These chai macarons have lightly spiced French macaron shell and are filled with a fluffy brown butter chai spiced buttercream! With all the warming spices, they're the perfect wintery macaron!
I'll walk you through how to make homemade French macarons and give you all my tips and tricks for success!
You might also enjoy these espresso macarons or chai spice madeleines!
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Ingredient Notes
You just need a few simple ingredients to make these chai spiced macarons!
Egg Whites - I've recently started "aging" my egg whites and I've found it helps with my consistency. This is absolutely not necessary, but it's super easy to do so I recommend trying it out. Weigh out 100 grams of egg whites into a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and poke a few holes in the top. Place in the fridge for at least 24 hours but up to 3 days. Make sure to remove the egg whites from the fridge at least an hour before baking.
Almond Flour - If you've ever seen macarons that look bumpy, it's usually because the almond flour isn't ground finely enough. I love using Bob's Red Mill for my almond flour because it's super fine. But if you have lumpy almond flour you can also just pulse it in a food processor for a few seconds to break it up further. Sifting your dry ingredients is also super important for ensuring smooth macarons.
Brown Butter - The filling of these macarons is a fluffy brown butter buttercream! Brown butter is just unsalted butter that has been melted and gently cooked to bring out a toasty, nutty flavor. If you've never made brown butter before, you can check out this post with all my tips for how to make brown butter!
White Chocolate - I wanted a fun drizzle on top of these macarons, so I melted some white chocolate and added a bit of chai spice! But this is completely optional.
Chai Spice - I love using my homemade chai spice mix, but you could also use pumpkin pie spice instead!
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make French Macarons
Sift together almond flour, powdered sugar, and chai spice into a large bowl and set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites on medium speed until they become foamy, then add in the cream of tartar.
Turn the mixer up to medium-high and gradually add in the granulated sugar. Once all the sugar is added, turn the mixer to the highest setting and whisk on high until soft peaks form.
Add in 1-2 drops of brown gel food coloring, then continue to whisk on high until stiff peaks form.
Using a spatula, gently fold in half of the dry ingredient mixture until fully combined. Then gently fold in the remaining dry ingredients.
Continue to gently fold the batter until it reaches a “flowing lava” consistency. You should be able to make a “figure 8” with the batter before it breaks. As soon as you reach this consistency, stop mixing! If you over-mix the batter, the macarons won’t rise properly in the oven.
Line a large baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
Scoop batter into a large piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Hold the piping bag perpendicular to the silicone mat and pipe 1 inch rounds.
Pick up the baking sheet and drop it onto the counter 3-4 times to help bring any air bubbles to the surface of the macarons. Then use a toothpick to pop any visible air bubbles to make a smooth surface.
Let the macarons sit at room temperature for 30-40 minutes or until a skin forms on the surface. You should be able to lightly touch the surface without any batter being disturbed.
While the macarons are resting, preheat the oven to 300°F.
Bake one sheet at a time on the center rack of the oven for 13-15 minutes or when they do not move on their “feet” when touched.
Let the macarons cool completely on the baking sheet before removing them. They should easily peel off when fully cooled.
Match up your shells before filling, and then turn one side over. On the other side, drizzle a small amount of white chocolate over the top.
Then pipe the brown butter chai buttercream in the center and top with the other shell.
Put the assembled chai macarons in an airtight container, then place them in the fridge to mature for 12-24 hours. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days. However, for the best taste/texture, let them come up to room temperature for about an hour before eating! [Directly out of the fridge they can sometimes be super hard but at room temperature they're perfectly soft and tender!]
Macarons Tips & Tricks
Macarons can be tough so setting yourself up for success is key!
- Buy a kitchen scale if you don’t already have one! Macarons are incredibly finicky, so weighing all your ingredients is super important!
- Clean the mixing bowl and whisk attachment of your stand mixer with lemon juice or white vinegar to make sure there are no trace fats on either (if you don’t, your meringue may not form).
- Use a super sturdy baking sheet that won't warp and conducts heat evenly! These Cuisinart baking sheets are my favorite for macarons! I have 6 of them lol.
- Invest in some silicone macaron mats! They aren’t expensive and they will make your life so much easier!
- Also invest in an oven thermometer! We want our oven as close to 300 degrees as possible to make perfect macarons but just because your oven says it's 300 degrees, doesn't mean it actually is. My oven tends to run hot, so I usually end up having it set to about 290.
- Always use gel food coloring! Since macaron batter is so finicky, we don’t want to add any extra liquid to the batter. So gel food coloring is the way to go! The color is also even more concentrated so you need less.
- To get the brown color of these chai macarons, I used roughly 3 drops of AmeriColor Warm Brown and 1 drop of AmeriColor Espresso.
Recipe FAQ's
Macarons are finicky, but they aren't impossible! It's important to follow the directions carefully but if your first batch doesn't turn out, just keep practicing!
Unless you have experience baking macarons, I don't recommend making any changes to the macaron recipe because even small changes can negatively affect the recipe.
The majority of macaron issues can be traced to either oven temperature or improper mixing. This is why it's so important to use an oven thermometer and only mix your batter until it starts to flow like lava and then stopping.
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
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Recipe Card
Chai Spiced Macarons
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Homemade Chai Spice
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
Macarons
- 100 grams egg whites, room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 60 grams granulated sugar
- 110 grams almond flour, sifted
- 200 grams powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon chai spice
- 1-2 drops brown gel food coloring, optional
Brown Butter Chai Buttercream
- ½ cup unsalted brown butter, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons chai spice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons milk
White Chocolate Drizzle (optional)
- 28 grams white chocolate, melted
- ¼ teaspoon chai spice, optional
Instructions
Chai Spice
- Whisk together all of the chai spice ingredients in store in an airtight container for up to a year!
Macarons
- Sift together almond flour, powdered sugar, and chai spice into a large bowl and set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites on medium speed until they become foamy, then add in the cream of tartar.
- Turn the mixer up to medium-high and gradually add in the granulated sugar. Once all the sugar is added, turn the mixer to the highest setting and whisk on high until soft peaks form.
- Add in 1-2 drops of brown gel food coloring, then continue to whisk on high until stiff peaks form.
- Using a spatula, gently fold in half of the dry ingredient mixture until fully combined. Then gently fold in the remaining dry ingredients.
- Continue to gently fold the batter until it reaches a “flowing lava” consistency. You should be able to make a “figure 8” with the batter before it breaks. As soon as you reach this consistency, stop mixing! If you over-mix the batter, the macarons won’t rise properly in the oven.
- Line a large baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- Scoop batter into a large piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Hold the piping bag perpendicular to the silicone mat and pipe 1 inch rounds.
- Pick up the baking sheet and drop it onto the counter 3-4 times to help bring any air bubbles to the surface of the macarons. Then use a toothpick to pop any visible air bubbles to make a smooth surface.
- Let the macarons sit at room temperature for 30-40 minutes or until a skin forms on the surface. You should be able to lightly touch the surface without any batter being disturbed.
- While the macarons are resting, preheat the oven to 300°F.
- Bake one sheet at a time on the center rack of the oven for 13-15 minutes or when they do not move on their “feet” when touched.
- Let the macarons cool completely on the baking sheet before removing them. They should easily peel off when fully cooled.
Brown Butter Chai Buttercream
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the softened brown butter and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.
- Mix in the chai spice, salt, vanilla, and milk and beat the buttercream on high for 3-4 minutes until super light and fluffy.
- If desired, stir together the melted white chocolate and chai spice.
- Match up your shells before filling, and then turn one side over. On the other side, drizzle a small amount of white chocolate over the top.
- Then pipe the brown butter chai buttercream in the center and top with the other shell.
- Put the assembled chai macarons in an airtight container, then place them in the fridge to mature for 12-24 hours. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days. However, for the best taste/texture, let them come up to room temperature for about an hour before eating! [Directly out of the fridge they can sometimes be super hard but at room temperature they're perfectly soft and tender!]
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Bernice Kuntz says
One of the best macaron recipes I’ve made👌
Aelin Ash says
hi i want to make this recipe but want to use the italian macaron method, would you happen to have the recipe for something like that?
Kyleigh Sage says
I don't use the Italian macaron method, but you can find an Italian macaron recipe that you like you can use my filling recipe
J says
This is my new favorite macaron recipe! The browned butter really tempered the sweetness of typical American buttercream and you could definitely taste the spices. So yummy!!!
Adi says
Do these macarons have a strong chai flavor? Im worried it'll be bland
Renee says
I finally got macrons with feet!! Thank you for sharing ♥️
Vi says
After trying to follow so many different recipes, I was finally able to make macarons thanks to this one! They were super yummy too! Thank you! <3