Red Velvet Macarons

Red Velvet Macarons have a classic french macaron shell that is flavored with cocoa powder and dyed red then filled with a rich cream cheese buttercream. They have a delicious balance of flavors and textures that will make you fall in love with macarons!

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 15

Resting Time 1

Total Time 1 35

Servings macarons

Calories 103kcal

Author Ellie Haley

Ingredients

For Red Velvet Macarons:

1 ⅔ cup (200 grams) powdered sugar
1 cup (110 grams) almond flour
½ tablespoon cocoa powder
3 large (100 grams) egg whites
¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
red food coloring as needed

For Cream Cheese Buttercream:

2 ounces cream cheese room temperature
2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter room temperature
1 cup (113 grams) powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
heavy cream or milk as needed

Instructions

For Red Velvet Macarons:

Line a cookies sheet with a silicone mat. I highly recommend a silicone mat of some kind, but if you don’t have one then you can also use parchment paper. Set aside.
Using a food processor, pulse the powdered sugar, almond flour, and cocoa powder 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 sift the ingredients together.
In a medium bowl, prepare the french meringue. You can use a stand mixer for this, but I prefer a hand mixer. 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 be runny.
Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a piping tip. 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. If desired, sprinkle the chopped pecans on top of the wet macarons.
Let the red velvet 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 to find what works best for your oven.
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.
If the macarons were baked correctly they should easily peel off of the silicone mat.

For Cream Cheese Buttercream:

In a medium bowl combine the room temperature cream cheese and butter. Use a hand mixer to beat until fully combined and fluffy.
Add the vanilla and half of the powdered sugar. Beat until fully combined.
Add the rest of the powdered sugar and beat for about 3 minutes or until the icing is fluffy.

For Red Velvet Macaron Assembly:

Transfer the icing to a piping bag fitted with a piping tip.
Pipe your desired amount of icing onto the inside of one macaron shell.
Sandwich another macaron shell on top.

Notes

The provided nutrition information is an estimate. The calorie accuracy is not guaranteed.
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.

Nutrition