Salted Caramel Macarons

These salted caramel macarons are caramel French macaron shells filled with homemade salted caramel sauce and a salted caramel frosting.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time: 2

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 2 15

Servings: cookies (60 shells)

Equipment

Kitchen scale
electric or stand mixer
Large piping bag and round piping tip
2 Baking sheets
2 Silicone mat with macaron templates

Ingredients

Caramel Macaron Shells:

100 grams egg whites
100 grams almond flour
140 grams powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
120 grams light brown sugar

Salted Caramel Sauce:

½ cup granulated sugar, sifted
¼ cup water
6 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter
¼ teaspoon salt

Salted Caramel Buttercream:

2 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
¾ cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons salted caramel sauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional

Instructions

Make the Caramel Macaron Shells:

Prep: Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats with macaron templates. You can make a homemade template by tracing 1.5" circles onto parchment paper.
Separate the eggs while they're cold and then set the egg whites aside to come to room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Make sure you don't get any yolk in the bowl with the whites or you won't be able to whip them to stiff peaks.
Sift the almond flour back and forth a few times between two bowls. Discard any larger chunks left at the bottom of the sifter each time. Place a large bowl on your kitchen scale and add 100 grams of the sifted almond flour, 140 grams of powdered sugar, and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Sift everything together again into one large bowl and set aside.
Make the meringue: Add the egg whites to a completely clean and dry bowl or bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Begin whipping the egg whites on medium speed for about 30 seconds or until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and whip for another 30 seconds-1 minute until starting to thicken and increase in volume.
With the mixer running, begin adding the light brown sugar, about 2 teaspoons at a time, and mix for 20 seconds after each addition. Once all of the sugar is added, keep mixing until the meringue reaches medium-stiff peaks. If you lift the mixer up out of the bowl and flip it upside down there should be a peak that sticks up with just a slight droop at the tip.
Make the macaron batter (macaronage): In several additions, use a rubber spatula to gently fold the meringue into the dry ingredients. It will be thick and pasty at first. Keep folding by wiping the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
Once all of the meringue is added, continue to fold gently until the batter flows in thick ribbons from your spatula without breaking. If you lift the batter up and draw a figure 8, it should disappear into the batter after about 10 seconds. If it doesn't disappear or if the batter breaks off of the spatula, keep folding and check again after every few turns.
Pipe the shells: Add the macaron batter to a large piping bag fitted with a ½-inch round piping tip. Hold the piping bag straight up and down with the tip right in the center of the circle on your template. Squeeze the batter out from the center until it fills the circle, then lift up with a quick twisting motion. See here: How to Pipe Macaron Batter
Once you have all of the shells piped, lift the pan up and drop or bang it firmly on your counter several times to get rid of any trapped air bubbles.
Let the macaron shells dry out at room temperature until they form a skin on the surface, you should be able to gently touch the tops without batter sticking to your finger. This usually takes about 45 minutes, but can take longer in a more humid environment.
Bake: Arrange your oven rack to the middle position and preheat your oven to 300°F/150°C. Bake one sheet of macarons at a time, for 13-15 minutes each. Take the sheet out of the oven and let the shells cool completely before touching or trying to remove them. If using a silicone baking mat, it's easier to pull the mat off from under the shells then to pull the shells off of the mat.

Make the Salted Caramel Sauce:

Add the sifted granulated sugar and water to a clean, heavy bottom saucepan. Place the pan over low heat . Stir until the sugar dissolves and the water turns clear.
Stop stirring and increase the heat to medium. Cook the caramel, without stirring, until the sugar begins to turn color from clear to light golden brown. You can walk away from it for about 5-7 minutes, but as soon as the color starts to change keep a close eye on it the entire time.
While the sugar cooks, add the heavy cream to a glass measuring jar and microwave it in 30-second intervals until simmering.
As soon as the sugar turns golden amber in color, take the pan off of the heat and slowly pour in the warm heavy cream while stirring with a rubber spatula. Be very careful because the sugar will bubble up a lot when you add the cream.
Stir in the butter and salt over low heat until the butter is melted. Pour the caramel into a glass container and place it in the fridge to cool.

Make the Salted Caramel Frosting:

Add the softened butter and softened cream cheese to a medium bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until fluffy and smooth. Add the powdered sugar, cooled caramel sauce, and vanilla extract (if using) and mix until smooth.

Fill the Shells:

Take two matching macaron shells. Use a piping bag to add a ring of the salted caramel frosting around the outside of the bottom of one shell. Fill the center with caramel sauce, then gently top with the second shell.

Notes

Once filled, macarons taste best after 24 hours and stay fresh in the fridge for 1 week. They can also be frozen (filled or unfilled) for 2 months.

Almond flour: Some brands are more oily and less fine than others. Blue Diamond almond flour is by far the best brand I've used and always gives me the best results.

Heavy cream (for caramel): Make sure your cream is hot when you add it in, otherwise the sugar will clump up. If it does clump up, simply place the pan over low heat and cook until it melts and the caramel is smooth. If you still have any clumps of sugar strain the caramel through a sieve before adding the butter and salt.

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