Try these red, white, and blue patriotic macarons for all your summer celebrations! Made with almond flour, these cookies are filled with creamy buttercream and are always a hit at parties!
Create Macarons to Match Your Party Theme
Macarons are a treat anytime, but red, white, and blue macarons are like fireworks. They steal the show! These macarons are vanilla with a cream cheese filling. Their vibrant red and blue colors are created with gel food coloring. Add extra coloring for vivid macarons like those in the photos, or use a light hand for softer colors.
Supplies for Making Patriotic Macarons
Use a Silicone Mat
I like to use a silicone baking mat to make macarons. As a beginner, I used a mat with macaron cavities to help contain the batter in perfect circles, which makes a rounder cookie. As you get more experienced making macarons, you can skip the cavity mats, use smooth silicone mats, and eyeball the shell size if the mat is not marked with a circle pattern. The benefits of using a silicone mat are that it makes prettier macarons and they release easier. You can reuse the mats indefinitely, which makes them economical in the long run. The downside to silicone mats is the upfront price because you will need several.
Use Parchment Paper
Another option is to use white parchment paper. You can create a size guide by drawing circles on the paper by tracing around a one-inch object, such as a lid. Then, when the circles are all drawn, turn the parchment paper over so the batter doesn’t touch the markings. (Yes, the circles will be visible through the paper.) Parchment paper is an inexpensive way to bake macarons. However, it is disposable, which creates a lot of trash. Macarons can be fussier to remove from paper than a silicone mat, and they can have a different appearance from mat-cooked macarons.
Coloring Red, White, and Blue Patriotic Macarons
Macarons are usually colored with a few drops of gel food coloring or with dried powders such as crushed blueberries. Gel coloring works best because it doesn’t change the wet-to-dry ingredient ratio, which is crucial for macarons.
Resting Macarons
Once the cookies are piped onto the baking mat, they must be rested for several minutes to let the tops dry and form a skin. This drying step should not be skipped because the skin prevents cracks from forming when the macarons bake. It also prevents steam from escaping from the tops, creating macaron feet, which is the rough edging around the circumference of the macarons.
Plan to allow at least 30 minutes of resting time. However, resting time depends on the room’s humidity. On a dry day, the resting time can be as little as 10 minutes. On a humid day, it might take an hour. Spot-check a pan of macaron shells by placing a finger on the tops of 2 or 3 shells. If they have cured, the batter will not stick to your finger. If it does, the macarons are not ready to bake and should be rested for a few more minutes and then tested again.
Make the Shells Ahead of Time
Sometimes, I make the macaron shells one day and pipe the filling the next. Occasionally, the shells will stick together after baking and are hard to separate without breaking them. One way around this is to place the shells in rows in a long-airtight container. Then, place a waxed paper sheet on top and add another layer of shells. Macaron shells dry out quickly, so if you aren’t using them until several days later, place them in the freezer to preserve their fresh taste with a chewy inside and crispy outside.
Filling for Patriotic Macarons
While the macarons rest, make the cream cheese filling. Later, after the shells are baked and cooled, pipe dots or circles onto the shells with a tip so the macarons have a uniform appearance. Round or star tips are the best for making dots, circles, or stars. Macarons are elegant sandwich cookies, so use creativity when piping the filling to make beautiful little treats.
Vary the Filling for Patriotic Macarons
This recipe includes a cream cheese filling; however, experiment with different flavors and types of filling. A solid filling works best. It will hold its shape, whereas whipped cream is not a good option because it melts and loses shape, making the cookies soggy.
Short Shelf Life
Macarons have a short shelf life, so eat them within 2-3 days. Fortunately, they freeze well and will keep their fresh taste for several months when stored in an airtight container in the freezer.
Other Macaron Recipes You Might Like
Click on each photo or name to link to the recipe.
How to Make Patriotic Macarons
Equipment
- food processor
- 2 extra-large piping bags
- 2 round piping tips (medium-sized)
- 1 small piping bag
- 1 small round or star tip
- silicone baking mat(s) or white parchment paper (you will need several)
- food scale (optional for weighing dry ingredients)
- baking sheets
Ingredients
Cookie Shells
- 2 ยพ cups (275 g) almond flour
- 2 cups + 1 tablespoon (250 g) confectioners' sugar
- 6 ยฝ large egg whites, divided and at room temperature (place 6 egg whites in a bowl and 1/2 egg white into another bowl)
- 1 cup + 1 tablespoon (210 g) castor or granulated sugar
- ยผ teaspoon cream of tartar
- red gel food coloring
- royal blue gel food coloring
- violet gel food coloring
Filling
- 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 4 tablespoons butter, softened
- ยฝ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ยฝ teaspoon cherry extract (optional) (use for cherry-flavored filling, otherwise leave out for vanilla filling)
- 3 ยฝ cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 tablespoon cream or whole milk (use cream to thin the filling to make it easy to pipe)
Instructions
Cookie Shells
- Place a nonstick silicone baking mat or parchment paper on a baking sheet. (See notes below.) This recipe will make enough macarons to use several baking sheets.
- Add the almond flour and confectioners' sugar to a food processor and process until the mixture is finely ground. Then, sift the mixture, discarding any large pieces if necessary. Use a kitchen scale to divide the dry ingredients into 2 bowls, or measure it to divide it.
- Using a mixing bowl and the whisk attachment, beat 6 egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Add 1/3 of the sugar and beat 1 minute until the sugar dissolves. Add half of the remaining sugar and beat for 1 more minute. Then add the rest of the sugar and beat until firm, glossy peaks form, about a minute or two.
- Use a kitchen scale (for accuracy) to divide the meringue between two mixing bowls. To the first bowl, add the red gel food coloring and mix. Add the royal blue and violet colorings to the second bowl and mix. Add a substantial amount to give the macarons a vibrant color. Use less coloring for softer colors.
- Use a spatula to gently fold one bowl of the almond meal mixture into the red-tinted meringue. Add more food coloring if needed. Mix well. The batter will be thick. Divide the leftover 1/2 egg white into 2 bowls and beat with a hand whisk until frothy. Stir it into the red batter to soften it and moisten it.
- Repeat the process for the other bowl of meringue containing the blue food coloring by adding the divided dry ingredients and fold until well mixed. Add the remaining 1/2 egg white to moisten the batter.
- Cut off the end of each ex-large piping bag and add a round tip to each. Add the red batter to one bag and the blue batter to the other bag. Fold over the top of the piping bags and then roll them under. Hold the top so none of the batter can escape.
- Position the red batter bag over the prepared baking sheet, holding it straight vertically. Then, pipe 1 to 1 1/2-inch circles onto the pan. Leave room between each circle for the batter to expand.
- Repeat with the blue batter.
- Tap each baking sheet on the counter when filled with macaron batter. (Tap before they start forming a skin.) Tapping will spread the macaron batter and also help remove air bubbles. Use a toothpick to burst any bubbles in the macarons. Let the macarons sit for 30 minutes or until they form a dried skin on top. You can test for the skins with your fingertip. If the macaron batter sticks to your finger, dry it longer. If none sticks to your finger, the macarons are ready to bake.
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Bake for 14-15 minutes. Keep a check on the cookies so they do not brown or they will lose their vibrant colors.
- Cool cookie shells completely on the pan. Then remove them very gently.
Filling
- Use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and cherry flavorings until smooth and creamy.
- Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, and beat on medium-high until smooth.
- Add the filling to a small piping bag with a round tip and pipe filling on half of the red shells. Then, pipe half of the blue shells. Finish the macarons by placing unpiped red shells on blue cookies and unpiped blue shells on red cookies to form cookie sandwiches.
Notes
Weighing Ingredients
Macarons need precise measurements of dry ingredients. For best results, use a food scale to weigh the dry ingredients. Otherwise, measure carefully.Sugar
Castor sugar is the same as granulated sugar, except it has been ground finer. You can create your own by placing granulated sugar into a food processor and processing it until it has a fine texture.Gel Colorings
Use gel colorings that are not liquid. I used Christmas Red gel paste from LorAnn Oils and Flavorsย and Wilton’s Royal Blue and Violet gel pastes. LorAnn Christmas Red is a nice red color that does not turn brown. Use a lot of food coloring to achieve deep colors.Baking Options
There are 3 options for baking the macarons.- Use parchment paper on a baking sheet.ย To help guide the size of the macarons, draw a circle on the parchment paper using a 1 to 1 1/2-inch round bottle lid or similar object, spacing out the circles for the macarons to spread. Place the parchment paper onto the baking sheet with the pencil side down so the macaron batter does not touch the markings. You will be able to see the circles through the paper.
- Use a Silpat-type nonstick baking mat. Some baking mats have circles printed on them for macaron making.
- Use a silicone mat with macaron cavities. This type of mat has small cavities that you fill with batter so the shells are uniform. Do not fill the cavities to the top or the batter might run over the rims and distort the macaron shapes. It is better to fill them almost full and then take a toothpick and spread the batter until you gain experience filling the cavities.
Baking Sheets
If you don’t have enough baking sheets to prepare all the macarons at one time, pipe them onto parchment paper and let them rest until the skin forms on top.ย Then, slide the parchment paper onto a baking sheet.ย Once the skin forms, the macarons will retain their shape when you move them to a pan for baking.Baking Tips
- Do not brown the macarons when baking them.
- If your oven bakes unevenly, turn the pan halfway through the baking time.
- If the macarons stick to the mat or parchment after baking, there are usually two reasons. They didn’t completely cool before you tried to remove them, or they are undercooked. Adjust the baking time for the next batch.