Strawberry Macarons (new & improved recipe)
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These strawberry macarons are infused with strawberry flavor in every layer (no artificial flavoring)! Let’s get to the nitty-gritty details of flavoring macarons with freeze-dried strawberries!
Table of Contents
- Why you’ll love this strawberry macaron recipe:
- Key Ingredient Notes:
- What are freeze-dried strawberries?
- How to make strawberry macarons:
- 3. Macaronage
- 4. Pipe heart-shaped macarons
- 5. Bake the macarons
- 6. Make strawberry buttercream
- 7. Fill and mature the macarons
- Macaron Tips:
- How to store macarons
- Strawberry Macarons Recipe
Why you’ll love this strawberry macaron recipe:
These heart-shaped macarons are not only adorable, but they’re also insanely flavorful!!!
We’re not just infusing strawberry flavor through the filling, we’re actually incorporating crushed freeze-dried strawberries into the macaron batter.
And not only that… We’ll drop a little bit of strawberry jam in the middle for a pop of flavor/surprise!
2/8/2023 Update: Due to readers’ feedback regarding a “thick-batter” issue with my original recipe, I reworked my recipe to resolve this issue!
Key Ingredient Notes:
- Freeze-dried strawberries – Use high-quality freeze-dried strawberries. And open a new package right before making macarons because freeze-dried fruits absorb humidity from the air and lose their crispness quickly.
- Almond flour – It’s best to use super fine almond flour to ensure smooth tops. Weigh the ingredients before sifting.
- Powdered sugar – I don’t recommend making your own powdered sugar, because commercial powdered sugar has cornstarch in it. And it helps with the texture of the cookies.
- Egg whites – I’ve had success with carton egg whites (Bob Evans brand, #notsponsored). You’ll need 1/3 cup of egg whites.
- Cream of tartar is optional and can be omitted. However, it helps to stabilize egg whites and create a sturdier meringue. It’s just extra insurance!
- Sugar – It’s important to use fine granulated sugar for meringue, as it dissolves quicker. You can also use caster sugar, aka baker’s sugar.
What are freeze-dried strawberries?
Freeze-dried strawberries are made by flash-freezing them. Then they’re slowly heated in a vacuum chamber to dry the fruits by evaporating ice before it turns into water.
The end result is beautiful dried berries in their original shape and color, that’s feather-light.
Unlike air-dried/dehydrated fruits, freeze-fried fruits don’t really shrink in size, and they become ultra-light and crisp.
They are great in homemade snack mixes, and oatmeals, and are becoming increasingly popular in baking nowadays! And for a good reason!!! They lend so much flavor without added moisture.
Freeze-dried strawberries are satisfyingly crisp and unbelievably intense in flavor!
How to make strawberry macarons:
1. Make French meringue
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy and add cream of tartar and salt. Then slowly add sugar one tablespoon at a time, while the mixer is still running.
- When the meringue reaches the soft peaks stage, add a couple of drops of pink gel food coloring.
- Continue beating the egg whites on the same medium-low speed until hard peaks form, about 20 minutes.
Tip
Be sure your whisk and bowl are squeaky clean and free of any oil residue. (Stainless steel and glass bowls are ideal!)
2. Prepare the dry ingredients
I prefer to crush the strawberries with a rolling pin instead using a food processor. That way you won’t overwork the powder and turn it into a gummy texture.
- Place the freeze-dried strawberries between two sheets of parchment paper and crush them with a rolling pin until a fine powder.
- Sift together almond flour, powdered sugar, and strawberry powder twice.
Tip
If you have up to 2 tablespoons of chunky dry ingredients left in the sifter, you don’t have to replace it. Simply discard those chunky bits.
Tip
It’s important to crush the strawberries right before making the recipe so that they don’t absorb too much humidity and turn gummy.
3. Macaronage
- Sift the almond flour mixture into the meringue.
- Using a silicone spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the meringue until fully incorporated. Then continue to fold the batter until it’s runny enough to fall into a ribbon.
To test, scoop some batter with a spatula and let the batter drop into the bowl. It should fall into a ribbon-like pattern. Slightly tilt the bowl to allow the batter to slide slowly.
Carefully observe the batter. If the edges of “the ribbon” dissolve into the batter on its own in about 10 seconds, the batter is ready. If not, fold a couple more times and test again. Be careful not to over-fold the batter.
- Transfer the batter into a pastry bag, fitted with a Wilton 10-round tip. A smaller tip gave me more precision for a better shape.
4. Pipe heart-shaped macarons
- Place the heart template under a silicone, or teflon baking mat. (Download my custom heart macaron template for FREE.)
- Hold the pastry bag at a straight 90° angle. Then pipe the batter as if you’re drawing two hooks facing each other, tracing the template. Then fill the center with more batter.
- Using a toothpick, slightly pull the end to create more pointy bottom of the heart.
- Tap the baking sheets firmly on the counter (or using your hand) a few times to get rid of any air bubbles. This step ensures smooth tops.
- Air dry the macarons on the counter for at least 15 minutes, and up to a couple of hours, depending on humidity. When you lightly touch the macarons and the batter does not stick to your finger, then it’s ready to go into the oven.
5. Bake the macarons
- Bake the macarons for about 18 minutes at 300°F, one tray at a time.
To test for doneness, touch a macaron lightly and try to move it. If it slides and wobbles, bake a minute or so longer. The cooked macarons should be firm to touch and the base shouldn’t move.
- Let the macarons cool completely before removing them from the baking mat.
6. Make strawberry buttercream
While the macarons are drying and baking, prepare the strawberry buttercream.
- In a mixing bowl with the whisk attachment, beat the butter until fluffy.
- Add powdered sugar, heavy cream, 1 tablespoon of strawberry jam, vanilla extract, and salt, and beat until well combined.
- Transfer the buttercream to a pastry bag.
7. Fill and mature the macarons
- Pair the macarons by shape and arrange them with one shell bottom-side up.
- Pipe a border around the edges of the macarons with strawberry buttercream.
- Then fill the center well with strawberry jam.
- Finally, place the filled macarons in an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, or up to 3 days, to mature.
Macaron Tips:
- If you’re new to baking macarons, I highly recommend starting with plain basic french macarons. Also, check out my comprehensive Macaron 101 for additional tips and a troubleshooting guide. I won’t go into details again here.
- It’s important to crush the strawberries right before making the recipe so that they don’t absorb too much humidity and turn gummy. This will help to prevent wrinkly shells and/or thick batter issues.
How to store macarons
Strawberry macarons freeze really well.
- Fill the macarons, as directed.
- Place in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
- To thaw, transfer to the fridge overnight.
Strawberry Macarons
These adorable little heart-shaped strawberry macarons are infused with strawberry flavor in every layer (no artificial flavoring)! So good, you wouldn’t want to share!
Ingredients
For macaron shells:
- 10 g freeze-dried strawberries Note 1
- 90 g super-fine almond flour Note 2
- 65 g powdered sugar Note 3
- 70 g egg whites Note 4
- 75 g fine granulated sugar Note 5
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar Note 6
- ¼ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- Red gel food coloring
For filling:
- 3 tablespoons (40 g) unsalted butter softened
- 3/4 cup (100 g) powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons heavy whipping cream
- 4 tablespoons strawberry jam divided
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
Instructions
To make macaron shells:
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, or teflon sheet, or silicone mat.
- To prepare the dry ingredients. Place the freeze-dried strawberries between two sheets of parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, crush the strawberries into a fine powder. (TIP: Do this step right before you begin making macarons because the strawberry powder draws in moisture and affects the texture of the batter.)
- Sift together, prepared strawberry powder, almond flour and powdered sugar twice. (Note: If you have up to 2 tablespoons of chunky dry ingredients left in the sifter, you don't have to replace it. Simply discard those chunky bits.)
- To make meringue, in a clean mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, combine egg whites, granulated sugar, cream of tartar and salt and beat the mixture on medium speed until soft peaks form. (I set it to speed 4 on my KitchenAid stand mixer. It takes 30-40 minutes to whip the meringue, but it's well worth it for nice and full shells.)
- When the meringue reaches soft peaks, add pink gel food coloring.
- Continue beating the meringue at the same medium speed until hard peaks form. Visual cues: Meringue should ball up inside the whisk, and when you lift the whisk, the meringue should hold a pointy end and have sharp ribs.
- To make batter, sift almond flour mixture into the meringue. Using a silicone spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the meringue until fully incorporated. Then continue to fold the batter until it’s runny enough to draw a figure eight. To test, take a small amount of batter and drop it into the bowl. If the small peaks dissolve into the batter on its own in about 10 seconds, the batter is ready. If not, fold couple more times and test again. Be careful not to over-fold the batter. (TIP: Making french macarons is all about the technique. This is one of the most crucial step. Let me try to describe the folding motion as best as I can: run the spatula clockwise from the bottom, up around the sides and cut the batter in half. If you’re beginner macaron-baker, I suggest to count every fold. It takes roughly about 50 folds to reach the proper consistency. After 50 folds, start testing the batter, and continue testing after every couple folds.)
- To pipe macaron shells, transfer the batter into a pastry bag, fitted with a round tip. (I use this Wilton 2A tip.)
- To pipe heart-shaped macarons: Place the template with hearts under the parchment paper on a baking sheet. Hold the pastry bag at straight 90° angle and pipe the batter as if you’re drawing two hooks facing each other, tracing the template. Download my free macaron template.
- Tap the baking sheets firmly on the counter (or slap the bottom of the baking sheet with one of your hands) a few times to get rid of any air bubbles. You can also use a toothpick to burst some large air bubbles. This step ensures smooth tops.
- Let the macarons rest on the counter for 15 minutes before baking.
- To bake, bake the macarons for 15-18 minutes, one baking sheet at a time, on the middle rack. It’ll take longer for larger macarons. To test for doneness, touch a macaron lightly and try to move it. If it slides and wobbles, bake a minute or so longer. The cooked macarons should be firm to touch and the base shouldn’t move.
- Cool the macarons complete and then remove the shells from the baking surface. (TIP: Don't remove the shells while warm, you may risk breaking the shells, or the bottom might get stuck to the baking surface.)
To make strawberry buttercream filling:
- While the macarons are drying, prepare the strawberry buttercream. In a mixing bowl with the whisk attachment, beat the butter until fluffy.
- Add powdered sugar, heavy cream, 1 tablespoon of strawberry jam, vanilla extract, and salt, and beat until well combined. Transfer the buttercream to a pastry bag.
To assemble the macarons:
- Pair the shells by size and arrange them on a wire rack, or a baking sheet. Turn half of the shells upside and pipe the buttercream filling around the edges, leaving a small hole in the middle.
- Using a small spoon, drop a small amount of strawberry jam in the middle, or place strawberry jam in a piping bag and pipe the jam in the center of the buttercream border.
- Place the other shells on top.
To mature the macarons:
- Place the filled macarons in the fridge for at least 24 hours before serving. It's ok to indulge right away if you're impatient like me, but if you let the macarons mature, the moisture and flavor of the filling will infuse the shells even more for even better texture.
- Store the filled macarons in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the filled macarons in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Tips & Notes
Yield: This recipe yields about 25 filled macarons, about 1.5 inches in diameter.
Note 1: Use high-quality freeze-dried strawberries and open a new package when you’re ready to make macarons because freeze-dried fruits absorb humidity from the air and lose their crispness quickly. I don’t recommend already crushed strawberry powder. 10g of freeze-dried strawberries yield about 3 tablespoons of strawberry powder.
Note 2: It’s best to use super fine almond flour to ensure smooth tops. Weigh the ingredients before sifting.
Note 3: I don’t recommend making your own powdered sugar, because commercial powdered sugar has cornstarch in it. And it helps with the texture of the cookies.
Note 4: I’ve had success with carton egg whites (Bob Evans brand, #notsponsored). You’ll need 1/3 cup of egg whites.
Note 5: Cream of tartar is optional and can be omitted. However, it helps to stabilize egg whites and create a sturdier meringue. It’s just extra insurance!
Note 6: It’s important to use fine granulated sugar for meringue, as it dissolves quicker. You can also use caster sugar, aka baker’s sugar.
Note 7: You can easily double this macaron recipe.
Note 8: Read this post for must-have macaron tools.
GOT MACARON TROUBLE? Check out my macaron troubleshooting guide.
Nutrition
Calories: 96kcal
Carbohydrates: 15g
Protein: 1g
Fat: 3g
Sugar: 13g
Sodium: 17mg
Did you make this?Share a comment or a review below!
This recipe was originally published on February 9th, 2016.
Hi!
I managed to make them and it was delicious! It was just that the aesthetics of mine was somewhat lacking. Since it was my first time making macarons, I wasn’t sure what I did wrong. My macarons when I squeezed them out onto the parchment paper spread quite a lot, but it did settle properly when I left it out for about half an hour; it also did rise and have feet. However, after I cooled it down and tried to peel them off, the bottom part came off? And the macaron was slightly sticky. Can you please give me some tips and advice as to how to make them better next time or where I went wrong? Thank you so much! (:
Hi, Ada. It sounds like you’ve got couple of issues. 1 . It sounds like your batter was slightly over-mixed, which makes the mixture too runny and causes spreading. 2. Sticking to the parchment paper and separating bottoms indicate that the macarons were under-baked. Next time, try baking them 1-2 minutes longer. Hope this helps.
I’ve had great luck with several of your other recipies but this one the batter just kept getting thicker as others described when I was folding it. I wonder if it had something to do with the freeze dried strawberries. The powder they created seemed stickier to me. I measured it out and made sure I had 3 tablespoons but maybe that was too much?
I just made a batch and same as you, my bather became really thick. I think it must be the freeze dried strawberries because I have followed Shinee’s suggestions before and was successful. I haven’t put mine in the oven just yet, but I am pessimistic on this batch!!! 🙁
After pipping, the macarons didn’t settle, they all have a tip formed on top of the pipped macarons!!!
Would love to be able to fix it as I love the recipe!
Kristin and Nazy, bummer you’re having this problem. No idea why the batter is getting thicker as you mix. Is the strawberry powder dry when you add it to dry ingredients?
I grind my dried strawberries in a small grinder. They don’t look 100% dry to me.
Ok, can you try crush the berries with a rolling pin and see if it comes out dry. I think my strawberry powder was slightly “sticky” when I processed it in my coffee grinder for another recipe. For macarons, I only did with rolling pin, because it’s such a small amount.
Ok, I will try them. Thank you!
Ok I made these again and just smashed the freeze dried strawberries with a rolling pin and no more super thick batter. Last time I put them through the food processor so I guess that’s the difference. Smash them enough but not too much.
Oh that’s great to know, Kristin! So glad you gave it another try and thanks for sharing this update. Very helpful!!
I am wondering – the ingredient weights that are listed is that before or after you sifted them? I found that i had several tablespoons of flour and sugar that were leftover after sifting. I assume that can have a big affect on the recipe either way.
Hi, Kristina. The ingredient weights are for before sifting. And it’s totally normal to have leftovers, but no more than 2 tablespoons. As long as you toss less than 2 tablespoons, the batter should be fine.
Hi Shinee – just wanted to share my experience making these tonight. The macarons turned out pretty well with a few small issues that I was wondering if you could help me improve. First of all, when I took them out at 18 minutes (mine were piped in 1.5″ circles), they were still very sticky on the bottom. The last batch of macarons I tried from your recipe, the macarons pretty much slid off of the Silpat. I gave them about 5 minutes more because they were starting to brown too much. They remained a bit sticky on the bottom, but I tasted them and they have a nice texture and are not hollow. The feet are quite short though. Is it possible that the extra moisture from the freeze dried fruit is what’s causing these problems? I’d love to hear your feedback. Thanks again for your beautiful recipes. PS – my batter piped 44 shells total 🙂
Hi, Elizabeth! Thank you for your comment and feedback. I don’t usually use silpat for baking macarons, because how feed bulge when I do. But since you baked successfully a different batch on silpat, I’m not quite sure. Next time, maybe try to put an empty sheet on the very top shelve to shield some heat from above and bake it longer?
none of the testing techniques worked but they came out with not a single cracked one but they were burnt because they kept sticking to the bottomm
Hi, Nadia. Sorry to hear your macs burnt. Did you use parchment paper or silicone mat?
parchment, which is better?
Nadia, are you asking what brand of parchment paper I recommend? I use whatever I grab at the grocery store, no particular brand.
no, sorry i meant is it better to use parchment or a silicone mat?
Oh I see. I always have a better luck with parchment paper. On silicone mat, my macarons has bulging feet. Check out this post for what I mean.
My macaroni shells are almost flat. What do you think I did wrong?
Hi, ZM. It’s really hard to tell the reason why they turned flat without any details. But this troubleshooting guide may give you some answers. If you still have questions, please give me more details and we can try to find the culprit.
Hmm….I might know why. When I was crushing the frozen strawberries, it wasn’t exactly a powder, it was more of this kinda juicy blob. Do you think that’s why? If it is, what can I do to fix it?
Because otherwise, I followed the recipe perfectly without any other mistakes.
Oh, it sounds like you used frozen strawberries. I was actually calling for freeze-dried strawberries, which a special method of dehydrating that produces crisp and light dried fruits. When you crush it, it turns into a dry powder. Here’s an example of freeze-dried strawberries. Let me know if you have any questions.
Ha! Yep thats it. I thought they would be the same. Are freeze-dried strawberries rare to find in a public store? Like, Walmart maybe? Or Sobeys? If I can find it there, then it would still be in the freezer aisles right?
I think I’ve seen some in Walmart, at dried fruits section.
I had same problems as everyone above. No way that this makes 56 individual cookies. Just looking at the quantities, the batter is basically 330 grams divide that by 56 cookies that’s 5 grams a cookie. That’s a TINT freaking cookie. The batter was so thick it never thinned out. I think with some tweaks it has potential but as it stands this is it a good recipe at all.
*tiny
Hi there! Well, I never weighed the batter, but that’s a great idea. I’ll do that next time. But really, mine does make 56 shells, but you’re right, they’re tiny cookies, no more than 2-inches.
Garbage. Gummy. Wrinkly. Nasty. I knew when I piped them it was way to thick. Get a job. You have no idea what is correct.
This makes me really sad. Not because your macarons didn’t turn out well, but because how insulting and disrespectful you are. I just would like you to know that there’s a real person with real feelings behind this screen, reading this comment. And I’m not a robot.
As for recipe, I can only say that there’re people who have tried this recipe with great success, some even shared photos, which you can find here. I receive e-mails from readers daily with photos and feedback, both positive and constructive. Macarons don’t always turn out great for one reason or another, so I have gotten e-mails from readers with questions and we’ve troubleshooted on multiple occasions. I totally understand your frustration though, because I’ve had my fair share of failures (and still do). But that’s never an excuse to insult someone. I wish the best!
Macarons are incredibly difficult to make, they are not a task for a novice baker and usually it takes a few tries until you figure out the technique. There are so many intricacies that impact a macaron. I am pretty sure the error was on your part and not the recipe. I cannot believe how rude people are. Firstly how finely ground your almonds are, i usually sift them to get rid of the big pieces, that results in the macaroons no being smooth. Secondly, room temperature eggs whites make a difference, and also carton egg whites don’t get a stiff. Thirdly, you have to ensure that there is no grease in your mixing bowl as it will impact the meringues ability to rise. Also getting stiff meringues with a hand mixer can be tough, and you have to ensure that your meringue is in fact stiff. Fourthly, as the recipe notes, the macaron batter must be exact, like molten lava, as she notes they cannot be over or under mixed. Oven temperature must be correct and they also must be dried out a little before you put them in the oven.
Hi, Nina. Thank you for your comment and your tips!
are macarons supposed to be dry and crunchy and also the recipe only yields about one dozen macarons filled not two.
Macarons have thin crispy shell and are chewy inside. As you can see in my step-by-step photo in the post above, I have more than 2 dozen macarons lined and being filled. And I can assure you I didn’t double the batch (I never double a batch of macarons!).
I also got only about 10 macarons total assembled so about 20 shells piped. Otherwise it worked out perfectly.
How big were your macarons? Did you use my template? It’s very possible you’ve got 10 jumbo macs. My macarons are no bigger than 1.5 inches in diameter, so they’re little ones.