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vanilla bean macarons with bite taken out

Vanilla Macaron Recipe

Bernice Baran
Your favorite French cookie - the macaron, in vanilla flavor with vanilla French buttercream!
4.63 from 67 votes
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Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Additional Time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours 25 minutes
Course Cookies
Cuisine French
Servings 22 -25 whole cookies
Calories 131 kcal

Ingredients
  

Vanilla Macaron Shells

  • 1 cup (100g) almond flour spooned and leveled
  • 7/8 cup (105g) powdered sugar spooned and leveled
  • 3 large 100g egg whites, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract

Vanilla French Buttercream

  • 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
  • 1/8 cup (28mL) water
  • 2 large egg yolks room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
  • pinch of salt

Instructions
 

Vanilla Macaron Shells

  • Sift together the almond flour and powdered sugar and set them aside.
    1 cup (100g) almond flour, 7/8 cup (105g) powdered sugar
  • Heat up a small pot of water on the stove to create a double boiler for the Swiss meringue. Whisk the egg whites and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer over the double boiler until the sugar is fully dissolved and the egg whites are frothy (about 120F/49C).
    3 large, 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
  • Remove the mixture from the heat and use the stand mixer with the whisk attachment, at high speed, to beat the egg whites and sugar just until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes. Add in the vanilla bean paste and mix for a few seconds, until it is fully incorporated.
    1 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar mixture over the meringue and use a firm spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the meringue. The method that I use to fold the batter (use photos for reference) is by pressing the batter up against the wall of the bowl and then scraping it off of the bowl.
  • Do this until the mixture is able to ribbon off and form a complete figure '8' without breaking. This may take a while, just keep folding but don't over-mix so test the figure '8' every 5-10 folds.
  • Using a piping bag, with a small circle tip, pipe out 1 1/2 inch size circles onto a lined cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Rap tray on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles from within the batter (use a toothpick to remove any air bubbles that are visible and won’t come out).
  • Allow the cookies to rest while preheating the oven to 300F (149C) conventional (no fan). Bake one pan at a time in the center of the oven for 13 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and allow the cookies to cool completely on the pan.

Vanilla Buttercream

  • Use the ingredients listed above to make a half batch of French buttercream. You can also substitute another type of buttercream like American Buttercream or Swiss Meringue Buttercream. You'll only need a half batch of those as well (half batch uses 1/2 cup (113g) butter).
    1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar, 1/8 cup (28mL) water, 2 large egg yolks, 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, 1 tsp vanilla bean paste, pinch of salt

Assemble

  • Pipe the buttercream on half of the cookies, leaving some room on the edge. Sandwich with the top cookies and allow them to set in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before serving.
  • Enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 131kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 2gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 21mgFiber: 1gSugar: 14g
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