Easy Vanilla Bean Macarons (with VIDEO!)

These delicate French macarons are so delicious and not as hard to make as you think! Just follow the steps below and you will be able to make a successful batch of vanilla bean macarons every time! This recipe makes about 10-12 macarons and is perfect for a small Valentine’s Day party or other special occasions!

These dainty vanilla macarons are a delicious melt-in-your-mouth cookie that can be filled with endless types of fillings!

Ingredients Needed for Macarons

• Super-Fine Almond Flour: Not almond meal, almond flour! I used Bob’s Red Mill Super Fine Blanched Almond Flour for this recipe. It uses blanched almonds, which means skinless, which makes the flour more smooth. We will still have to sift it later with the powdered sugar, but super-fine almond flour makes the process a lot easier!
• Powdered Sugar(or Confectioner’s Sugar): This will give thickness and sweetness to your macarons. If you decided to make a buttercream for the filling, you will also use powdered sugar for that as well!
• Egg Whites: Now, many macaron recipes swear by aged egg-whites. This is where you leave them in a fridge for 24 hours to dehydrate. I personally think ain’t nobody got time for that so I just used room temperature egg whites and they came out delicious!
• Granulated Sugar: Using white sugar, or granulated sugar, helps aerate your egg whites and get them to stiff peaks!
• Gel Food Coloring (optional): I used pink gel food coloring to make these pink for Valentine’s day. Feel free to use any color you would like or just make white macarons!
• Unsalted Butter, Vanilla Bean Paste, and Milk: These are for the vanilla bean buttercream I used for the filling for these macarons. You could also fill these with cream cheese frosting, berry jam or a white chocolate ganache!
• Sprinkles: These are optional but I dipped the sides of the macarons in sprinkles to make them more festive for Valentine’s Day. You could also try nuts, chocolate chips, or freeze-dried fruits as well!

Tools Needed

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• Electric Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer: I do not have stand mixer so I used my Kitchen Aid hand mixer. Yes, it does take more time but the results will be the same! Use a stand mixer if you have one.

• Sifter: It is a crucial step to sift the powdered sugar and almond flour so your macarons will be lump free and have the right consistency.

• Piping Tip and Bag: I used a plastic piping bag with a round tip for the macarons and open star tip for the frosting. You can also use a pastry bag or even a Ziploc bag but it will just be a lot messier!

• Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper: I made one batch with pre-cut parchment paper and one with a silicone baking mat to see the difference. I couldn’t notice any other than the fact that the parchment paper batch spread a little bit more. If you want to use a silicone mat that has a macaron template, that will help your macarons be the same size but I just eyeballed mine!

Step-By-Step Instructions

• Alrighty, before we get started take a deep breath. You got this!
• First, set out all your ingredients a couple hours before you are ready to start. You want the egg whites to be at room temperature and also the butter for your buttercream filling. You can just leave the whole eggs out if you want and separate the yolks later or do it now.
• Next, you are going to sift the almond flour and powdered sugar together in a large bowl. Make sure you don’t let any clumps go into the mixture! Also, measure as accurately as possible. I used cup measurements but some macaron recipes use a kitchen scale. If you want to use one you could but I had success without it!
• In a separate mixing bowl, place egg whites in and start beating with your electric mixer on medium-high speed. You want them to get frothy, white in color, and bubbly. Now, you will add the granulated sugar in increments. I usually do it in 3 increments to make sure the eggs have time to get fluffy and reach soft peaks.
• With the hand mixer, this whole process can take 8-12 minutes. Be patient and you will get there! When the egg whites start to look super fluffy, you can add in a few drops of the optional food coloring (to make the base vanilla bean flavored, add a few drops of vanilla bean paste at this step. However, I found the vanilla bean flavor to be strong enough in just the buttercream!).
• Continue to whisk at medium speed until stiff peaks form (see picture below).

• Next, you are going to fold in one half of the dry ingredients in, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl frequently. I used a rubber spatula and gently folded the mixture for a few minutes until I couldn’t see anymore of the sugar and almond flour mixture.
• Now add in the last of the dry ingredients and continue to gently fold it until the mixture becomes runnier and runnier. This will take a few minutes but you also do not want to over mix. The point of folding it in is making sure the air bubbles are being released and deflated.
• You will know if you are done when you can make a figure 8 shape with the batter and it doesn’t break. It should be a fluid motion as you make the 8 shape. If it breaks, then you need to fold for a little longer.

• Now, transfer the mixture to a piping bag with a large round tip. On your large baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone mat, start piping circles as evenly as you can. Start from the middle and when the desired size is reached then pull the piping bag up to make a dollop and go on to the next one.
• Now drop your tray 3-5 times to get rid of any air bubbles in your macarons. Then, you can use a toothpick to pop any remaining bubblers, if any.
• Let the macaroons rest for 30 minutes to an hour. This helps them develop the perfect feet along the edges during baking (the fluffy edges of the macaron). You will know they are ready when they are completely dry to the touch.
• Preheat the oven to 285 degrees Fahrenheit. They will need 20-25 minutes depending on your oven. Keep an eye on them but try not to open the oven door until the 20 minute mark. I like baking them at a low heat so they don’t turn brown! Especially since we used food coloring.
• You know when they are ready when you try to move one on the pan and it doesn’t budge. If the macaron is wobbly, it needs a few more minutes. Be gentle here though because you don’t want the tops to crack! These are very delicate cookies.
• Take the macaroons out of the oven and let them cool completely.
• Now you can make the vanilla bean butter cream

How to make the Vanilla Bean Buttercream

• In a large bowl, cream your unsalted butter on medium speed until it becomes fluffy and white in color. Make sure to scrape the sides regularly to make sure it gets fully whipped.
• Now add 1 tablespoon of the vanilla bean paste and start mixing again. Next, add the powdered sugar in 3 batches as you continue to whip.
• Lastly, add 2-4 tablespoons of milk or heavy cream depending on how thick you want it, and let it whip for another 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy.
• Now after the macaroons are cooled, use a rubber spatula to remove them from the pan. Make sure you are gentle because the tops crack very easily! If you crack one you can always save it to use for the bottom since no one will see it anyway! You can pipe the filling with an open star tip or whatever tip you have on hand. This is optional but you can coat the sides of the macrons with sprinkles! Now you can finally enjoy your macrons! Great job, you deserve it 🙂

Now, these do take a bit of work, but these vanilla bean French macarons are so worth it! Technically, you should let these mature in the fridge for 24 hours in an airtight container after you have decorated them but that is totally up to you! I tried to make this vanilla bean macaron recipe as simple as possible and I hope you enjoy! Feel free to leave any questions or comments below! And as always, poftă bună!