These white chocolate rose macarons are simple, elegant and perfect for Valentine's Day! They have a simple French macaron shell filled with white chocolate rose buttercream, then they're drizzled with more white chocolate and topped with dried rose petals.
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 other Valentine's Day recipes like these raspberry chocolate macarons, or these rosé cupcakes!
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Ingredient Notes
You just need a few simple ingredients to make these white chocolate rose 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.
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.
Rose Petals - My favorite dried rose petals are from Suncore Foods! All of their products are super high quality and have amazing color.
Rose Water - You can find rose water at most grocery stores! It's usually in the aisle with the cocktail mixers as opposed to the baking aisle. You can also find it online, just make sure you're buying food grade rose water!! Also, be aware that rose water is VERY strong! You only need a tiny bit! If you add too much, your buttercream will taste soapy.
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
White Chocolate Rose Buttercream
This white chocolate buttercream is super easy to make, but I just have a couple quick notes!
- Drizzle white chocolate on the macaron shells before making the buttercream! You only need a tiny bit, so I recommend melting the white chocolate for the buttercream and using a small amount for the macaron tops. Then use the remaining white chocolate for the buttercream.
- When adding the melted white chocolate to the buttercream, temperature is key!! You want the chocolate to be melted but cool to the touch. Warm chocolate will turn your buttercream into a melty mess.
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 vanilla bean paste and 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.
*The macaron batter will look like photo 6 before banging out the excess air, and photo 7 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.
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 and sprinkle with rose petals.
Then pipe the white chocolate buttercream into the center of one shell and top with the decorated shell.
Put the assembled white chocolate rose 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.
- For the same reason as above, use vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract!
Recipe FAQ's
Macarons are finicky, but I promise they're not 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 recipe.
Almost all 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. It's also important to weigh your ingredients!
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
White Chocolate Rose Macarons
Special Equipment
Ingredients
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
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla bean paste, optional
- 1-2 drops pink gel food coloring
White Chocolate Rose Buttercream
- 113 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
- 180 grams powdered sugar
- 113 grams white chocolate, melted
- ¼ teaspoon rose water
Instructions
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 vanilla bean paste and 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 and sprinkle with dried rose petals (you only need a tiny bit so just use some of the white chocolate from the buttercream).
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.
- Add in the rose water and 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 your rose petal shell.
- Put the assembled white chocolate rose 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.
Browse more macaron recipes →
Liliana S says
Made these macarons yesterday and they turned out amazing! A very delicious flavor combination
Chris says
Hi! Can you freeze the macarons after the shells have been decorated with white chocolate and rose petals? Or does white chocolate drizzle/rose petals not freeze well?
Thanks!
Kyleigh Sage says
I don't think the rose petals will freeze well. But you could freeze the macarons, then decorate them after you thaw them!
Jasmine says
Could I add the rose water to the macaron batter?
Kyleigh Sage says
You can add 1/4 teaspoon if you want! But I don’t recommend more because you don’t want to add too much liquid to the batter
zuko says
Can I use liquid food coloring instead of gel? I love your recipes btw 🙂
Kyleigh Sage says
I always recommend using gel food coloring for macarons because it's more stable. But you can use 2-3 drops of liquid food coloring if that's all you have! Just don't add any more than that, or it will introduce too much liquid to the meringue!
Debra says
These are so beautiful....just stunning.
Julia says
Oh my gosh, you make this seem so easy! I've only tried once and got beginner's luck, but never tried again. I do want to make these for Valentine's day, so fitting and pretty.
Jamie says
Oh my goodness! Can I just say how gorgeous your photography is?? This is rekindling my love for macarons. I used to get them all the time but after seeing your recipe, I'm giving it a try this weekend. Love all your tips!
Raquel says
I cannot believe how easy these are and they a possibly the most beautiful cookies I have ever seen!
Addison says
These are so dainty and beautiful! Yum!
Amy says
These look absolutely stunning!!! And the flavour combinations are spot on. I have been dabbling with macarons and have to admit they are not so easy to make, getting them just perfect. But I do love trying nonetheless, especially recipes like these.
Sarah M. says
This is the best macaron recipe I’ve ever tried! They came out perfectly!!