Name: Salted Caramel Macarons
Prep time: 90 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 120 min
Ingredients: 135 grams almond flour; 125 grams icing sugar; 100 grams egg whites About 3 large egg whites; 88 grams granulated sugar; pinch cream of tartar; 200 grams granulated sugar (1 cup); 120 mL milk, room temperature (½ cup); 42 grams butter, unsalted (3 tablespoons); 1 teaspoon salt (sea salt, or flakey salt is best); 90 grams egg whites (about 3 large eggs); 180 grams sugar (about 1 cup); 227 grams unsalted butter (cubed (1 cup butter, 2 sticks)); ½ teaspoon vanilla (optional); ⅓ cup salted caramel sauce (adjust to taste)

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These salted caramel macarons are the perfect combination of a sweet and salty flavor, made with a homemade salted caramel sauce, and a salted caramel Swiss meringue buttercream.

Sweet and salty desserts have a special place in my heart. Some flavors complement each other so perfectly! These salted caramel macarons are so, so delicious.

The macaron shells are crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside. And the filling is made with a smooth salted caramel buttercream filling, with a surprise salted caramel center. They come together for the perfect combination of taste and texture!

These salted caramel macarons are the perfect indulgence!

Tools & Ingredients for Salted Caramel Macarons

For these Salted Caramel Macarons, you’ll need a few tools and ingredients. These are some of my favorites:

Almond Flour – I’m currently using Kirkland Almond Flour, which I usually get from Amazon.
Digital Kitchen Scale and Oven Thermometer – Macarons can be finicky; I highly recommend these two tools for the precision and accuracy required in making macarons.
Piping Tip like the Wilton #12 – This is the preferred piping tip that I attach to a piping bag.
Silicone Mats – I prefer silicone baking mats, but you can also use parchment paper.

How to make Salted Caramel Macarons

Macaron Shells

These macarons use my basic macaron shell recipe. I use a French meringue-based macaron recipe, similar to the one I use for many other macaron flavors like these Froot Loops Macarons or these Masala Chai Macarons.

I highly recommend that you weigh the ingredients for the macaron shells to be as precise as possible. I use this scale for accuracy, but any kitchen scale will work. If you’d like more tips on macarons, check out this post on Macaron Tips!

Combine the dry ingredients:

Start by sifting the almond flour, and icing/powdered sugar together a few times to remove clumps. It helps with making sure that the final shells are as smooth as possible.

I typically sift the almond flour and icing sugar at least twice to ensure that no clumps remain. This makes for smooth macaron shells! This is the sieve that I use to make sure no clumps remain!

Make the meringue:

Next, make the meringue, by beating egg whites, granulated sugar, and a pinch of cream of tartar.

You can do this part on a stand mixer or a hand mixer. For smaller batches of macarons, I prefer to use my Kitchenaid hand mixer.

Macaronage

Once your meringue has reached stiff peaks, add all the dry ingredients (almond flour and icing sugar mixture) into the meringue (egg white mixture) and start the macaronage (folding process).

Stop folding when the batter flows off the spatula in a ribbon.

Pipe onto Baking Tray:

Once you’re satisfied with the batter, it’s time to pipe it on the tray.

Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. I like using these silicone baking mats with the circle templates drawn on. But you can experiment with parchment paper as well!

Transfer your batter to a piping bag, fitted with a round tip. I like to use this Wilton #12 round decorating tip.

Pipe into circles using following the template on the silicone baking mats. Use a toothpick or cookie scribe to adjust any of the shapes.

Rest, then Bake

Rest the batter until it is no longer tacky to the touch. It takes about 30 minutes in my kitchen. Once the shells have rested, bake them in a pre-heated oven at 300ºF.

Salted Caramel Sauce

Melt the sugar in a large deep saucepan until it is light amber in color.

Add in ½ cup of milk carefully. The mixture will bubble up vigorously at this point.

Let it cook for another 5-10 minutes until it is as thick as you need it. Keep in mind the caramel will thicken as it cooks.

Remove from heat, and stir in the butter and salt.

Let it cool before using it for the macarons.

Salted Caramel Buttercream Filling

Place egg whites and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk until combined.  Place the bowl over a hot water bath on the stove and occasionally whisk until the mixture is hot and no longer grainy to the touch or until it reaches a temperature of 165 degrees F on a candy thermometer.  Place the bowl on your stand mixer and whisk on medium-high until the meringue is stiff and cooled (the bowl is no longer warm to the touch (approx. 5-10mins).
Switch to a paddle attachment. Slowly add cubed butter and mix until smooth.
Add vanilla and salted caramel sauce and continue to whip until smooth. Adjust the amount of salted caramel to your preference.
Fill a large piping bag fitted with the desired tip with salted caramel buttercream.

Decorate, Fill, and Mature

Once cool, remove macaron shells from the baking tray and pair similar-sized shells together to form the cookie sandwiches.
Pipe a ring of salted caramel buttercream on half the macarons.
Fill the ring with salted caramel sauce.
Carefully sandwich the cookie with its pair. Repeat to assemble all the cookies.
Macarons taste best when they’ve rested in the fridge for a day. Once all the cookies are assembled, store the macarons in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours to mature. Remove from fridge 20 minutes before serving.