smooth and pretty looking macaron
- when whipping your eggs whites make sure to not add all your sugar in at once or you will deflate them! This is a huge mistake. If your egg whites to not form stiff peaks, start them over or you will ruin your cookies.
- after piping your cookies you may notice a little point peeking up on the top of your cookies. to soften this out I like to wet my finger in some water and lightly press those down / smooth out the tops.
- to get your air bubbles out and avoid cracking, drop your cookie sheet on the counter about 5 times hard.
- I highly recommend a silicon macaron mat with circles on it. This helps your piping so much and makes for uniformed cookies.
- Make sure to wait for your macaroons to form a hard shell on the outside of the cookies. you should be able to touch the cookies gently and not indent it or have it feel sticky. This is when they are ready to be baked. This hopefully takes about an hour but varies a lot based on room temp and humidity... so just wait it out yours may take longer.
HOW MACARONS ARE MADE
Macarons are made with almond flour, powdered sugar, and egg whites. In a food processor, add your almond flour, powdered sugar and salt. blend on high until very fine. Then using a large mesh sift, sift your mixture, leaving any larger pieces behind. repeat twice to get a very smooth macaron. set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add your egg whites and beat on high until foamy/ soft. Then add your cream of tartar and whisk on high again while slowly adding your sugar and vanilla. continue to whisk until stiff peeks are formed. If desired add your food coloring of choice. to get this caramel color I mix 8 drops of yellow, 2 drops of red, and about ½ drop of blue in a small bowl. I recommend testing the color out on a paper towel. If you like what you see then add it to your egg mixture and whisk until evenly combined. Now GRADUALLY fold in your almond flour mixture into your egg white mixture. Place mixture into a piping bag with a 1 inch round tip. Place a silicon macaroon mat (if you have one)onto your baking sheet. Pipe out 2 inch round macaroons. Now set your macaroons aside until they harden and form a "shell" on the outside that you can touch without it feeling sticky. This should take about 1 hour, but may be longer. Once they are ready bake at 300 degrees for 16 minutes. feet should form! take out and let cool. Now assemble with your buttercream and any other jams/ caramels in the center, sandwiched between two cookies.
HOW MANY CALORIES IN A MACARON
my recipe contains 113 calories per macaron, and they are comparable to most other recipes.
MACARONS HOW TO STORE
To best store macarons place them in an air tight container and place them in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Lastly, if you try out this recipe, be sure to leave a comment/rating on how it turned out. I love hearing from you guys and will try my best to reply to every comment! And don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!
Salted Caramel Macarons
Ingredients
macarons
- 3 egg whites
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 ¾ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- red, yellow and blue food coloring
Salted Caramel
- 1 cup sugar
- 8 tbs butter
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon flaky Sea Salt
Buttercream
- 1 cup salted butter (softened)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup salted caramel
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
Instructions
macarons
- In a food processor, add your almond flour, powdered sugar and salt. blend on high until very fine.
- Then using a large mesh sift, sift your mixture, leaving any larger pieces behind. repeat twice to get a very smooth macaron. set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add your egg whites and beat on high until foamy/ soft. Then add your cream of tartar and whisk on high again while slowly adding your sugar and vanilla. continue to whisk until stiff peeks are formed (should look like picture in above post).
- If desired add your food coloring of choice. to get this caramel color I mix 8 drops of yellow, 2 drops of red, and about ½ drop of blue in a small bowl. I recommend testing the color out on a paper towel. If you like what you see then add it to your egg mixture and whisk until evenly combined.
- Now GRADUALLY fold in your almond flour mixture into your egg white mixture.
- Place mixture into a piping bag with a 1 inch round tip.
- Place a silicon macaroon mat (if you have one)onto your baking sheet. Pipe out 2 inch round macaroons.
- To smooth out the tips of the macarons dip your finger in a little water and press down any tips that may be standing up. Then drop your cookie sheet about 5 times on the counter to get any air bubbles out.
- Now set your macaroons aside until they harden and form a "shell" on the outside that you can touch without it feeling sticky. This should take about 1 hour, but may be longer.
- Once they are ready bake at 300 degrees for 16 minutes. feet should form! take out and let cool
Caramel
- I recommend making this while your macaroons are resting so you have enough cooling time.
- In a medium sauce pan. melt together your butter and sugar on medium heat and stir until golden brown and lightly bubbling (be careful this can burn quick). Then remove from heat and add your cream. This should make a large bubble... continue stiring.
- Add your salt and set aside to cool.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip together your softened butter. Then add your powdered sugar, heavy cream, and salted caramel. whip until combined.
- Transfer mixture to a piping bag, with just a small tip cut off or small piping tip of your choice.
Assemble
- Take one macron bottom side up and pipe a ring of buttercream along the rim of the cookie. Then fill the center with a drizzle of caramel. sandwich your cookie with another macaroon. Repeat for the rest of your cookies.
- enjoy!
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