Lemon Poppy Seed Macarons might just be my go-to french macaron recipe for the summer. The shells are poppy seed french macarons and the filling is a light and bright whipped lemon curd.
Macarons are one of my favorite things to make, but they are definitely tricky. They have a mind of their own and one wrong step in the recipe can totally change the end result. BUT they are also so fun to make, a major win when you get them right, and delicious no matter how they end up looking.
That being said, it is so possible to master macarons. I compiled a Step-by-Step Macaron post with all of my best tips and tricks for making the best macarons possible. It has all of the steps and tools that I use every time I make macarons and I can promise you it will get you closer to being a macaron master!
Ingredients for Lemon Poppy Seed Macarons:
Ingredients for french macaron shell:
- Almond Flour. Be sure that you are using almond flour and not almond meal.
- Powdered Sugar. This will aid in the flavor and structure of the finished macarons.
- Egg Whites. Having your egg whites at room temperature will make it easier to whip them.
- Granulated Sugar. Sugar will give structure to the beaten egg whites.
- Poppy Seeds.
Ingredients for whipped lemon curd:
- Granulated sugar.
- Lemon Juice.
- Egg.
- Egg Yolk.
- Unsalted Butter.
- Heavy Whipping Cream.
Macaron Tips
- If possible, make your macarons on a less humid day. You will need to rest the macarons for longer and they might not turn out as well on a humid day.
- Don’t over-mix the batter. You only need to macaronage until you can make a figure 8 with the batter. If you over-mix the macarons will spread too much.
- Wipe the bowl down with vinegar before adding the egg whites to whip. Even a speck of leftover dish soap or fat (egg yolk, butter, etc.) will inhibit the egg whites from whipping up properly.
- Let the macarons rest before eating. Macarons are best when they have matured for 12 or so hours. So after you fill the macarons, let them rest overnight for the best flavor.
How to make french macarons:
STEP 1: Line a cookie sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
STEP 2: In a food processor add the powdered sugar and almond flour and pulse until fully combined and rid of lumps. Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. If you don’t have a food processor you can just sift the ingredients together.
STEP 3: Add the poppy seeds to the dry ingredients and whisk to combine.
STEP 4: In a medium bowl, prepare the french meringue. Beat the egg whites on low speed until they get frothy. Add one drop of food coloring at this point, if desired. Increase the speed and slowly add the sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form.
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. Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a piping tip. Pipe 1-inch disks onto the prepared cookie sheet.
STEP 6: 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 7: Let the french 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.
STEP 7: 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 8: 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.
STEP 9: Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. They should peel off the mat easily.
STEP 10: When the macarons are cooled peel them off of the mat and match each shell to another that is the same size.
Whipped Lemon Curd
STEP 1: In a medium heat-proof bowl whisk together the sugar, lemon juice, egg, and egg yolk. The mixture should be slightly thick.
STEP 2: Place the bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water and add the butter.
STEP 3: Let the mixture cook over low heat for about 15 minutes. Whisking occasionally.
STEP 4: You will know the curd is ready when a thermometer reads 180 degrees (F) or when it is the consistency of mayonnaise.
STEP 5: Remove the curd from the heat and cover the surface of the curd with plastic wrap. Place the curd in the fridge until fully cooled.
STEP 6: In a medium bowl use a hand mixer to whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks. Be sure not to overwhip.
STEP 7: When the curd is cooled gently fold the curd into the whipped cream until fully combined.
STEP 8: Transfer the whipped lemon curd to a piping bag and pipe your desired amount onto the inside of a macaron shell. Sandwich another macaron shell on top.
Can I make french macarons ahead of time?
For sure! I make macarons ahead of time pretty often and they always still taste amazing. If I am making macarons more than a day before I want to serve them I freeze them. They will freeze well for about two weeks. Just pull them out of the freezer about an hour before you are ready to serve them and these lemon poppy seed macarons will thaw out perfectly.
More macaron recipes:
- Churro Macarons- A classic french macaron shell rolled in cinnamon sugar and filled with dulce de leche.
- Cinnamon Roll Macarons- French macaron shells flavored with cinnamon and filled with swirled cream cheese and brown sugar cinnamon buttercream.
- Sweet Tart Macarons- These macarons are filled with sweet tart buttercream and truly a dream come true!
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Recipe
Lemon Poppy Seed Macarons
Ingredients
For Macaron Shells:
- 1 ⅔ cup (200 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 cup (110 grams) almond flour
- 3 large (100 grams) egg whites
- ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- ½ tablespoon poppy seeds
For Filling:
- ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon (75 grams) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (48 grams) lemon juice fresh squeezed
- 1 large (50 grams) egg
- 1 large (15 grams) egg yolk
- 6 tablespoons (90 grams) unsalted butter cubed and softened
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream cold
Instructions
For Macarons:
- 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.
- In a food processor add the powdered sugar and almond flour and pulse until fully combined and rid of lumps. Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. If you don’t have a food processor you can just sift the ingredients together.
- Whisk the poppy seeds into the dry ingredients.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
- Peel each macaron shell off of the mat and match each shell to another that is the same size.
For Filling:
- In a medium heat-proof bowl whisk together the sugar, lemon juice, egg, and egg yolk.
- Place the bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water and add the butter.
- Let the mixture cook over low heat for about 15 minutes, whisking occasionally.
- You will know the curd is ready when a thermometer reads 180 degrees (F) or when it is the consistency of mayonnaise.
- Remove the curd from the heat and cover the surface of the curd with plastic wrap. Place the curd in the fridge until fully cooled.
- In a medium bowl use a hand mixer to whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks. Be sure not to overwhip.
- When the curd is cooled gently fold the curd into the whipped cream until fully combined.
- Transfer the whipped lemon curd to a piping bag and pipe your desired amount onto the inside of a macaron shell. Sandwich another macaron shell on top.
Amy says
Do you know if the macaroons would store well in the freezer with the whipped lemon curd filling inside them? I am a little unsure how whip cream freezes
Ellie Haley says
Whipped cream on its own might not freeze well but because it is combined with the lemon curd it should be fine!
Maddie says
The process is well explained.
I did end up tasting a metal flavor when I made the lemon curd in a metal bowl. Maybe I’m not using a true stainless steel bowl? The metal taste ended up making the lemon curd inedible.
Ellie Haley says
That is so strange. I have never experienced that. You can also use a glass bowl
Anonymous says
just made these and they were amazinggg!!
Ellie Haley says
I'm so glad you like them!
Kayla says
I followed the recipe using grams to measure out ingredients and the macarons turned out PERFECT. It was my first time making macarons and this recipe and a YouTube video of foolproof tips helped me to get these expensive little cookies right the first try. I will say my cookies took about 30min to bake at 300°, but everyone’s oven is different so the timing to cook will most likely not be exactly 15min. But I loved this recipe and can’t wait to start making more macarons! (They did take all day to make.. I think it totaled 7 hours but I am a beginner 😭😂)
Ellie Haley says
So glad to hear that! Macarons can be tricky, so getting them right on the first try is a big win!
Summer says
How should these be stored? And for how long?
Ellie Haley says
ROOM TEMPERATURE
Macarons can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. I wouldn't recommend this, though, because they can become stale quickly.
REFRIGERATOR
If stored correctly in an airtight container Lemon Poppy Seed Macarons will last up to 1 week in the fridge.
FREEZER
Macarons freeze and thaw extremely well and can be frozen in an air-tight container for up to two months.
x says
Hi! I'm really looking forward to making this, but I am wondering how many macarons this recipe makes. Thanks!
Ellie Haley says
This recipe should make about 50 individual shells, depending on how big you pipe the macarons, and 25 completed macarons.
Anonymous says
my batch made 60 shells with some batter left over
Vanessa says
Thanks for sharing! Do they keep long?
Suzanne says
This looks so good! I've never seen this as a macaron flavor before! What a unique idea!
Mauro says
I just made these today since my girlfriend loves lemon poppy seed anything. Only difficulty was the filling on this, it just wouldn’t reach the consistency and wouldn’t go up to 180 degrees after an hour and a half. Also, i made it in a stainless steel bowl and for reason gave it a “metal” taste. I ended up making a quick lemon buttercream instead.
Ellie Haley says
Oh no! I’m so sorry that happened. I’m not sure what could have happened there
Diana says
WonDering how to store these for the maturing Stage?
Ellie Haley says
I always do an airtight container and leave them on the counter
Diana says
Made these DELICIOUS things yesterday! First tIme making macarons and ill be doing it again! Unfortunately my cream ended UP beinG too liquidy, eVen wIth makinG sure i got all the directions right. Any ideas on how to make the cream thicker and maybe a more Sour? Would more lemon in the curd throw ever off? Thanks for an amazin recipe!
Ellie Haley says
So glad you enjoyed them! My guess would be that the whipped cream wasn’t stiff enough or you may have overfolded the two together and deflated the whipped cream a bit. You could just use the curd by itself for more lemon taste, it just won’t be a thick!
Andrea says
Absolutely delicious, I can’t wait to try some of the other recipes!
Christine says
Loved this recipe! LEmon poppyseed Is one of my favorite flavors, but i had never consid them for macarons. I Adapted the filling recipe to maKe a whipped lemon curd and Mascarpone filling for a little more tang and stability 🙂
Ellie Haley says
I’m so glad you loved them!!