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Pink Lemonade Macarons

Heart-shaped lemon macarons with lemon buttercream
4.50 from 4 votes
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Prep Time 50 minutes
Cook Time 14 minutes
Resting Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 34 minutes
Course Anytime, Dessert
Cuisine French
Servings 50
Calories 133 kcal

Equipment

  • food processor
  • fine wire mesh strainer
  • silicone macaron mats with 1 1/2-inch heart indentations (or printed hearts silicone mat, or parchment paper)
  • 1 medium-sized round piping tip
  • 1 extra-large piping bag
  • 1 small star piping tip
  • 1 small piping bag
  • baking sheets

Ingredients
  

Cookies
  • 2 ¾ cups almond flour (275 g)
  • 2 cups + 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar (250 g)
  • 6 large egg whites, room temperature
  • ½ large egg white (place in a separate bowl from the other egg whites)
  • 1 cup + 1 tablespoon castor or granulated sugar (210 g)
  • 3 drops food-grade lemon essential oil (optional) (see notes below for source)
  • 1-2 drops pink gel food coloring
Buttercream
  • ¾ cup butter, softened (1 1/2 sticks)
  • 2 tablespoons cream or whole milk
  • ½ teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 ½ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

Instructions
 

Cookies
  • Place a nonstick silicone baking mat or parchment paper on a baking sheet. (See notes below.) This recipe will make enough macarons for several baking sheets.
  • Using a food processor, combine the almond flour and confectioners’ sugar and process until the mixture is fine. Then sift the flour mixture, discarding any large almond pieces if necessary. Set aside.
  • Using a mixing bowl and the whisk attachment, beat 6 egg whites until foamy. Add 1/3 of the sugar and beat another minute until the sugar dissolves. Add half of the remaining sugar and beat another minute. Then, add the rest of the sugar and beat until firm, glossy peaks form, about a minute or two.
  • Beat in the lemon oil drops.
  • For pastel-colored cookies, add a small amount of pink gel coloring and beat until well mixed. (For darker pink cookies, add a larger amount of coloring.)
  • Use a spatula to gently fold in the almond mixture into the egg whites. Mix well. The batter will be thick. Then, with a hand whisk, beat the 1/2 egg white until frothy. Stir this egg into the almond mixture to soften and moisten the batter.
  • Snip off the end of the large piping bag and place the round tip into it. Then, place the batter into the bag. Fold the top of the piping bag over, then roll it down and hold the top so none of the batter can escape. Place the bag over the baking sheet and position it vertically upright. Pipe the batter on the mats or parchment paper. Leave room between each macaron for the batter to spread.
  • Tap each baking sheet on the counter as you finish piping a full pan. 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 about 30 minutes to form a dried skin on top. In dry climates, they might dry out in 10 minutes. In very humid climates, it might take longer. Test the macaron skins with your fingertip. If the batter sticks to your finger, they are not ready and should sit longer. If no batter sticks to your finger, they are cured for baking.
  • Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Bake the macaron shells for 14-15 minutes. Do not brown them or they will lose their color. Cool them completely after baking.
  • Gently remove the macarons by pulling the mat (or parchment paper) away from the shells. Place the shells flat side up (upside down) on a large cutting board or another flat surface. This will make it easier to add the filling to them, and they will also be easier to pick up.
Buttercream
  • Use an electric mixer to beat the butter until fluffy. Add the cream, lemon juice, zest, and vanilla, and beat until well mixed.
  • Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating after each addition until smooth. If the frosting is too stiff, add more cream. If too soft, add a little more sugar.
  • Add the star tip to the small piping bag. Then, add the frosting to the bag. Pipe small stars on half of the cookie shells. Then, gently place the remaining cookie shells on top of the cookie shells with stars.

Notes

Recipe Modified

This recipe was modified on March 23, 2026.

Sources

Silicon Heart-Shaped Macaron Mat with heart indentations 
Silicon Heart-Shaped Macaron Mat with printed hearts
Pure Lemon Oil

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

For the cookie shells, use a gel coloring that is not liquid. I used Wilton Rose food coloring.

Baking Options

There are three options for baking these heart-shaped macarons. Alternatively, you can make round macarons.
  1. Use parchment paper on a baking sheet. To help guide the size of the macarons, draw hearts on the parchment paper with a 1 1/2-inch mini heart cookie cutter, spacing them so the macarons have room to spread. Place the parchment paper with the pencil or ink-drawn hearts facing down against the baking sheet. You will be able to see the circles through the paper.
  2. Use a silicone nonstick baking mat with printed hearts.  
  3. Or use a silicone mat with heart-shaped macaron cavities. This type of mat has small cavities that you fill with batter, so they all turn out uniform. Do not fill the cavities to the top, or the batter might run over the edges and distort the macaron shapes. It is better to fill them almost full, then use a toothpick to spread the batter until you gain experience filling the cavities.

Silicone Mats

This recipe will make enough macarons to fill several silicone mats, so you will need several. If you only have one mat, plan to use parchment paper too. If this is not an option, keep the batter covered to prevent it from drying out between batches. 

Cooling Macarons

After baking, cool the macarons completely before attempting to remove them from the mats or parchment paper. If they do not come off easily, they are not cool enough; wait a little longer.

Baking Sheets

If you don’t have enough baking sheets to bake all the macarons at once, pipe them onto parchment paper and let them rest until a top skin forms. Then, slide the parchment paper onto a baking sheet. Once the skin forms, the macarons will retain their shape when you transfer them to a baking pan.

Baking Time

Total baking time is determined by multiplying the cooking time by the number of pans used to bake the macarons. The individual baking time may increase if 2 or more pans are baked in an oven.

Removing Macarons from the Silicone Mats

I find it is easiest to remove macarons by pulling the mat or paper up at the corner and gently grasping both sides of the cookie shell. Then peel the mat or paper away from the shell.

Yield

This recipe makes about 50 macaron sandwich cookies.

Freezing Macarons

Macarons have a short shelf life, so freeze leftovers within a day or two of making them for the freshest flavor. They will keep for a few months in the freezer. Thaw before serving.
 
 

Nutrition

Calories: 133kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 2gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 29mgPotassium: 9mgFiber: 1gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 94IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 15mgIron: 0.2mg
Keyword French Macaron, Gluten Free, Heart Shaped Macarons, Lemon, lemon macarons, Lemon Recipe, Macarons, Pink Lemonade, pink lemonade flavored macarons
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