A strawberry macaron that is soft and chewy on the inside, crisp on the outside, and has just the right amount of strawberry flavor.
I admit that I was nervous about learning how to make French macarons but once I learned how to make them, I could not stop! I immediately had to make a strawberry version because strawberry anything is a winner in my book!
There are a bunch of ways to get that strawberry flavor into your macarons. I've seen people use freeze-dried strawberries ground up into a powder, or you can use strawberry puree like I use in my strawberry cake recipe.
I think the easiest and most convenient thing to use to get great strawberry flavor into your strawberry macarons is to use strawberry emulsion. Just a teaspoon adds tons of strawberry flavor, a nice light pink color and it doesn't affect the consistency of the macaron batter.
What Is Strawberry Emulsion?
Strawberry Emulsion is basically a super concentrated flavoring made from natural ingredients. It has a very strong flavor and typically takes less to flavor your recipes than using extract alone.
Strawberry Emulsion is great for flavoring cakes, frostings, fillings, and more. Use it in place of strawberry extract to give your baked goods a stronger flavor and richer aroma. Emulsions are the preferred choice of professional bakers for their exceptional taste and more potent flavor.
You can switch out the strawberry emulsion for any emulsion and make any flavor you like!
How To Make An Easy Strawberry Macaron
To make your strawberry macaron, we start with the basic macaron recipe. For a printable version, jump to the recipe card below. Make sure all your tools, bowl, and whisk attachment are completely clean and oil-free or your egg whites won't whip up. I highly recommend using a stand mixer for macarons, it takes a very long time for the meringue to whip with a hand mixer. I like to use a KitchenAid or a Bosch Universal Plus mixer.
Start with room temperature egg whites. Whip for 30 seconds or so until they get some bubbles. Add in your cream of tartar and slowly sprinkle in the sugar. Continue whipping on high to STIFF glossy peaks. We want to make tiny air bubbles in our meringue, small bubbles will pop slower than large bubbles.
After you get your egg whites to stiff peaks form, go ahead and add in your strawberry emulsion.
You can also use strawberry extract if you don't have emulsion but also add in a drop of pink food coloring. I used 1 teaspoon of strawberry emulsion... kinda looks like blood splatter in this pic. Maybe we should have re-thought this one lol.
Sift together your powdered sugar and almond flour. Remove and discard any large lumps. Sift a second time to just make sure everything is blended well. Some people like to use a food processor, but it's not necessary.
Add ⅓ of your flour mixture to the egg whites and fold in gently. Follow my easy macaron video for more visuals on folding properly.
Once your mixture is cohesive, go ahead and add in the remaining dry ingredients.
Continue folding gently until the batter falls in ribbons from the spatula and you can draw a figure 8 with the batter without it breaking. The batter should flow like lava.
Place your batter into a piping bag fitted with a #14 round piping tip and then pipe onto parchment paper.
After conducting a test in my latest YouTube video, I've discovered a macaron silicone mat works better than parchment paper. This is the mat I used.
Make sure you hold your piping bag straight up and down while squeezing to ensure the cookies are all the same size and in a circle. I pipe about a tablespoon at a time for small-sized macarons.
Once you have finished piping, tap the pan a few times on the counter to pop any surface bubbles. You can also use a toothpick to pop any bubbles below the surface.
If you want to add some sprinkles to your macarons, now is the time to do it. Just don't use anything too heavy like metallic sprinkles or they will sink through the top of your macarons during baking.
Now let your strawberry macaron cookies sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes until a skin forms over the surface and you can touch them without feeling anything sticky. If you don't let the macarons develop a skin, they will not have feet when they bake. Now is a good time to preheat the oven to 300ºF.
I bake my macarons in the oven at 300ºF for 15 minutes. The cookies should be left to cool fully before trying to peel them from the parchment paper. If they stick then they were not finished baking and you'll have to remember to bake them for longer next time.
If you want your strawberry macarons to have a strawberry filling you can fill them with a strawberry reduction. You can also mix some strawberry reduction in with your buttercream and pipe that into the center.
All that's left to do is fill your strawberry macarons with buttercream and serve them up!
I love the silky texture of Italian meringue buttercream with strawberry macarons, but if you want an easier filling, try my easy buttercream frosting.
How long do macarons last?
These macarons will last 2-3 days in the fridge. In fact, it is recommended that macarons be stored in the fridge for at least 24 hours to improve the texture of the cookie.
You can freeze unfilled strawberry macaron shells. Thaw them out to use as you need them or if you're like me, you'll just sit there and eat them without guilt haha!
Want more macaron recipes? Check these out!
Chocolate Macaron Recipe
Recipe
Equipment
- Medium round piping tip and piping bag
- silicone macaron baking mat
- Stand Mixer
- Candy Thermometer optional, for Italian buttercream
Ingredients
- 57 grams almond flour
- 113 grams powdered sugar
- 57 grams egg whites
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 28 grams sugar
- 1 teaspoon strawberry emulsion
Italian Meringue Buttercream
- 16 ounces granulated sugar
- 8 ounces water
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 8 large egg whites (8 ounces)
- 24 ounces unsalted butter softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon non peril sprinkles optional
Instructions
Strawberry Macarons
- Sift together the powdered sugar and almond flour, twice if not blended. You can also use a food processor if you'd like.
- Whip the egg whites to frothy consistency and slowly add the sugar and cream of tartar, whipping until soft glossy peaks form.
- Add the strawberry emulsion to the meringue.
- Fold meringue into batter. Fold your spatula under the batter and around the edges and then cut through the center. Your meringue is ready when it forms a ribbon off the spatula and the batter that settles almost dissolves all the way back into the rest of the batter but still leave a bit of a line.
- Place parchment paper onto your sheet pan. Pipe small rounds about 1" in diameter. Use a template if needed. I pipe about 1 tablespoon at a time. Add sprinkles on top if desired.
- Allow the cookies to dry uncovered until a crust forms on the surface. About 30 minutes - 60 minutes or until a dry film develops over the surface of the cookie. This will help the macarons rise and develop feet. Preheat the oven.
- Bake at 300ºF for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on the pan for a few minutes. If they are sticking, try putting the cookies back into the oven for 1-2 minutes more.
- Pipe frosting onto the bottom cookie, and sandwich it with another on top. Refrigerate macarons in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days.I love the silky texture of Italian buttercream with strawberry macarons, but if you want an easier filling, try my easy buttercream frosting.
Italian Meringue Buttercream
- On a stovetop, mix together the water and sugar, cover with a lid and bring to a boil on medium-high heat.
- Keep the lid on the pot for 3-4 minutes and bring to ensure all the sugar granules are dissolved, otherwise, your sugar can get gritty and crystalize.
- Remove the lid, insert the candy thermometer carefully and continue cooking on medium-high until the syrup reaches 240° F.
- When the sugar solution is at about 235° F, begin whipping the egg whites on high speed. Add the salt to the egg whites.
- When the egg whites reach soft peaks, pour the sugar solution in a steady stream on to the whipping whites while mixing on low speed.
- Continue whipping the egg/sugar mixture until it reaches stiff peaks. I wrapped an apron around my bowl with an ice pack to help the meringue cool down faster. You can also cool the meringue by scooping it out of the bowl and placing it into the fridge for 15 minutes.
- Once the meringue is cooled, whip in soft butter and vanilla until the buttercream is light and fluffy and no longer has a butter taste.
Tiffany says
Great suggestions!! Do you know a variation for cooking times in a gas oven for macarons? I destroyed about 300 macarons last week in this thing! I’ve tried all different variations!
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yikes, I don't know for sure. I haven't use a gas oven in my own home but I used one in pastry school. I would just start off with a very short amount of time and literally sit on the floor watching them haha. Maybe do some small batches for testing.
John Mayer says
Hi Tiffany! I'm using gas oven at home too. My advice is to get thermometer oven. Its a game changer! And always minus 20 deg celcius from what the original recipe says, if you're using fan oven. Hope this helps you!
ANNETTE says
Made these today with Raspberry Emulsion. What an amazing flavour for the shells. I thought it was going to be too sweet with ratio of powdered sugar to almond flour.....but.....NOoooooooo! Thank you for the suggestion of using emulsions. Onward to find more flavours 🙂
The Sugar Geek Show says
So happy to hear about your success! I love using emulsions in my macaron recipes!
Summer says
Thanks for the great recipe! I've been scared to make macarons for so long, but I finally got the courage to try today. They turned out great! I didn't have emulsion, so I used freeze dried strawberry powder, which gave them such a yummy color and taste! Thanks again!
Jay says
Quick Question?? Do I need cream of tartar?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Cream of tartar just helps with the stability of the egg whites, it's a very finicky cookie so they may not turn out if you don't use it
Jocelyn says
Do you think one could use other emulsions in the same quantity? Thanks.
The Sugar Geek Show says
Definitely! So yummy!
Rachael says
These were fabulous. I am new to baking macarons but these were much easier than anticipated. I am in love with the emulsions. They are a new favourite ingredient in my pantry. Eager to try some other flavours now. Can’t get the strawberry purée in sachets in australia but I found a bottle shop where they sold strawberry purée mix for cocktails and used that instead. It worked a treat. Now just have to make heaps more so that I don’t waste it (or perhaps have a cocktail party).
Kasie Bernal says
What kind of sugar do you use?
The Sugar Geek Show says
powdered sugar
Rachel says
I swore I’d never make macaroons again but your recipes never fail me. The first time I made them they turned out perfectly, the 20 batches after that have all been hollow. Do you use the convection setting or the bake setting? My oven is calibrated correctly and I’ve tried a whole bunch of trouble shooting tips without success thus far. Any tips you might have for hollow macs?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Hollow macarons definitely happen. With the French method, it can be really hard to get it perfect. Even bakeries have hollow macarons. They still taste great though so I wouldn't worry so much about it. If you really want to get better at making macarons, I suggest taking an in-person macaron class with someone who teaches the Italian method 🙂
Anais says
Hello!
These are absolutely delicious. I had an issue with the macaroons cracking in the oven before they were done cooking. Do I need to wait longer for the surface to dry more?
The Sugar Geek Show says
It could be that or the meringue could have been under whipped causing some bubbles to rise to the top
Peace says
Hi, I'm Peace, what if one can't get almond flour, can I use d regular flour to achieve this macarons?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Sorry, you can only use almond flour for these cookies. They are very specific and finicky little devils
Karen says
Hi Liz,
Your recipe and macarons look amazing. I'm wondering if it's possible to half the buttercream recipe or if that would compromise the results? Thanks!
The Sugar Geek Show says
You can definitely half the recipe 🙂
Myriam Friedman says
Thank you so much for a wonderful video! Have you ever made macarons with Italian meringue, the hot syrup as opposed to just sugar? I had more success with it. You are right macarons are extremely finicky cookies. Frustrating but what a sense of accomplishment when they come out beautiful!
Elizabeth Marek says
I haven't but I know they are much more stable than the french method 😀
Jan says
Is it possible to get this recipe with ounces and cups instead of grams? I really wanted to make this today but I'm confused on the measuremeents
Elizabeth Marek says
Sorry, this is a VERY finicky cookie that requires very exact measurements. Even then it can be tricky to achieve. Best to get a small kitchen scale if you're going to attempt this recipe. All french macaron recipes are measured in grams because of how hard they are to make. You can learn more about using a kitchen scale in this blog post. https://sugargeekshow.com/news/digital-kitchen-scale/
Bev Bruce says
I've got all the ingredients and am eager (but anxious) to try your recipe! I bought strawberry flavoring (before I read your recipe with emulsions) and was wondering how much I should put in since it is more liquid? Also, I wonder if you could trim the sides of your pink silicone mold mat to fit your pans? Your video is inspiring and your sense of humor is so fun! Thanks! Bev
Elizabeth Marek says
I would use half the amount for extract since it's a bit strong tasting.
Vira says
Where can you buy the strawberry emulsion?
Elizabeth Marek says
Online, baking shops or in some grocery stores
indy says
i just bought 1 large macaron silicon mat. after i saw your video abt that...
Elizabeth Marek says
EEk... well maybe it will work for you haha
Ana says
Hi 🙂 just wanted to say thank you your recipes and tips have helped make me a better baker and also ask if this recipe makes 18 finished cookies or 18 shells? Thanks again 😊
Elizabeth Marek says
18 finished cookies
Linda K says
Hi Liz,
I was wondering if I could substitute 10g out of the almond flour and add strawberry powder like your chocolate Macarons recipe instead of adding strawberry emulsion? Thanks!
Elizabeth Marek says
I think that would probably work just fine but I would replace the sugar not the almond flour because freeze-dried strawberry is basically sugar.
Amit says
Can we use pasteurized egg whites for the Italian Meringue Buttercream?
Elizabeth Marek says
I have not tried using them but I have heard it is possible
Nyk says
Can this recipe be doubled or is it better to make two separate batches?
Sugar Geek Show says
It can be doubled, it will just take longer to whip into a strong meringue 🙂