These cranberry macarons have a tender French macaron shell and are filled with white chocolate buttercream and your choice of either cranberry curd or classic cranberry sauce!
I'll walk you through how to make homemade French macarons and give you all my tips and tricks for success!
If you like these cranberry white chocolate macarons, you might also enjoy these cranberry white chocolate cookies or this cranberry bundt cake!
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Ingredient Notes
I had leftover cranberry sauce from making my cranberry hand pies, and leftover cranberry curd from making this cranberry curd tart. So I decided to do some of each filling for these macarons. I liked them both so much that I'm giving you both recipes and you can choose what you prefer!
Cranberry sauce - Lighter, tangier, and much quicker/easier to make!
Cranberry curd - Richer, smoother, sweeter, but a bit more annoying to make. (So worth it though!!!) I also think it goes better with the white chocolate buttercream! I've included the recipe for the cranberry curd in the recipe card, but if you want step-by-step photos and instructions, check out the post for this cranberry curd tart!
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.
White Chocolate - Use white chocolate baking bars as opposed to chocolate chips!! Chips contain emulsifiers that help them keep their shape, which also means they won't combine as smoothly as chocolate bars. The buttercream calls for 4 ounces of white chocolate, but you can use a small amount of that to drizzle over top of the macaron shells.
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make French Macarons
Sift together almond flour and powdered sugar 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 pink or red 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 melted white chocolate over the top.
Then pipe a circle of white chocolate buttercream around the edges and fill the center with either cranberry sauce or cranberry curd.
Put the assembled cranberry white chocolate 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!]
Macaron 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.
Recipe FAQ's
Macarons are finicky, but they're not impossible! It just takes a little patience. 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. But you can make substitutions to the buttercream and the cranberry filling!
Almost all macaron issues can be traced to either having the wrong 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
Cranberry White Chocolate Macarons
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Cranberry Sauce
- 100 grams cranberries, fresh or frozen
- 100 grams granulated sugar
- 60 grams water
- 1 cinnamon stick, optional
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Cranberry Curd
- 170 grams fresh cranberries
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 175 grams granulated sugar
- 3 large egg yolks
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 57 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
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
- 1-2 drops pink or red gel food coloring
White Chocolate Buttercream
- 113 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
- 180 grams powdered sugar
- 113 grams white chocolate , melted
Instructions
Cranberry Sauce
- Add all of the filling ingredients to a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until the cranberries begin to split open.
- Reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
- Remove the cinnamon stick, then transfer to a bowl and chill until ready to use. Make sure the filling is completely chilled before assembling the macarons.
Cranberry Curd
- Add the cranberries and orange juice to a medium saucepan, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook until the cranberries split open, about 10 minutes.
- Strain through a fine mesh sieve and discard the skins and seeds. The cranberries don't pass through easily, so you need to press it through with a spoon or spatula (you can also pulse a few times in a blender or food processor to make it a little easier to strain). You should end up with about ½ cup of thick cranberry puree.
- Create a double boiler by bringing 1-2 inches of water to a simmer in a small saucepan. Place a heatproof glass bowl on top and make sure it's not touching the water.
- In the glass bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Then add in the cranberry puree and vanilla. Continue to whisk the curd over the double boiler for 10-15 minutes until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. (If the curd isn't thickening, turn up the heat and constantly whisk).
- Once thickened, remove the glass bowl from the heat. Cut the butter into chunks and whisk into the cranberry curd until fully combined and smooth.
- Pass through fine mesh strainer and then pour into a jar to chill. Chill in the fridge until ready to use.
Macarons
- Sift together almond flour and powdered sugar 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 (make sure to add the sugar in very slowly so that the meringue doesn’t deflate).
- Once all the sugar is added, turn the mixer to the highest setting and whisk on high until soft peaks form.
- Add in the pink gel food coloring and continue to beat 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 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 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.
White Chocolate Buttercream
- Melt the white chocolate and let cool almost to room temperature. It should be melted but cool to the touch. I prefer to melt the chocolate in the microwave in intervals of 20 seconds, stirring each time.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, cream the butter and powdered sugar together until smooth.
- Set the mixer to low speed and slowly drizzle in the melted white chocolate until it's fully incorporated into the buttercream. Then beat on high speed for 3-4 minutes or until the buttercream is super light and fluffy.
- Once the macaron shells are cooled and decorated, pipe a circle of white chocolate buttercream around the edges and fill the center with either cranberry sauce or cranberry curd. Then top with the other shell.
- Put the assembled cranberry white chocolate 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.
LINDA says
Made with the curd. The flavour was excellent and the macarons turned out really well..
Lucia says
I made these with leftover cranberry sauce and they were lovely. I can't wait to try with the curd next time.
Amanda Cowan says
I’m making these now and disappointed because the recipe says I should get a cup of thick cranberry purée (for the curd) but I’m getting only just over half cup. I even added extra cranberries when I saw this wasn’t going to make enough. I only ended up with a couple tablespoons of seeds/skins mixture so I know I strained it enough. Now I have to rework the curd recipe for the amount of purée I have. How do you end up with 1 cup? I weighed everything out so I know I used the right amount of cranberries.
Kyleigh Sage says
Oh my gosh, I wish I had seen this sooner! I’m so sorry!! That’s a typo on my part, you should be getting 1/2 cup of purée! I’m so sorry, fixing that right now!