Ever wondered how to make french macarons? Or what is the best macaron recipe? I can answer both of those questions for you! I will go over the basic french macaron recipe in this post, but if you’re wanting to get reeeeally in-depth head over to my step-by-step French Macaron post. As for the best macaron recipe, these Earl Grey French Macarons take the cake!

The macaron shells are flavored with earl grey tea leaves and then filled with honey buttercream. They literally taste like you are eating a cup of tea. It doesn’t get much better than that!

What ingredients do I need?

• Eggs
• Granulated sugar
• Powdered sugar
• Almond flour
• Earl grey tea leaves
• Butter
• Heavy cream or milk
• Honey

Ready to make some macarons?

Earl Grey French Macarons

Step 1: Line a cookie sheet with a silicone mat (my favorite baking sheet for macarons and favorite silicone mats for macarons). I highly recommend a silicone mat of some kind, but if you don’t have one then you can also use parchment paper.

Step 2: Cut open the tea sachets and pour the tea leaves into a food processor (I used this one). Pulse the food processor a few times until the larger tea leaves are broken up.

Step 3: Add the powdered sugar and almond flour and pulse until fully combined and rid of lumps. Don’t do this for too long or you will make almond butter. Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. If you don’t have a food processor you can just sift the ingredients together.

Step 4: In a medium bowl, prepare the french meringue. You can use a stand mixer for this, but I prefer a hand mixer for a batch this small. Beat the egg whites on low speed until they get frothy. Increase the speed and slowly add the sugar. If you add the sugar too fast you will deflate the meringue. Beat until stiff peaks form. This is when you pull the beater out and the meringue stands up with a slight curve. It should not fall or jiggle too much if you move the beater. If you want to add food coloring, do it now, but add it sparingly or you will make the meringue too liquidy.

Step 5: Add the french meringue into the dry ingredients and begin to gently fold with a silicone spatula. This process is called macaronage. You will know the batter is ready when the ingredients are fully combined and not streaky. You should be able to hold the spatula above the bowl and draw a figure 8 smoothly without the batter breaking off. A good way to test if the batter is ready is to place a very small amount in your piping bag and pipe it onto your mat. If the batter is stiff and does not spread at all, then it is not ready. If the batter immediately runs out, then you have over folded. The batter should spread slightly and the tops should even out (there shouldn’t be any little tips sticking out), but it should not spread out too much.

Step 6: Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a piping tip (this is my favorite for macarons). Pipe 1-inch disks onto the prepared cookie sheet.

Step 7: Firmly tap the cookie sheet onto the counter 3 or 4 times to bring any air bubbles to the surface. Use a toothpick to pop any remaining air bubbles.

Step 8: Let the macarons rest for an hour. There needs to be a dry layer on the top. You should be able to run your finger over the top without any transferring to your finger. If it is really humid outside this process will likely take longer.

Step 9: Preheat the oven to 280 degrees (F). This is the temperature that I have found works well for my oven, but you may need to play around with the temperature.

Step 10: Place the macarons on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 5 minutes, rotate the cookie sheet, bake for another 5 minutes and rotate the cookie sheet again, bake for 5 minutes. 15 minutes in total. The macarons should not have any color to them, and they should peel off of the mat easily.

Step 11: Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

Step 12: Peel each earl grey macaron shell off of the mat and match each shell to another that is the same size.

Honey Buttercream

Step 1: In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a medium bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter until it is very soft and creamy. The butter needs to be really soft or your buttercream won’t be as fluffy as it should be.

Step 2: Add the honey and half of the powdered sugar. Beat until fully combined.

Step 3: Add the rest of the powdered sugar. Beat on medium speed for 5-6 minutes.

Step 4: If the buttercream is too thick add the heavy cream or milk, 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.

Step 5: Place the buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a piping tip. Pipe your desired amount of buttercream onto the inside of one macaron shell. Sandwich another shell on top.

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4.91 from 32 votes

Earl Grey French Macarons

This earl grey french macaron recipe is guarenteed to please! The macaron shell is flavored with earl grey tea leaves and filled with honey buttercream.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Resting Time1 hr

Total Time1 hr 35 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Keyword: American Buttercream, earl grey, French Macaron, honey, Macarons, tea

Servings: 25 macarons

Calories: 109kcal

Cost: $12

Ingredients

For Macarons:

• 3 large (100 grams) egg whites
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 2/3 cup (200 grams) powdered sugar
• 1 cup (110 grams) almond flour
• 4 Earl Grey tea satchets

For Buttercream:

• 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter softened
• 1 tablespoon (20 grams) honey
• 2 cups (226 grams) powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk

Instructions

For Macarons:

• Line a cookie sheet with a silicone mat or you can use parchment paper if you don't have one.
• Cut open each of the tea sachets and pour the contents into the food processor. Pulse the food processor a few times to break up any of the bigger leaves.
• Add the powdered sugar and almond flour and pulse until fully combined and rid of lumps. Sift the combined dry ingredients into a large bowl. If you do not have a food processor you can just sift the ingredients together.
• In a medium bowl, prepare the french meringue. Beat the egg whites on low speed with a hand mixer until they get frothy. Increase the speed and slowly add the sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form. If you want to add any food coloring, do it now, but use it sparingly or you will make the meringue too liquidy.
• Add the french meringue into the dry ingredients and begin to gently fold. The batter should be fully combined and not streaky. When you are able to make a figure 8 with the batter in one motion, the batter is ready (more information on this process in my French Macaron Recipe). If it is too runny it has been over-mixed.
• Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a piping tip. Pipe 1-inch disks on to the silicone mat.
• Tap the cookie sheet on the countertop 3 or 4 times to get rid of any air bubbles. Use a toothpick to pop any remaining air bubbles.
• Allow the macarons to rest for an hour or until the tops of the macarons have dried. You will be able to gently run your finger over them without anyting getting on your finger.
• Preheat the oven to 280 degrees (F).
• Place the macarons on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 5 minutes, rotate the cookie sheet and bake for another 5 minutes, rotate the pan one last time and bake for 5 minutes. 15 minutes in total.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on the cookie sheet.
• If the macarons were baked correctly they should easily peel off of the silicone mat.

For Buttercream:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a medium bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter until very soft and fluffy.
• Add the honey and half of the powdered sugar. Beat until fully combined.
• Add the rest of the powdered sugar and the heavy cream and beat for 5-6 minutes or until the buttercream is light and fluffy.
• If the buttercream is too thick you can add more heavy cream.
• Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag and pipe the desired amount of buttercream onto the inside of a macaron shell. Sandwich another macaron shell on top.

Nutrition

Serving: 1macaron | Calories: 109kcal | Carbohydrates: 15.1g | Protein: 1.2g | Fat: 5.3g | Saturated Fat: 2.3g | Cholesterol: 9mg | Sodium: 26mg | Potassium: 8mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 14.1g | Calcium: 10mg

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