Brown Butter Macarons

Brown Butter Macarons have a classic french macaron shell and a delicious brown butter American buttercream filling.

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 15

Resting Time 1

Total Time 1 35

Servings macarons

Calories 109kcal

Author Ellie Haley

Ingredients

For French Macarons:

3 large (100 grams) egg whites
¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
1 ⅔ cups (200 grams) powdered sugar
1 cup (110 grams) almond flour

For Brown Butter Buttercream:

5 tablespoons (70 grams) unsalted butter
1 cup (113 grams) powdered sugar
1 tablespoon heavy cream or milk

Instructions

For Macarons:

Line a cookie sheet with a silicone mat or 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.
In a medium bowl, prepare the french meringue. Beat the egg whites on low speed until they get frothy. Add one or two drops of food coloring at this point, if desired. Increase the speed and slowly add the sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form.
Add the french meringue into the dry ingredients and begin to gently fold with a silicone spatula. 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.
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.
Preheat the oven to 280 degrees (F).
Place the french 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.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. They should peel off the mat easily.
When the macarons are cooled peel them off of the mat and match each shell to another that is the same size.

For Brown Butter Buttercream:

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.
After the butter has melted it will start to get foamy and make crackly noises, this is normal. You can stir the butter occasionally, but you don’t need to do it constantly.
Little brown bits will start to form at the bottom of the pan and the butter will take on a more orange color. It will start smelling nutty.
Let the butter continue to brown for about a minute, then remove from the heat and allow to cool. This whole process should take about 5 minutes. Transfer the brown butter to a bowl and place it in the fridge until soft.
In a medium bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter until it is very soft and creamy.
Add half of the powdered sugar. Beat until fully combined.
Add the rest of the powdered sugar. Beat on medium speed for 5-6 minutes.
If the buttercream is too thick heavy cream or milk, 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.

For Macaron Assembly:

Transfer the brown butter buttercream 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. Repeat with remaining shells.

Notes

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 red velvet macaron recipe 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.
The provided nutrition information is an estimate. The calorie accuracy is not guaranteed.

Nutrition