Salted Caramel Macarons
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These Salted Caramel Macarons combine the classic delicate French cookie with a sweet homemade caramel buttercream. Top everything with a sprinkle of fleur de sel salt for that perfect finish.
Looking for even more sweet caramel treats? Try my Salted Caramel Cheesecake Bars, Easy Iced Caramel Coffee, and Salted Caramel Candies.
Recipe Features
- BEST Macaron Base: Macarons can be temperamental. This cookie recipe is tried and tested over and over to give you an almost fool proof cookie.
- Easy to Customize: You can add almost any filling to these cookies.
- Perfect Gift Giving Cookie: These are simply beautiful and the perfect gift to give any time of the year.
French macaroons are notorious for being unbelievably difficult to make. I was SO SO lucky the first time I made them… the second, not so much. I really think it just takes practice and lots of patience. That hasn’t stopped me from whipping up batches for almost every occasion. This recipe is almost fool-proof. Follow the directions to a T and you’ll be amazed at the bakery worthy cookies you can whip up in no time!
Be patient and you’ll find that these Salted Caramel French Macarons are well worth the effort. Delicate almond cookie base with a sweet caramel filling sprinkled with bits of salt. SO DANG GOOD.
French Macaron Ingredients
Have you ever had a French Macaron before? Are you ready for this? Because I was not sure what to expect. They are so light and airy. They have the perfect crumble with every and oh my goodness are they amazing when paired with the right filling. And you only need 5 ingredients for the base!
- Eggs: Specifically, egg whites. Make sure these are at room temperature. I take mine out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before I’m ready to start baking.
- Sugars: A little granulated sugar paired with powdered sugar give you the slight sweetness the cookies need.
- Almond Flour: Almond flour creates a finer smooth texture and creates less of a cakey finish. Super light and airy with a hit of almond flavor.
- Salt: A pinch of salt is all you need to blend the flavors.
DO NOT SUBSTITUTE INGREDIENTS. This recipe is very particular on the ingredients used. No not substitute.
How To Make Macarons
- MEASURE: I like to start by measuring out all of my ingredients before I start the baking process.
- SHIFT: Shift the powdered sugar and almond flour. Set aside and whisk the egg whites with the granulated sugar to peaks.
- FOLD: Fold the flour into the egg mixture, stirring exactly 65 times. Do this by hand.
- REST: Pipe into rounds on parchment lined trays. Tap the trays 5 times on the counter to remove the air bubbles. Let them sit for 30 minutes.
- BAKE: Bake for 20 minutes at 300 degrees.
- FILL: Cool completely and fill.
Helpful Tools
- Use a macaron mat like this one here. It will help keep your cookies uniform in size.
- Shift all of your ingredients. Remove any large pieces of the almond meal/flour.
- Buy a round pipping tip and pipping bags.
- Use food color PASTE if you are going to color your cookies.
- Use a flexible spatula to fold the batter
Recipe Notes:
Yes and no. Macarons are notoriously known for being delicate and finicky. I have made 5 batches in a row that turn out gorgeous and 5 batches that were a complete waste. Getting the right consistency in your batter is an art form. After lots of practice I can confidently say that more times than not mine form perfectly. It takes patience. If I rush through the recipe I will fail. So take your time and practice, practice, practice!
The short answer is no. The base of these cookies is the almond flour. It provides the flavor, texture, and beautiful feet that macarons are known for. Do not substitute for other flours.
Yes. However, I really feel like the homemade caramel buttercream or homemade caramel makes all of the difference.
Most of the time improper texture will come from not mixing properly or skipping the rest time. Make sure you follow the stirring ingredients exactly and let the cookies rest the full 30 minutes.
Like this recipe? You will love my Smore Macarons, Salted Brownie Cookies, and Salted Caramel Cheesecake Bars, Caramel Pecan Thumbprint Cookies
Still Hungry? Follow One Sweet Appetite on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!
Salted Caramel French Macarons
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 3 large egg whites (room temperature)
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup almond flour
- pinch of salt
Caramel Frosting
- 1/2 cup butter (softened)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup caramel sauce* (room temperature)
- 1-2 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
Cookies:
- Start by shifting the powdered sugar and almond flour together. I do this twice to make sure all of the large almond chunks are removed.
- Whisk your egg whites until foamy. Add the salt and 1/4 cup sugar. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
- Fold your flour mixture into your eggs, turning 65 times. Make sure you do this by hand to avoid over mixing.
- Place your batter into piping bags and pipe 1 inch rounds onto two parchment lined baking trays. Tap each tray 4-5 times onto the counter to remove any air bubbles.
- Allow the cookies to sit for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 300 degrees and bake exactly 20 minutes.
- Allow to cool on a wire rack. Sandwich two cookies with salted caramel sauce and enjoy!
Buttercream
- Place the butter into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat until soft and somewhat fluffy, about 1 minute at medium speed.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing slowly to combine.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl and drizzle in the vanilla and caramel sauce. Mix for 1 minute to fully incorporate into the frosting.
- Stir in the cream until it has fully mixed into the frosting. Increase the speed to medium and allow to mix for 5 minutes.
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag and pipe onto the prepared cookies, sandwiching a small amount between two of the same size.
- Optional, drizzle with extra caramel and sprinkle with a touch of finishing salt.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
So I used coconut flour instead of almond and my batter came out like crumbled cookie dough. Not liquid at all, I could not use the piping bag because it was so thick.
Does the coconut flour make a difference? And did I do something wrong?
Hi there, Coconut flour is not acceptable for these cookies and the ingredients need to be followed exactly. There are a lot of tips included in the post, but the biggest mistake I noticed is that you made substitutions. Make sure, especially for these cookies, that you use the ingredients listed.
Coconut flour cannot be substituted the same way at all as other flours in ANY recipe, because it is EXTREMELY much more absorbent than other flours.
Thanks for the helpful tip, Amy.
I had trouble with the caramel. I added the cream slowly, and that worked well. But when I added the butter, a large amount of it did not incorporate into the caramel, so I had to drain it off eventually. Even after draining the excess butter, it was still quite buttery in a way that affected the final texture and also made it hard to pipe into the macarons. Seems like something in the ratios is off? The caramel does have a lovely flavor though!!
Hello, H. Truth be told, it’s been a minute since I have made this caramel. I’ll add it into my schedule this week and see if I maybe mismeasured or wrote down the wrong amounts. I’ll touch back soon to update.
hi i was wondering what you concluded about the caramel
The recipe has since been updated. Thanks for asking, Aiza.
Mine came out very flat 🙁
What did i do wrong?
Flat macarons can sometimes happen for a few different reasons. Most commonly, it’s due to over mixing the batter. Did you count the number of turns as you were mixing?
Tried it, and the caramel consistency is perfect! Soft but doesn’t run out of the shell! Thanks so much!
Hi Zoe, I’m so glad these cookies worked out for you! One of my favorites for sure.
Hi! These look great. I’m wondering if it would be necessary to use a frosting “barrier” to keep the caramel in place at room temp. Once your caramel is set, is it firm enough to stay put as a filling, or does it slowly “ooze” out if left at room temp for a few hours? Do they need to be kept refrigerated? Thanks!
I made these and they came great and it was my first time! My caramel came perfect so I am sorry to say that everyone having a problem above did something wrong.
Hi Rachel, I am so glad you loved this recipe. Caramel can be tricky. I am so glad you didn’t have any issues.
I tried making these. The shells were perfect. My second attempt at macarons and I liked method and instructions-so easy. But I had a problem with the caramel. Made it twice but once it cooled it was hard. Even while warm, once I tasted it, it stuck to my teeth. Not one to give up, tried assembling a few and popped them into the fridge. Hard as a rock. Any tips? What can I be doing wrong?
What is fleur de sel and I don’t see when or where to add it,
Fleur de sel is basically sea salt 🙂
It’s the salt she refers to in the last step.
love this recipe! can’t wait to try to make them! when do you sprinkle the salt on top of the cookies? before baking or after?
If you want the salt to stay on top I would sprinkle it before.
I made the caramel twice and both times the butter would not fully incorporate into the mixture. I’ve made caramel before, not sure what went wrong.
Hm… I haven’t made these in a while. I’ll try a batch today and see if I need to adjust anything with the caramel.
How many macarons does this recipe yield?
Thanks!!
48 cookies which will be 24 sandwiched version total.
Please forward me the recipe. Would love tp make these
Hi, I just found your blog and I’m so glad I did! I have a question about this recipe though. I made the caramel and added the butter in the end, but as the caramel cooled the butter separated from the caramel and was just an oily layer on top. I made the mistake of not scalding the cream first, but other than that I think my proportions and directions were correct. Any idea what I did wrong?
I had a similar issue today, I now have a lump of hard toffee
Do you know the diameter of each shell in inches? Thanks!
If I had to guess, I’d say roughly 1.5 inches. Probably a little under.
When making the Carmel what kind of cream do I use? Whipping cream?
Thank you
Yes, whipping cream.
I’m sorry, am I missing something? in the ingredients, it calls for 1/4 cup sugar but in the procedures, I don’t see where that goes. Are my eyes playing tricks on me? I’m waiting to bake them right now, so I guess we’ll see how they turn out. 🙁
Oh NO! That was a total typo on my part. The 1/4 cup of sugar should be added to the egg whites. Thank you for pointing that out and forcing me to realize that I really should double check each recipe I type! ;0)
Thanks so much for sharing this French macaron recipe! I made them for the first time following this recipe and they came out great!
These are just pretty! I am a bit scared of making macaroons, but I keep seeing them everywhere so maybe I need to give it a try!
These are so cute! Don’t know if I’ve ever made cookies that look this perfect. 🙂 Yum.
what a delicious flavor!
These look amazing! I love the idea of salted caramel and probably need to get these in my belly. Just sayin. Pinned!
These pictures are amazing! I kinda want to lick the screen. I love macarons and salted caramel make them heavenly. Pinned!
gorgeous and I bet delicious too!
Now you have me scared to make macarons, but these look so delicious and beautiful! Gorgeous pics!
Holy yum!! These look amazing!! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
These look & sound delicious! Love French macarons!
I love, love, love, love, love these pictures… these macaroons… and YOU! I’m so excited you posted these, I’ve been waiting for that yummy salted caramel recipe! What fun adventures making our macaroons together. Can’t wait for our next bake date 🙂 Pinning FOR SURE!
Jesseca, these look so perfect! and salted caramel?! yum!