Red Velvet Macarons
Stunning red velvet macarons are made to impress! Follow my step by step visuals for these crisp and pleasantly chewy macarons filled with sweet and tangy cream cheese filling.
[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.]
I’m so beyond excited, you guys!! Because I’m sharing yet another macaron recipe.
You know me, I’m obsessed with french macarons. Since you can’t find any macaron shops within 100-mile radius, I make them myself! At home. From scratch. And it’s totally doable!!
I’ve already shared handful of flavors here on my blog, including my reader-favorite lemon macarons and my personal favorite (also runner-up reader fave) pistachio macarons.
And now I’m completely head over heels with these stunning red velvet macarons! Not just for its gorgeous color (let’s admit it, it’s a stunner!), but the flavor is so, so good! The sweet n’ tangy cream cheese filling, crisp and pleasantly chewy shells with slight hint of cocoa and vanilla. I couldn’t ask for anything better!
Tips for perfect macarons
To make these red velvet version, I started with my base french macaron recipe, which uses much less sugar compared to many recipes out in the wild wide web.
I didn’t need to change much though. A little bit of cocoa powder and some red food coloring will get you there. I say some, not a little, food coloring, because it does require quite a bit of it to achieve that rich red color. I figured it’s a special treat and a little food coloring won’t kill us. What’s important is that you have to use gel food coloring though. I love this Wilton one. Liquid food coloring might throw the wet to dry ingredients ratio off. And we all know french macarons are finicky, so better not to change things up, unless, of course, you’re feeling adventurous! Also, don’t even thinking about cutting the sugar, you won’t get the same result.
And lastly, here’re step by step photos for you, but all the detailed tips and tricks are laid out in this post, along with visual troubleshooting guide. It’s worth the read, especially if it’s your first time making macarons.
You can also watch this video on how I make my macarons from start to finish. See how obsessed I’m with macarons? I’ve prepared these series of posts on all things macarons, so you can create these beauties yourself too.
By the way, did I mention you can freeze these macarons? I have a stash of these in my freezer and I actually just pulled couple out to snack while I write this post.
Mmm, you see that crisp shell and full chewy interior?? That’s exactly what you want!
Have you tried making macarons before? I’d love to hear your experience and what challenges you’ve encountered.
Red Velvet Macarons
Stunning red velvet macarons are made to impress! Follow my step by step visuals for these crisp and pleasantly chewy macarons filled with sweet and tangy cream cheese filling.
Yield: About 25 filled macarons
Ingredients:
For macaron shells:
- 1 cup (100gr) almond flour
- 3/4 cup (100gr) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 large egg whites (about 70gr)
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ cup (50gr) sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½-3/4 teaspoons red gel food coloring (I use this Wilton one)
For cream cheese filling:
- ¼ cup (55gr) cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (120gr) powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons heavy (whipping) cream
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Directions:
- In medium bowl, sift together almond flour, powdered sugar and cocoa powder twice.
- 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. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until hard peaks form. Add vanilla extract and red food coloring. Beat on medium speed for one more minute. (Watch this meringue video for more information.)
- Sift the almond flour/powdered sugar mixture 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 dissolve 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. 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.
- 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. And who wants cracked macarons, right?
- 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, gently 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 cream cheese filling. In a mixing bowl with whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract and salt and beat until well combined.
- Transfer the filling 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.
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8 Tools You Need to Make Perfect Macarons
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Shinee, my 13 year old granddaughter and I had so much fun making these. (When we went to California 2 years ago she spent her own money to buy macarons at a French bakery). We tried to follow the directions perfectly, but we had trouble with the drying and cooking times. I waited an hour for them to dry, but they were still slightly tacky. We cooked them 20 minutes and checked but couldn’t remove one from the parchment. 2 minutes more, and same problem. Two minutes more and we took them out of the oven even though they still stuck. After cooling I removed them from the paper with a spatula. They looked beautiful, but were overly crunchy on the outside. They all still got filled and eaten. 😊. However, since my granddaughter is staying 2 weeks, we intend to try again. Suggestions?
Such a Great recipe! I made this for the first time and it was perfect. Really helpful Info! that’s all i can say about your Posts. Thanks for sharing your sharing.
Forgot to rate it,
Hi Shinee,
I followed your recipe to a tee. I’m so happy with the way they turned out. Great recipe!
Thanks,
Mellanie
Hi, Mellanie. Thank you SO much for your feedback. So happy your macarons came out great.
sorry but it went sh*t. first time i made macaron was awesome with another recipe. but this didn’t work and im so disappointed rn
H, Dilara. Aww, I’m sorry to hear your macaron fails. And believe me, I totally understand the frustration!! I’ve been there more than I can count. And I appreciate your feedback. Red Velvet Macarons are tricky, because it involves ton of food coloring AND cocoa powder, which may alter the result. I hope you won’t give up on them. My suggestion would be “stick to the recipe that worked for you and make adjustment to create your desired flavor”. Macarons are all about technique and less about the recipe. Good luck!
If you’d like me to help you to troubleshoot the issue, feel free to provide more details as to what was wrong with your macs.
P.S. I also thought I’d share this Pinterest link to show that there are many people made this recipe with great success.
I don’t have the cream of tartar. Can I avoid to use it ?
Yes, you may omit cream of tartar. It’s not essential, but it helps to stabilize the egg whites for sturdier meringue.
OMG! It worked!! My first perfect Macarons! Tried dozens of other recipes, but yours finally worked! Hooray!
Yay, so glad you finally found a recipe that works for you, David! Thank you for your feedback!
First time making macarons and these came out beautifully! I didn’t want to get my hopes up because i heard how tricky they are but they came out perfect following the recipe exactly.
Oh that’s fantastic, Michelle! So happy for your macaron success. Thank you for sharing!
I made these and they were so good! They cracked on top but I’m sure I made a mistake somewhere! Loved them:)
Absolute perfection! Only my second time making macaroons. I followed the recipe and directions exactly using high quality ingredients. They came out beautiful, smooth, shiny and with perfect little feet. I wish I could post a pic of how pretty they are. I don’t know why I have been so reluctant to attempt these cookies. Thanks so much for this awesome recipe and tutorial!
Hi, Kathryn! I’m so happy to hear your macaron success!!! Yay! Thank you for your feedback. I’d love to see your photo. You can submit your image through this page.
I was a little worried when I started to read the comments while making these Macarons. They turned out great! I did not add the cream of tartar, because I do not use it in my other Macaron recipes. This recipe made 16 for me. Yes, the mixture was a little thick but they baked up very will with feet. I did bake at 280 degrees for approx 18-20 mins.
Awesome. So happy your macarons turned out well, Sherry. I appreciate your feedback!!
I should’ve read the comments before making these. Mine were wrinkled and cracked. They tasted great though.
Hi, Steph. Wrinkle macarons are usually indication of excess moisture. What kind of food coloring did you use and how much? Liquid or gel?
The first time around i used this recipe but forgot the vanilla extract and they still came out perfect but still a little hard, still perfectly presentable though! The second time round i added the vanilla and did all of the steps again but for some odd reason they didn’t come out perfect again. They cracked and the feet spread out weirdly. Still one of the better recipes although it flopped in the second time around but it still worked out fine in the end. :3
Hi, Rosemary. Yeah, I don’t know what it is, but vanilla extract gives trouble for some people. I personally never have a problem with adding a little bit of extract, but it’s not as forgiving for some. It won’t be a big deal if you omit vanilla extract. Thank you for sharing your feedback. So helpful!
So thrilled! I made Your pistachio a recipe in no the red velvet and they both came out perfect!
Awesome!!! Thank you so much for your feedback, Sandra!!
I followed the recipe exactly and even weighed the ingredients but while my shells were baking they became very wrinkly. I let them dry for 15 minutes and they were dry to the touch so I’m not sure what went wrong
Hi, Anna. There could be number of things that contribute to the issue. Wrinkly shells are usually caused by too much moisture. Excess moisture can be in egg whites (if you didn’t weight them), humid weather, not whipping meringue long enough, etc. Hope this helps.
My macaron mixture was chunky and thick and it didn’t work out at all!!! Very disappointed!!
Sorry yours didn’t turn out. Hope you won’t give up on macarons though.
Great recipe! I doubled the macaron recipe and halved the frosting and had the perfect amount!
Thank you so much for your feedback, Michelle. So happy yours turned out great!
I made this for the first time and it was perfect.. no cracks and tasted good.. thank you
Fantastic! Thank you for your feedback, JUVY!
Amazing! This was the first time I tried to make macarons and they turned out great! Followed the recipe exactly and weighed all the ingredients on kitchen scales. The detailed instructions were what made this possible. Many thanks!!!
Yay, so happy for you, Ana. Thank you for your feedback!
Hi! I have made both the red velvet and chocolate macarons and both of them had batter that was too thick. They tasted great but cracked on top and are wrinkly. I weighed my egg whites at 70 grams. Should I be using more? Thanks!
Hi, Stephanie. Were the shells soft too? If so, it usually happens when there is too much moisture. And more egg whites definitely won’t help. I’m curious, is it humid where you live? Also what kind/brand of cocoa powder did you use? I’m trying to figure out why some people (not everyone) has thick batter issue. I suspect it may be related to the cocoa powder. So this info will help me tremendously. Thank you for reaching out!
I just made your recipe and it tastes amazing!! I do have a question, though. The tops of my macaroons kind of curdled, is there a specific reason why? Thank you!
How many carbs are in a macaroon?
Unfortunately, I don’t know how to count carbs, J.