Easter Macarons

These Easter Macarons are so fun for Easter! Shaped and decorated like Easter Eggs, these French macarons are sure to be the hit of your holiday! Getting ready for Easter? Check out my Coconut Macaroons and Cream Cheese Mints.

• food coloring pens – you can find these in craft stores and other big retail stores or you can buy them online. They are perfect for drawing on these macarons and will allow you to easily create a beautiful variety of decorated Easter macarons. Here is a great set of food grade coloring pens.
• speckled egg – this is the same technique that I used in my Easter Cake that I recently posted. You essentially splatter diluted gel food coloring onto the top of the macarons using a pastry brush. You must be very careful not to get the food color on any surfaces, clothes, etc. It stains! Make sure to protect all surfaces!

Easter Macarons 

What Are Macarons?

Macaron Ingredients 

The ingredients list to these French Macarons is short and sweet. You can find the full, printable recipe at the bottom of this post. Let’s take a look at what you’ll need:

For the shell, you’ll need:

• egg whites – This is truly the key ingredient for macaron shells. I recommend letting the egg whites adjust to room temperature before using, as they’ll be easier to whip that way!
• granulated sugar – This is needed to help the egg whites stretch into the perfect meringue. 
• powdered sugar – This sugar helps the shell stay light, fluffy, and sweet.
• almond flour – Blanched almond flour helps to give the macaron cookies the desired unique texture and flavor.

To color the Easter Egg macarons, I divided the batter into thirds. One third I colored purplish pink (one drop of purple, one drop of pink), one third I colored green (one drop of royal blue and one drop of yellow) and the remaining third I kept white. You can, of course color these macarons with any colors you wish – just make sure to use gel food coloring! 

For the buttercream filling:

• butter – the base of this buttercream filling
• powdered sugar – for a delicate touch of sweetness
• vanilla extract – to flavor the buttercream
• heavy cream or milk – to thin the buttercream if needed

How To Make the Perfect French Macarons

If this is your first time (or your sixth time!) making macarons, it can really be intimidating. You can do it! Just follow these simple steps one at a time, and you’ll have a delicious, gorgeous batch of French Macarons.

First, start off by making the batter for the shells.

1. Fill a small saucepan halfway with water and set it over medium heat. Then, place a heatproof bowl over the pan, making sure it doesn’t touch the water.
2. Add the egg whites and sugar to the bowl, whisking constantly until the sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes.
3. Transfer the egg white mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium high until the mixture forms stiff peaks, about 5 minutes.
4. Sift the powdered sugar and almond flour into the egg whites.
5. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the egg whites, making sure not to deflate the egg whites. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl as you fold. 
6. Once all of the dry ingredients have been incorporated into the egg whites, add the gel food coloring, if using. (see notes in recipe card)
7. Continue folding the meringue but this time begin gently smushing the batter against the sides of the bowl in a circular motion, then scrape down the sides of the bowl and fold it all back together. 
8. Repeat this deflating process until the batter flows smoothly off the spatula.

You can test the batter’s consistency by slowly drawing a figure 8 with the batter. If the you can make an “8” with the batter flowing off the spatula in a constant stream, it’s ready to pipe! If it breaks or falls in clumps, smush and fold a few more times until the desired consistency is achieved.

Pipe and Bake Macarons

1. Line large baking sheets with silicon baking mats or parchment paper. 
2. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with an open round tip. A #12 piping tip or #10 tip works perfectly.
3.  Pipe 1” circles or egg shapes about 2” apart holding the piping bag perpendicular to the surface. Using a silicon macaron mat will help with this step.
4.  Once you’ve finished piping one tray, tap the tray firmly on the counter or drop straight down onto the counter five or six times to release any air bubbles. Repeat for the second tray.
5.  Let the shells rest for about 30 minutes or until the tops feel dry to the touch. This can take up to an hour.
6.  Preheat the oven to 325°F (you can check the oven temperature using an oven thermometer – this is especially helpful if you think your oven runs a little hot).
7. Bake the shells one baking sheet at a time for 12 to 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through if necessary. The shells are done when they don’t move or jiggle about when the baking sheets are moved.
8.  Allow the macarons to cool before removing them from the tray.

Make the buttercream filling

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter until it has lightened in color, about 2 minutes.
2. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the powdered sugar. Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined. If the buttercream seems too thick, beat in a tablespoon of heavy cream or milk.  
3. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitting with a piping tip of your choosing and set aside.

Assemble and age!

1. Place the macarons in similar sized pairs. 
2. Pipe a small dollop of filling on one macaron and place another on top.
3. Press gently, just until the filling reaches the edges. 
4. To decorate the macarons, use food coloring pens or white chocolate to draw on the macarons. To make the speckled egg macarons, combine 1 teaspoon of water with a few drops of black gel food coloring and use a pastry brush to splatter the food dye on the macarons. Be very careful not to get the food color on any surfaces, clothes, etc. It stains! Make sure to protect all surfaces!
5. Place the macarons in an airtight container in the fridge to age overnight. 
6. Bring to room temperature before serving. 

FAQs

How do I store macarons?

These homemade French macarons will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 4 days. Just make sure to keep them in an airtight container to preserve both their texture and flavor!

Why are my macarons lopsided?

The best way to make perfectly shaped macarons every time is to hold the piping bag perpendicular to the tray while you’re piping. If you hold the piping bag at an angle, that might result in lopsided macarons. They’ll still be tasty, but they won’t be as picture perfect as you want them to be.

Why do I need to age the macarons overnight?

This step is optional, but I highly recommend it! Aging the macarons overnight helps to soften the shell, thereby creating the perfectly crisp, yet chewy macaron texture that we all know and love.

Trish’s Tips for Perfect Macarons

Beat until egg whites have stiff peaks.

Use a silicone baking mat. Silicone baking mats are a really beneficial when it comes to making macarons. Beginners and advanced macaron makers can benefit from these silicone macaron mats that have circles to help you keep the macarons the same size.

Another trick is to place one of these mats beneath a piece of parchment so that you can see the outline of the circles through the parchment paper. Parchment paper is actually used by advanced macaron bakers because of it’s super slick surface.

Let macarons sit out for an hour before enjoying. The texture and flavor or a macarons improves when enjoyed after sitting out for about an hour after removing the cookies from the refrigerator.

Match up shell sizes before assembly.

Variations To Try

1. Have fun and decorate your homemade macarons with drizzled melted chocolate and sprinkles.
2. Try using a different flavored buttercream for the filling. You can use any flavor extract you like.
3. You can also color the butter cream for a fun contrast in color. Just be sure to use gel food coloring.

More Easter Recipes

1. Three Minute Easter Fluff
2. Easter Cookies
3. To Die For Carrot Cake
4. Coconut Cream Pie
5. Watergate Salad
6. Speckled Egg Easter Cake

How To Make Easter Macarons