Classic Pistachio Macarons filled with Ladurée pistachio cream. Simply the best!
A little over 4 years ago, I was in my dream city with my dream guy.
Since I was dreaming about this gorgeous city for a loooong time, my list of must-visit places was quite big and Ladurée was high on that list. And I was ecstatic when we walked into the famous Ladurée shop on Champs-Ellyses. Long lines didn’t bother me at all, I was in awe of their beautiful desserts and treats. One of my most favorite flavors of Ladurée macarons was pistachio macarons. Pure heaven!
As soon as we came back home, I went straight to my Laduree Macarons book and searched for their pistachio macaron recipe. And I found it on page 40!!!
[I get a lot of questions about this white serving dish. I bought this particular one at a local thrift store, but I found similar one on amazon.com.]
TIPS FOR MACARON SUCCESS:
- It’s crucial to sift the dry ingredients a few times 1. to aerate the mixture, 2. to mix all the ingredients, and 3. to remove any big chunks of almond or pistachio flour.
- Make sure all the utensils for beating egg whites are completely grease-free. Just a touch of oil, or egg yolk has the power of ruining your meringue. Some advise to wipe the bowl and whisk with vinegar, but I don’t really bother with that, because I use stainless steel bowl and whisk. And just washing and drying with a clean towel does the trick for me.
- Be careful not to include even the smallest drop of egg yolk in the egg whites. Egg yolk=oil. See the above note.
- Don’t beat the egg whites on high speed right away. Instead start on medium low speed then slowly increase the speed for the sturdy meringue.
- Gently fold the batter after adding the dry ingredients. If this is your first time making the macarons, it helps if you count each fold. It usually takes me about 50-60 folds to get to proper consistency. I no longer count, but it helped a lot when I was learning.
- Making macarons is all about technique, and it’s important to learn the folding technique right from the start. At the beginning the batter is quite thick, but it’ll get thinner as you fold. Be careful not to over-mix, or the batter will get too runny and the cookies will spread too much. Overmixing also results in hollow macarons. And don’t be tempted to undermix the batter to avoid overmixing, because then the macarons won’t have smooth top and won’t have pretty ruffled bottom. I made this full tutorial video. At 2:25 on the video, I showed you how to know when the batter is just right.
- Make sure the macaron shells are dried sufficiently before baking. It can take from 10min up to couple hours, depending on the humidity. For me, it usually takes 15-20 minutes. If you don’t dry the shells prior to baking, your macarons won’t have those pretty feet.
MORE USEFUL TIPS:
- Room temperature egg whites whip better and faster.
- Make your own pistachio flour by grinding shelled pistachios in a coffee grinder.
- Use gel food coloring, instead of liquid ones. I use this Wilton Leaf Green.
- Try to pipe uniform circles for even baking. Mine doesn’t always turn out perfect, because I pipe free-hand. If you want to be precise, you can print out little circles and place it under the parchment paper for guidance.
I have a detailed post about pistachio cream filling with lots of tips for success and troubleshooting common issues.
Hope you’ll enjoy your very own pistachio macarons soon. And if you make this recipe, please leave a review below. Thank you!!!

Pistachio Macarons
Ingredients
For Macaron Shells:
- 2/3 cup 60gr ground almond flour
- 1/3 cup 40gr ground pistachio flour*
- ¾ cup 100gr powdered sugar
- 2 large egg whites about 70gr
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ cup 50gr sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon green gel food coloring
For Filling:
- 1/3 cup 65gr sugar
- 2 tablespoons 30ml water
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 oz 55gr unsalted butter, softened
- 3 teaspoons 20gr pure pistachio paste (I used my homemade version)
Helpful Equipment:
- • Pastry bag with Wilton Extra Large Round Tip #1
Instructions
- In medium bowl, sift together almond flour, pistachio flour and powdered sugar twice. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl with whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar and continue to beat. Slowly add sugar one tablespoon at a time. And beat until hard peaks. Add the food coloring (I used Wilton Leaf Green). Beat on medium speed for one more minute. (Watch this meringue video for more information.)
- Sift the dry ingredients over the whipped egg whites. Gently fold the mixture running the spatula clockwise from the bottom, up around the sides and cut the batter in half. The batter will look very thick at first, but it will get thinner as you fold. Be careful not to over mix it though. Every so often test the batter to see if it reached the right consistency. To test the batter, drop a small amount of the batter and count to ten. If the edges of the ribbon are dissolved within ten seconds, then the batter is ready. I repeat, do NOT mix again. If you still see edges, fold the batter couple more times and test again. I posted a few pictures above to show you how just a few folding changes the consistency of the batter. This step is so crucial, so please make sure to test often to ensure not to over mix the batter.
- Transfer the batter into a pastry bag with a round tip. (I use this Wilton A1 large plain round tip.)
- Pipe out 1.5-inch rounds about an inch apart on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. You should get about roughly 54 shells.
- Tap the baking sheets firmly on the counter a few times to get rid of any air bubbles. If you don’t release the air bubbles, they will expand during baking and crack the beautiful macarons shells.
- Let the macarons rest and dry for 15-30 minutes. On a humid day, it might take an hour or so. To see if it’s ready to be baked, lightly touch it. If the batter doesn’t stick to your finger, then it’s ready. Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
- Bake the macarons for 18-20 minutes. To check the doneness, remove one macaron. If the bottom does not stick, they are done.
- Transfer to wire rack to cool for 15 minutes, and then remove from the baking sheets.
- While macarons are drying, prepare the pistachio cream. In a small saucepan, combine water and sugar and heat it over medium heat. Stir the mixture until the sugar is completely dissolved. Then bring it to a boil and cook until the syrup reaches 250°F (120°C).
- In a mixing bowl with whisk attachment, beat the egg yolks for 2 minutes. While the mixer is running on low, slowly pour the hot syrup into the egg yolks. Increase the speed to medium high, and beat the mixture until it cools down to 104°F (40°C). The mixture will become smooth and white.
- Add the butter a tablespoon at a time. Then add the pistachio paste and food coloring, if desired. Continue to beat the cream until nice and smooth.
- Transfer the pistachio cream into a pastry bag and fill the macarons. It’s best to serve macarons the next day.
- Store the filled macarons in airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the filled macarons in airtight container for up to 5 months.
This recipe was originally published on March 6th, 2015.
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Hanne Palmans says
Hi,
thank you for this, I’m goin to try it.
can you tell me where you buy the beautiful box to put the macarons inside?
thanx
Shinee says
Hi, Hanne! I got that box when I bought a box of macarons at Laduree shop (French pastry shop) in Paris. I just saved it from our trip. 🙂 Hope you’ll love your pistachio macarons. Let us know how they turn out.
Romy says
I had a world of trouble with the pistachio filling! Immediately after it reached 250 degrees I poured the hot sugar into the egg yolks, which were in a stand mixer, but it immediately crystallized and stuck to the sides of the mixer, clumped up in the egg yolks, and was unusable. What did I do wrong? Is it because the bowl of the stand mixer is too large for just two yolks? Also, does the hot sugar cook the yolks enough to make them safe for consumption?
Shinee says
Hi, Romy. I’m sorry to hear your troubles. But I appreciate your feedback. It most likely the syrup was poured into the eggs too quickly. It’s really important to pour it slowly and in a very thin stream. What brand and size stand mixer do you use? I used my KitchenAid 5qt and have no problems. And lastly, yes, hot syrup cooks the yolks and it’s totally safe to eat.
Lucy says
I’ve also had the same issue! It crystallised as soon as it trickled out the pan and into the bowl so there were shards everywhere 😂
Menno says
Do you use convection oven or top and bottom heat?
Shinee says
Hi, Menno. I use top and bottom heat.
Debora says
This is my forst time trying one of your recipies. Before, I had succed on baking macarons only 1 time in a course I took many years ago. These turned out pretty good. But they turned brown very quick and I had to remove them from oven I am not sure if they are completely baked. I even put an oven termometer inside my oven to check the temp.
Now the filling didn’t work at all for me. The moment I put the butter on the meringe, it gets very liquid. I am about to open a can of dulce de leche to fill them and call it a day!
Shinee says
Hi, Debora. Thank you for trying my recipe and sharing your feedback. For browning issue, I recommend placing an empty baking sheet on top rack over the rack with the macarons. As for filling, here’s a detailed post about this pistachio french buttercream with troubleshooting guide. It’s important to cool down the meringue before adding the butter. I suspect the meringue was a bit too warm and it was melting the butter, making the buttercream too runny.
Karen says
Hi I want to make the recipe but am not sure what sugar to buy. After the powdered sugar the recipe lists uspecified sugar twice (¼ cup (50gr) sugar and 1/3 cup (65gr) sugar). Would those two also be powdered? or caster? Please let me know, thank you!
Shinee says
Hi, Karen. Unspecified sugars refer to regular granular sugar. I suggest superfine/caster sugar.
Tiffany says
Perfect recipe. This turns out great for pistachio macs. I also always use this as my base recipe for any macaron too. Just replace the pistachio flour with almond flour!
Shinee says
Fantastic, so happy you love the recipe. It was based on my basic macaron recipe. Thank you for your feedback, Tiffany.
Mercedes says
I was very nervous trying this recipe. I was worried the oil in the pistachio would come out and turn them into a failure (first time making pistachio macarons), but it didn’t, they turned out mostly great, my only issue is that the inside collapsed after I took them out of the oven and I baked them for almost 30 minutes! I don’t know if I’m under mixing the batter, leaving too much air in it, or what is it that I’m doing wrong.
As for the filling, the taste is great, but I ended up with a nice sweet pistachio sauce rather than macarons filling. The syrup reached the right temperature so I know that wasn’t the issue. I would try it again but this time I will do it by hand, since I believe the amount is not enough to do it properly in my mixer.
Shinee says
Hi, Mercedes. So glad you liked my pistachio macaron recipe. With hollow macarons, it could be number of things. Over-beating the meringue is one of the culprits. If you’re confident your oven heats right, then I’d be more careful when making the meringue. Hope your next batch comes out perfect!
Kat filiere says
This recipe looks amazing! I only have liquid food coloring. Can I substitute a lower amount of that over the gel or should I just omit it?
Shinee says
Hi, Kat. Sorry for delay in my response. Liquid food coloring is tricky. Depending on the humidity level, etc, even little bit of liquid could be an issue. If looks are not as important, I’d try without it first.
Elaina Abdallah says
Question- Why shelled pistachios to make the pistachio flour? Why not unshelled?
Shinee says
Hmm, not sure what you mean, Elaina. You wouldn’t want hard shells in your pistachio flour, right?
Mikaela says
How well would these work with just pistachio buttercream as the filling, rather than the recipe you have here? I’m keen to try these soon, but I don’t have a candy thermometer. (I might get one for future though)
I’ve been using a different recipe for macarons, with limited success, but I tried your basic macaron recipe today and the entire batch turned out perfect!! Filled them with lemon buttercream – heaven!
Sofia says
Hi Shinee! I made 200 of these for a graduation party and they turned out AMAZING! Thank you so much!
Shinee says
Wow, 200 macarons?! Impressive!!! Thank you for your feedback, Sofia!
Ip says
The taste is great, instructions clear but i got less than 20 single shells. Can’t figure out why
Ip says
And I was doing the size of a real macaron. Just there wasn’t enough batter
Shinee says
Hi, Ip. Glad you loved the macarons. As for count, what is the diameter of your macarons?
IP says
1.5 in
Christine says
Hi Shinee-
I finally worked up the nerve to try these this weekend. I expected total failure on the shells but was pleasantly surprised when 2/3 of them turned out perfectly. The 1/3 that did not, I know that I didn’t properly remove the air bubbles before baking, so that’s fixable. The failure happened with the syrup. Because it’s such a shallow amount in the pot, it was really hard to fully immerse my candy thermometer to get an accurate reading. I think I never achieved 250 degrees and then I think I poured it into my yolks too quickly because the syrup solidified. Can you share the style of candy thermometer you use, or helpful hints on this step? Can you confirm whether my suspicions on why the syrup failed are accurate? Thanks, and I can’t wait to try it again (in the meantime, those shells sure are yummy on their own!)
Aaron says
Shinee, I made these with my son and nephew today and the shells turned out great, but the filling was runny. It did not turn smooth and white when I poured the hot syrup in it. I did use a thermometer and the syrup was at 250, but it just went into the foamy yolk and stayed runny. Little change with the butter, it became a sort of hollandaise like sauce. I thought it would thicken as it cooled the way hollandaise would, but no luck. Any idea what I should change to get the white fluffy result with the yolk and syrup?
Shinee says
Hi, Aaron. Sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner. So glad the shells turned out great. As for the filling, it’s a little tricky filling. It sounds like the syrup didn’t reach the right temp, but I know you said it was at 250°F. Any chance you had calibrated your thermometer? Also, did you beat the egg yolks until they were pale yellow, almost white?
Amanda says
The pistachio flour, which I made from grinding pistachios as recommended, totally threw off my shell texture. They got nasty and cracked when I baked them, even though I let them rest for a full hour. Such a disappointment. 🙁 Guess I’m back to the Food Network shell recipe, the one macaron recipe I know to work every time.
Shinee says
Amanda, sorry my recipe didn’t work for you, but I appreciate your honest feedback. I’m happy you already have a go-to macaron recipe. I say, stick to it!
JasVin says
Your recipe is just amazing but i am not having much luck in being successful with the execution to get the perfect or atleast close to perfect macaron. The first time around both the macaron and filling were a flop but they still vanished in no time. All my friends including myself loved the filling but it came out watery but the flavors were soooooooooo good. This made me go buy a candy thermometer and i am trying to prepare some for Christmas tomorrow and my sugar syrup has failed on me for three consecutive time. At 250 degrees it turns brown and crystal like.. I just think that 250 in my thermometer maybe a little too much.
Rhiannon says
I gave your recipe a shot today, and I had trouble with the batter- it was SO sticky and thick. No matter how much I folded it, it wouldn’t thin out. I had to add water to get the batter even close to the right consistency. Then, when I piped them out onto a silicon pre-marked sheet I only got half as many shells as you did, HELP!
Shinee says
Hi, Rhiannon. Sorry you had trouble with the recipe. Adding water won’t help. Hope you weighed all the ingredients, including the egg whites, for the correct ratio. And as for number of macarons, how big were your macarons? Mine are about 1.5-inch rounds.
Ann says
Hi Shinee,
How does this pistachio filling differ than your recipe for pistachio buttercream? The ingredients are different, so just wondering about the taste.
Shinee says
Hi, Ann. So the main difference between the two is method of making the filling. One is simple buttercream, and this one is a little bit more than just buttercream. I love this one better because it’s creamier and more luxurious.
Judith Valencia says
Hi, I’m having trouble with the filling I tried 3 times and failed. I just cannot get the egg yokes to fluff up. The flavor is amazing and I really want to make it work.
Shinee says
Hi, Judith. Thank you for your comment. Are you using candy thermometer when you make the sugar syrup? It’s very important to bring the syrup to the specified temperature.
Judith Valencia says
Thanks for your reply! I can only get it to about 220 -230 then the sugar syrup starts to turn brown. How long do you have to whip it for? Maybe I need to “calibrate” my thermometer to get an accurate reading.
Shinee says
Yeah, definitely calibrate your thermometer and try again. The syrup should reach 250°F (120°C), but shouldn’t turn brown. The temperature is very important. The whipping time may vary depending what kind of mixer you’re using. Hope your next batch turns out great.
Elaine magalhaes says
I did mine like I do with the swiss meringue buttercream ,is much easier,and the filling was nice and thick, like he’s.
Ness C says
These macarons were absolutley delicious!!! Made the pistachio paste from your recipe too! So easy and just full of flavour!! Recipe was easy to follow! Macarons turned out perfect!! Thank you!! 🙂
Shinee says
Yay, so happy you loved these macarons, Ness. These are my favorite! Thank you for your feedback!