Raspberry Macarons
Raspberry macarons are French cookies with almond flavored shells that have a crispy exterior and chewy interior. These cookies are filled with raspberry buttercream and a small amount of raspberry jam. This is a great treat during spring and summer when berries are fresh, but you can also make this recipe year-round by making the raspberry buttercream with frozen raspberries.
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Macaron Shell Ingredients
- Use my Italian Meringue Macaron recipe (or your favorite macaron shell recipe)
- Super Red Americolor Gel Food Coloring (optional)
Raspberry Buttercream Filling Ingredients
- 1½ cup (approximately 250g) of my Italian Meringue Buttercream recipe
- 3 Tbsp-⅓ cup (50-75g) Raspberry Sauce (to taste) or an equal amount of Raspberry Jam
- ⅓ cup (80g) Raspberry Jam, in piping bag
Equipment
- Digital scale (or dry measuring cups and measuring spoons)
- Silicone spatula
- Piping bags
- Round piping tip (e.g., Wilton #12) – optional
- Airtight storage containers
- Parchment paper
- Plastic wrap (optional)
Making Macaron Shells
Follow the instructions in my Italian Meringue Macaron recipe until it calls for adding the food coloring. Add 10-15 drops of the red gel food coloring to achieve a deep red color. You might need more or less to achieve the desired color. The shell color will lighten slightly as the meringue is folded into the batter. That being said, don’t go overboard when adding the food coloring. If too much is added, it can dye your mouth when eating the finished cookies.
What Kind of Food Coloring Should I Use When Making Macarons?
Gel and powdered food coloring are the most common types of food coloring that are used when making macarons. Typically, powdered food coloring is added to the dry ingredients while the gel food coloring can be added at many different stages based on the recipe used.
Avoid using liquid food coloring since it can thin the macaron batter. It also doesn’t provide the deep colors that can be achieved with gel and powdered food colors.
How Can I Make My Shells All the Same Size?
Macarons can be tricky cookies to make. Trying to get macaron shells equal sizes starts during the shell piping stage. Use a template to help with consistency. When I made my template, I used a sharpie marker on parchment paper and traced around circular cutters. I always place this template under another sheet of parchment paper so I can see the lines through the paper I’m going to pipe on. Then I pipe until I fill the circle and remove the template before baking the cookies in the oven.
Making Raspberry Buttercream
Combine the Italian Meringue Buttercream with the raspberry sauce and mix to combine. The more raspberry sauce you add, the thinner the buttercream will become. If too much sauce is added, the buttercream will start to break and look curdled. If this happens, start by increasing the speed of your mixer for a couple minutes. This can sometimes bring the mixture back together and smooth it out. If that doesn’t help, just add a scoop of fresh buttercream at a time and mix to combine until the buttercream smooths back out.
You could also use an equal amount of raspberry jam instead of raspberry sauce. Both taste great, but I preferred the fresher and less sweet flavor of the raspberry sauce version.
Filling the Raspberry Macarons
Place the raspberry buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a round piping tip. Alternatively, you could cut the tip off the piping bag without using a tip if you would like. I personally prefer using piping tips because the finish is usually smoother.
Place the raspberry jam into a piping bag and cut off the tip of the bag to create a small hole.
Pair up the macaron shells so both sides of the sandwich are approximately the same size. Flip half of the macaron shells upside down (i.e., one side from each cookie pair) and pipe a ring of buttercream around the outside edge of the flat side of the macaron shell.
Fill the center of the buttercream ring with raspberry jam. Then, place the other half of the cookie on the filling and gently press the shell down to push the filling to the edge of the cookie.
What If My Macaron Shells Are Different Sizes?
Unless you are making macarons to fit inside packaging, it’s completely ok if macaron shells end up slightly different sizes. Look for pairs of shells that are approximately the same size for each cookie. After pairing off most of the shells, you might have some that don’t match in size. Those cookies will be slightly mis-matched in size, but it likely won’t be too obvious. Worst case scenario, you can eat the evidence 😉
Raspberry Macaron Filling Alternatives and What to Avoid
The flavor of the raspberry jam combined with the raspberry buttercream (i.e., the buttercream made with raspberry sauce) provides a nice balance of raspberry flavor.
You could also fill the macarons with only the raspberry buttercream. You wouldn’t get a stronger pop of raspberry flavor in the center, but the macarons will still be delicious.
Avoid filling the macarons with only raspberry jam or raspberry sauce as both are not stiff enough to stay inside the cookie. In other words, they will spill over the edge. Both the jam and sauce also contain a larger amount of moisture than the buttercream. Macaron shells tend to absorb moisture over time, so using a large amount of fillings with high water content can lead to macaron shells breaking down or softening too much.
What Can I Do with Leftover Raspberry Buttercream?
If you have any leftover raspberry buttercream, use it as you would any other buttercream or frosting. It is great for filling cakes, topping cakes and cupcakes, or even piping on cookies. Ensure the buttercream is at room temperature before using it.
Storing Raspberry Buttercream
Store the raspberry buttercream in an airtight container at room temperature up to three days, in the fridge up to a week, or in the freezer for up to a month. Bring the buttercream to room temperature and mix it on medium speed in a stand mixer to return it to spreading and piping consistency.
Serving Macarons
Macarons are delicious the day they are made, but they are even better after maturing in the fridge. Place your filled Raspberry Macarons in an airtight container and store in the fridge for 24 hours. If you need to stack the macarons to make them fit in your container, place a sheet of parchment paper between the layers. This will keep the shells from hitting and scraping each other, in addition to avoiding any sticking that might happen from condensation.
After 24 hours, the flavor will have matured and the shell will be slightly chewier. Serve them at this point OR place the airtight container in the freezer to keep them for longer.
Storing Raspberry Macarons
Raspberry macarons should not be stored at room temperature for extended periods of time. The moisture from the jam will begin to soften and break down the macaron shells. The cookies will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days and in the freezer for 1-2 months. To store in the freezer, keep the cookies in an airtight, freezer-safe container. It’s best to individually wrap the cookies in plastic wrap. This provides an extra barrier against the freezer and provides a surface other than the cookie for condensation to cling to.
To eat the cookies, only remove the ones you need and bring them to room temperature with the plastic warp still on. This will keep the condensation from making the cookie soft.
Want More Macaron Flavors?
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Raspberry Macarons
Equipment
- Digital scale (or dry measuring cups and measuring spoons)
- Silicone spatula
- Piping bags
- Round piping tip (e.g., Wilton #12) – optional
- Airtight storage containers
- Parchment paper
- Plastic wrap (optional)
Ingredients
Macaron Shell Ingredients
- Use my Italian Meringue Macaron recipe (or your favorite macaron shell recipe)
- Super Red Americolor Gel Food Coloring (optional)
Raspberry Buttercream Filling Ingredients
- 1½ cup (approximately 250g) of my Italian Meringue Buttercream recipe
- 3 Tbsp-⅓ cup (50-75g) Raspberry Sauce (to taste) or an equal amount of Raspberry Jam
- ⅓ cup (80g) Raspberry Jam, in piping bag
Instructions
Making Macaron Shells
- Follow the instructions in my Italian Meringue Macaron recipe until it calls for adding the food coloring. Add 10-15 drops of the red gel food coloring to achieve a deep red color. You might need more or less to achieve the desired color.
Making Raspberry Buttercream
- Combine the Italian Meringue Buttercream with the raspberry sauce and mix to combine. The more raspberry sauce you add, the thinner the buttercream will become.
- If too much sauce is added, the buttercream will start to break and look curdled. If this happens, start by increasing the speed of your mixer for a couple minutes. This can sometimes bring the mixture back together and smooth it out. If that doesn’t help, just add a scoop of fresh buttercream at a time and mix to combine until the buttercream smooths back out.
- You could also use an equal amount of raspberry jam instead of raspberry sauce. Both taste great, but I preferred the fresher and less sweet flavor of the raspberry sauce version.
Filling the Raspberry Macarons
- Place the raspberry buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a round piping tip. Alternatively, you could cut the tip off the piping bag without using a tip if you would like. I personally prefer using piping tips because the finish is usually smoother.
- Place the raspberry jam into a piping bag and cut off the tip of the bag to create a small hole.
- Pair up the macaron shells so both sides of the sandwich are approximately the same size. Flip half of the macaron shells upside down (i.e., one side from each cookie pair) and pipe a ring of buttercream around the outside edge of the flat side of the macaron shell.
- Fill the center of the buttercream ring with raspberry jam. Then, place the other half of the cookie on the filling and gently press the shell down to push the filling to the edge of the cookie.
Storing Raspberry Buttercream
- Store the raspberry buttercream in an airtight container at room temperature up to three days, in the fridge up to a week, or in the freezer for up to a month. Bring the buttercream to room temperature and mix it on medium speed in a stand mixer to return it to spreading and piping consistency.
Serving Macarons
- Macarons are delicious the day they are made, but they are even better after maturing in the fridge. Place your filled Raspberry Macarons in an airtight container and store in the fridge for 24 hours. If you need to stack the macarons to make them fit in your container, place a sheet of parchment paper between the layers. This will keep the shells from hitting and scraping each other, in addition to avoiding any sticking that might happen from condensation.
- After 24 hours, the flavor will have matured and the shell will be slightly chewier. Serve them at this point OR place the airtight container in the freezer to keep them for longer.
Storing Raspberry Macarons
- Raspberry macarons should not be stored at room temperature for extended periods of time. The moisture from the jam will begin to soften and break down the macaron shells. The cookies will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days and in the freezer for 1-2 months. To store in the freezer, keep the cookies in an airtight, freezer-safe container. It’s best to individually wrap the cookies in plastic wrap. This provides an extra barrier against the freezer and provides a surface other than the cookie for condensation to cling to.
- To eat the cookies, only remove the ones you need and bring them to room temperature with the plastic warp still on. This will keep the condensation from making the cookie soft.
Beautiful! Love that there is jam in the filling for these too!