Red Velvet Macarons
Red Velvet Macarons are classic French macarons with the flavors of red velvet cake. They’re crisp, chewy and filled with a tangy cream cheese frosting!
Baking is a big part of who I am thanks to my mom. She baked birthday cakes from scratch for everyone’s birthday, and always made an assortment of quick breads, cookies and other treats to give as gifts to friends and family every year for the holidays.
I began baking red velvet cupcakes for the holiday season years ago because they’re so festive. One of my family’s holiday traditions is to enjoy a seasonal treat and a cup of hot chocolate while we decorate our tree, so I thought these Red Velvet Macarons would be a fun twist.
They’ve already become a favorite!
For those of you that have never experienced red velvet flavors, it’s mainly a vanilla cake with a bit of cocoa powder and enough red coloring to achieve that beautiful hue.
I normally don’t use food coloring, but I make an exception for red velvet desserts. 🙂
When I made my first batch of red velvet macarons, I wondered if they would really taste like the cake. They turned out wonderfully, and had big red velvet flavor!
Table of contents
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Delicious! These red velvet macarons are crisp and delicate and completely melt in your mouth. They have a sweet, tangy cream cheese frosting that melts in your mouth!
- Bakery quality. These classic French macarons are so much fun to make and are bakery quality.
- Festive. They’re the perfect festive treat for Christmas or Valentine’s Day!
Red velvet macaron ingredients
There are only a few ingredients for this red velvet French macaron recipe, so prep goes very quickly.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Egg whites (room temperature)
- Almond flour
- Powdered sugar
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Cream of tartar
- Super fine sugar
- Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract
- Red gel paste food color (do not use liquid!)
- Butter
- Cream cheese
How to make red velvet macarons
French macarons have a reputation for being a bit fussy and hard to make, but if you follow my simple steps, you’ll have macaron success.
Gather your ingredients and prep your baking pans
Mise en place, or prepping your ingredients before you get started is crucial in this recipe as things go quickly.
- Place your egg whites in a mixing bowl on the counter first as they beat up much more quickly when they’re room temperature.
- Line your pans with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
Prepare the macarons:
- Place the almond flour, powdered sugar and cocoa powder in the bowl of a food processor and process until fine.
- Place the dry ingredients in a fine mesh sieve and sift over a medium bowl. Discard any large bits (there shouldn’t be more than a teaspoon or so).
- Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites and beat on medium speed with a mixer until frothy.
- Once the egg whites are frothy, increase the mixer speed to medium high and gradually add the super fine sugar, about a half a tablespoon at a time, beating until the meringue has soft to medium peaks.
- Add the vanilla and gel paste food color and beat at low speed until incorporated, then increase the speed to medium high and beat until stiff peaks form. When the meringue is done, it will stand straight up on the top of the wire whisk, or you can turn the entire bowl upside down and the meringue won’t budge.
- Fold the almond flour mixture into the meringue by gently scraping the bottom of the bowl and folding the batter over the top. Turn the bowl 1/4 turn with each fold. The batter will become runnier as you fold. Continue to fold until the batter flows from the spoon in an even stream and you can make a figure 8 out of the batter without it breaking.
- Place the macaron batter in a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2″ baking tip and fill the bag. Pipe the macarons by placing the tip directly over the center of each circle and squeezing the bag to dispense the batter.
- Rap the baking sheets on the counter 5 times each to pop any air bubbles that have formed.
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Let the macarons stand 30 minutes to 1 hour at room temperature before baking to allow them to dry out. A skin will form over the top of the macarons, which prevents air from escaping. The air is pushed out the bottom of the cookie, creating their signature feet.
- When the macarons are smooth and dry to the touch, bake for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and place on a wire rack. The cookies will release from the pan easily when they’re done. If they don’t, bake them for 2-3 minutes longer. Cool completely.
Prepare the frosting:
Prepare the frosting as directed in my cream cheese frosting recipe, then pipe or spread onto the macarons.
FAQs
French macarons are delicate almond flour – meringue based sandwich cookies. They come in a wide variety of colors and flavors, and are filled with chocolate ganache, jam and frostings of every kind.
The texture of macarons is completely addictive. They have a crisp exterior that gives way to a chewy interior, and creamy or fruity filling that brings it all together.
Macarons are visually unique because of their “feet”. Read the section on how to make this French macaron recipe below for more information on how the macaron feet are formed.
Red velvet macarons are made completely with almond flour, so they are gluten-free.
Recipe notes
- I purchased one macaron silicone baking mat and use it as a stencil for parchment paper for my other baking pan. I honestly like the results when I bake macarons on parchment more than silicone, and there are many free macaron stencil sheets online!
- Store macarons in an air tight container for up to one week. They become even better as they’re chilled!
- This recipe makes 12 macarons, but the recipe can easily be doubled.
- Be sure to use gel paste food color as the liquid will result in an overly wet batter. All gel food colors are not created equal, so I suggest adding 1 teaspoon and adding 1-2 more teaspoons until you reach the desired hue.
- Super fine almond flour isn’t completely necessary as you’ll process it in the food processor anyway, but I recommend using super fine sugar for the meringue for best results.
More red velvet recipes you’ll love:
- Red velvet brownies
- Red velvet cake by Live Well Bake Often
- Red velvet sandwich cookies
Did you try this recipe? If so, be sure to leave a review below and tag me @flavorthemoments on Facebook and Instagram
Red Velvet Macarons
Ingredients
- 2 large egg whites
- 1 cup 100 g powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup 72 g almond flour
- 1 tablespoon 7.5 g cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon 2.5 mL cream of tartar
- 1/4 cup 50 g superfine sugar
- 2 teaspoons 8g – 24g red food coloring gel see Notes
- 1 teaspoon 5 mL vanilla extract
- cream cheese frosting
Instructions
- Place the egg whites in a bowl at room temperature first as they beat up much more quickly for the meringue when they’re not cold.
- Line (2) baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Use a macaron stencil and trace 1 1/5" circles onto the parchment as a guide if desired. Turn the parchment pencil side down on the baking sheet.
- Place the 1 cup powdered sugar, almond flour and cocoa powder into the bowl of a food processor and process 10-15 times or until fine.
- Sift the almond flour mixture into a medium bowl and discard any large pieces.
- Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar at medium speed in a large bowl until frothy. Increase the speed to high and add the superfine sugar about a half tablespoon at a time while beating until stiff peaks form. When the meringue is done, it will stand straight up on the top of the wire whisk, or you can turn the entire bowl upside down and the meringue won’t budge.
- Add the vanilla and red food coloring to the meringue and beat on low just until incorporated.
- Fold the almond flour mixture into the meringue by gently scraping the bottom of the bowl and folding the batter over the top. Turn the bowl 1/4 turn with each fold. The batter will become runnier as you fold. Continue to fold until the batter flows from the spoon in an even stream and you can make a figure 8 out of the batter without it breaking.
- Place the macaron batter in a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2" baking tip and fill the bag. Pipe the macarons by placing the tip directly over the center of each circle and squeezing the bag to dispense the batter.
- Rap the baking sheets on the counter 5 times each to pop any air bubbles that have formed.
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Let the macarons stand 30 minutes to 1 hour at room temperature before baking to allow them to dry out. A skin will form over the top of the macarons, which prevents air from escaping. The air is pushed out the bottom of the cookie, creating their signature feet.
- When the macarons are smooth and dry to the touch, bake for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and place on a wire rack. The cookies will release from the pan easily when they’re done. If they don’t, bake them for 2-3 minutes longer. Cool completely.
- Prepare the cream cheese frosting and place it into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4" round tip. Pipe the frosting onto half of the macarons, then top with the other half of the macarons and press down gently.
- Enjoy immediately, or chill in an air tight container and enjoy within 5 days.
Video
Notes
- I purchased one macaron silicone baking mat and use it as a stencil for parchment paper for my other baking pan. I honestly like the results when I bake macarons on parchment more than silicone, and there are many free macaron stencil sheets online!
- Store macarons in an air tight container for up to one week. They become even better as they’re chilled!
- This recipe makes 12 macarons, but the recipe can easily be doubled.
- Be sure to use gel paste food color as the liquid will result in an overly wet batter. All gel food colors are not created equal, so I suggest adding 1 teaspoon and adding 1-2 more teaspoons until you reach the desired hue.
- Super fine almond flour isn’t completely necessary as you’ll process it in the food processor anyway, but I recommend using super fine sugar for the meringue for best results.
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
10 Comments on “Red Velvet Macarons”
Why did the feet spread out and not up? I followed the directions
Normally this can happen if the oven temperature is too high or if the batter is over mixed.
Marcie, these red velvet macarons are so pretty! So festive for the holiday season!
Thank you Kelly!
Yup I am SO with you on red velvet – it’s my favorite! We even had it at our wedding 🙂 And these came out gorgeous!! I’ve never tried to make macarons but I so should!
I can never stop at one either, believe me! They’re so fun to make so I hope you’re able to try them!
These are gorgeous Marcie! I’ve never made red velvet anything, and I’ve always wanted to make macarons, so I’m tempted to give these a try! That holiday flavour bundle also sounds like a great gift for the bakers in my life!
Thank you Leanne! Red velvet is such a special flavor that we’ve loved for years…I hope you get to try it! And the baking bundle is wonderful isn’t it?
You did a beautiful job with these, Marcie! That red is so vibrant. I’ve only made macarons a handful of times, and yours look absolutely perfect. Red velvet is perfect for the holiday season!
Thank you so much Katherine! My boys are in love with these so I’ll be making them a lot!