Strawberry Macarons

Welcome back to my new “Macaron Monday” series!  Today’s recipe for Strawberry Macarons is based on my husband’s favorite fruit…strawberries. 

It is currently strawberry season and we have been eating strawberries by the pound!  The nice thing about this recipe, it that you can enjoy it any time of the year (i.e., not just during the summer).  These cookies are semi-homemade since I used a store-bought strawberry jam for the filling, but that means that you can spend more time eating and less time in the kitchen.  I love the strong flavor the jam imparts, and the light pink color of the buttercream is beautiful. 

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Macaron Shell Ingredients

• Use my Italian Meringue Macaron recipe
• Add 5-6 drops of Super Red Americolor Gel Food Coloring (optional)¹

Buttercream Filling Ingredients

• 1 cup + 2 Tbsp (250g) of my Italian Meringue Buttercream recipe
• 3 Tbsp – 1/3 cup (50-75g) Strawberry Jam (to taste)²
• ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp (80g) Strawberry Jam, in piping bag³

Special Equipment

• Piping bags
• Piping tips (two #12 Wilton tips)
• Couplers

Making Strawberry Buttercream

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Combine the Italian Meringue Buttercream with the smaller amount of strawberry jam. 

Filling the Strawberry Macarons

Place the larger amount of strawberry jam into a piping bag fitted with a coupler and a #12 piping tip⁴. 

Place the strawberry buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a coupler and a #12 piping tip⁴. 

Flip half of the macaron shells upside down and pipe a ring of buttercream around the outside of the macaron (i.e., on the flat part of the cookie).  Fill the center of the buttercream ring with strawberry jam.

On some of my larger cookies, I did a double bullseye so there would be a little more strawberry jam. 

Place the other half of the cookie on the filling and gently press to push the filling to the edge of the cookie. 

These cookies are sweet and taste strongly of strawberries!  If you’re feeling adventurous, you can make your own strawberry jam to add to the buttercream. 

Storing Macarons

Macarons are good the day they are made, but they are best after sitting in the freezer for 24 hours.  Wrap the cookies in plastic wrap and freeze.  To eat, bring the cookie to room temperature with the plastic wrap still on.  This will keep the condensation from making the cookie soft. 

These Strawberry Macarons are incredible with their intense strawberry flavor!  One bite through the crisp exterior, into the chewy interior with rich strawberry buttercream will make these cookies completely irresistible.  One will NOT be enough!

Check out my Italian Meringue Macaron recipe for all of my tips and tricks to make the perfect macaron. You can also try my Lemon Macaron recipe for another summery treat!

Notes:

1. You might want to add a few more drops for a deeper red color.  The color always fades a little when the meringue is folded into the flour mixture.  To get vibrant colored cookies, it is best to add powdered food coloring, which doesn’t change the moisture content of the cookies.  Some people are sensitive to the flavor of red dyes.  You can use a “no taste” food coloring if you would prefer. (Back to “Macaron Shell Ingredients” section)
2. The strawberry flavor is coming solely from the strawberry jam.  Make sure you use a high-quality jam.  Also, be very careful if you add more than 75g of jam.  If there is a high ratio of liquid to buttercream, it can cause the buttercream to curdle. (Back to “Buttercream Ingredients” section)
3. This is optional.  If you would prefer to just have the buttercream center, you can omit this ingredient. (Back to “Buttercream Ingredients” section)
4. If you don’t have piping tips, you can just cut the tip off of the piping bag before piping. (Back to “Filling Macarons” section)
5. This recipe was inspired by the “Lemon Macarons” recipe in the Bouchon Bakery cookbook.