These salted caramel macarons have a simple French macaron shell and are filled with homemade salted caramel buttercream! Then drizzled with extra salted caramel and flaky sea salt.
I'll walk you through how to make homemade French macarons and give you all my tips and tricks for success!
You might also like these chocolate caramel cupcakes or these salted caramel blondies!
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Ingredient Notes
- 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
- 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 Bob's Red Mill for my almond flour because it's usually fine enough. 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.
- Flaky sea salt - You can't have salted caramel without salt! I love using Maldon Flaky Sea Salt because it has the best flavor and texture.
Homemade Salted Caramel
For the salted caramel buttercream, I like to use my own homemade salted caramel! It’s super easy to make and only requires 4 ingredients.
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt (add more to taste)
- Warning: do not walk away from your caramel because it will probably burn the second you walk away from it (trust me).
- In a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat, add the sugar and stir every 1-2 minutes or so until it begins to melt (the sugar will start to clump up before melting).
- Once the sugar is completely melted, immediately remove from the heat and stir in the butter until combined (don’t be scared if it bubbles a lot).
- Add in the heavy cream and salt and mix until fully combined and smooth.
- Pour the caramel into a glass jar to cool. Can be stored in the fridge for up to a month!
- If you make the caramel the night before, you can let it sit, covered at room temperature overnight.
You want the caramel to be fully cooled before making the macarons.
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 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.
*The macaron batter will look like photo 7 before banging out the excess air, and photo 8 afterwards.
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.
Drizzle the macarons with salted caramel and top with more flaky sea salt.
Put the assembled salted caramel macarons in an airtight container, then place them in the fridge for mature for 12-24 hours before eating for the best taste/texture.
Or just eat them all immediately. You do you.
Macaron Tips & Tricks
Making macarons from scratch 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.
Recipe FAQ's
I personally much prefer homemade salted caramel, but you can use your favorite store-bought caramel that's what you prefer!
Macarons are finicky, but not impossible! It's important to follow the directions carefully but if your first batch doesn't turn out, just keep practicing! (and then practice some more)
Unless you have experience baking macarons, I don't recommend making any changes to the macarons. But you can make substitutions to the filling!
Most macaron issues can be traced to either oven temperature or improperly mixing the batter. 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.
More Macaron Recipes!
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Recipe Card
Salted Caramel Macarons
Equipment
Ingredients
Salted Caramel
- 200 grams granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 80 grams heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt
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
Salted Caramel Buttercream
- 113 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
- 180 grams powdered sugar
- 60 grams salted caramel, room temperature
Instructions
Salted Caramel
- I highly recommend making the salted caramel the night before you plan to make the buttercream so that it has time to fully cool to room temperature!
- Warning: do not walk away from your caramel because it will probably burn the second you walk away from it (trust me). In a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat, add the sugar and stir every 1-2 minutes or so until it begins to melt (the sugar will start to clump up before melting).
- Once the sugar is completely melted, immediately remove from the heat and stir in the butter until combined (don’t be scared if it bubbles a lot).
- Add in the heavy cream and salt and mix until fully combined and smooth.
- Pour the caramel into a glass jar to cool. Can be stored in the fridge for up to a month! If you make the caramel the night before, store it in the fridge but then let it sit at room temperature until it's a nice pourable consistency.
- Let cool completely to room temperature before adding to the buttercream!
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 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 salted caramel and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
Salted Caramel Buttercream
- 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 salted caramel 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 macarons are cooled and decorated. Pipe the filling in the center of the undecorated shell, leaving a little bit of room on the sides. Then top with the drizzled caramel shell.
- Put the assembled macarons in an airtight container, then place them in the fridge for mature for 12-24 hours before eating for the best taste/texture. Or just eat them all immediately. You do you.
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.
Sharon says
This was my first try at making macarons. The instructions were great, but adding some piping tips would help. I made the batter successfully, but I didn’t pipe correctly and the first tray ran together. I looked up a few videos on how to fill the piping bag - made a huge mess 1st try - and also got some helpful hints for the actual piping. I hadn’t realized from the picture that you fill to the inside circle. Once I had that down the shells came out perfect. Also, thanks for the oven thermometer tip, my oven was off by -25 degrees. They are delicious!
Claire says
I tried this and it was perfect! I took a macaron baking class that made salted caramel buttercream macarons as well and this recipe was even better.
Cayden says
How can you make changes to the recipe so I can use AP flour instead?
Kyleigh Sage says
Unfortunately you can’t make these with AP flour
Abby says
I have been trying to make macarons on and off for three years and today I finally did it!
This caramel sauce and buttercream are to die for. The macarons are beautiful and I cannot wait to try the Oreo and tiramisu ones!!!
Thank you so much!
Liz says
Is this caramel supposed to cool to a chewy caramel or to a more liquid one. I've made lots of caramel and they usually turn out more like a thick liquidy substance but this is more of a thick chewier caramel. Is that right?
Kyleigh Sage says
This caramel is kind of in between! In the fridge, it gets very thick, but it’s still more of a sauce than a solid candy
Layla W. says
Hello! Quick question, I only have salted butter so what should I do? Can I still make this?
Kyleigh Sage says
That's fine! Just leave out the added salt, then taste and decide if you need to add a little bit more.
Nicole Soto says
I have made similar macarons and the issue I had is the caramel sUce on top never hardened, even in the freezer. It stayed really sticky/tacky and made the macarons hard to store and package up for people. Were you able to get the caramel hard/not sticky on top? If so, what's the trick? Thanks!!
Kyleigh Sage says
Hi! So sorry, I'm just now replying (I was on vacation). This caramel does harden a bit in the fridge but is always somewhat sticky unfortunately.
Sarah says
Can i use regular table salt, or is the flaky salt a must?
Kyleigh Sage says
Regular salt is much saltier so you’ll want to use about half as much!
Leslie Decker says
Perfect recipe, which is more important in my opinion than all the "tricks to making macarons" in the world. Will definitely be keeping this recipe.