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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.
Tips for Salted Caramel Macarons
- The recipe below for the Salted Caramel Macarons makes 24 macarons. It can easily be halved or doubled for the number of macarons that you need.
Macaron Shells
- Make sure to weigh the ingredients with a scale. This is the scale I have, and it has really helped me make better macarons!
- Your oven needs to be at the correct temperature when baking macarons! I can’t imagine baking macarons anymore without this oven thermometer.
- Sprinkle on the cookie crumbs after piping, but before resting the batter, so that they stick to the macaron shells.
- I typically rest my macarons for about 30 minutes, until they are no longer tacky on the top.
- Make sure to cool the macaron shells completely before peeling them off the tray and filling them.
Salted Carmel Macaron Filling
- Adjust the amount of salted caramel sauce in your salted caramel buttercream. Swiss meringue buttercream is the perfect flavor base, and takes on the flavors of this salted caramel sauce so well!
- When filling the macarons, make sure to pipe a ring around the macaron shell with the salted caramel buttercream. Fill the centre with salted caramel sauce. This way the sauce will not leak out of the shells
- I like to sprinkle a little flakey salt after filling the macarons to really amp up that salted caramel flavor.
Follow me on Instagram @sprinklesandscribbles for more baking inspiration!

Salted Caramel Macarons
Equipment
- Measuring scale
- Sifter
- Oven thermometer
- Stand mixer or Hand mixer
- Pastry bag
- #12 round tip (optional)
- 2 aluminum baking sheets with silicone mats or Silpat
Ingredients
Macaron shells
- 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
Salted Caramel Sauce
- 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
Salted Caramel Buttercream
- 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
Instructions
Macarons Shells
- Pre-heat oven to 300ºF.
- Separate the eggs from the egg whites (if using fresh eggs). Measure out 100 g (about 3 large eggs).
- In a separate bowl, sift the icing sugar and almond flour together
- Repeat the sifting process to ensure there are no clumps. If there are any clumps, discard them.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the egg whites and a pinch cream of tartar. Beat on high until foamy.
- Once the egg whites are foamy, turn the mixer down to the lowest setting possible and slowly add the granulated sugar. Be sure to incorporate all the sugar into the egg whites.
- Turn up the mixer again on high, and keep beating egg whites until peaks form. DO NOT OVERBEAT.
- Once done, pour all the almond flour and icing sugar mixture into the egg whites.
- Fold the dry mixture into the egg whites with a rubber spatula until the paste flows like a ribbon.
- Prepare a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat with a macaron template.
- Fit a pastry bag with a #12 round tip, if using, and trim the bottom as appropriate.
- Pour batter into the bag.
- Pipe circles onto the prepared baking sheet. You should get about 40-60 circles.
- Once piped, rap the sheet on the counter to release all the air bubbles. Use a cookie scribe or toothpick to remove any smaller bubbles.
- Rest for 30 minutes until the shells have formed a skin and are no longer tacky to the touch.
- Bake in the oven at 300°F for 13-15 minutes.
- Check for doneness by wiggling the shell. Shells are fully baked when they do not move from the feet. If it wiggles from the feet, then bake for another minute, and check again.
- Cool the shells in the tray.
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 Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 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.
Assembly & Decorate
- 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.
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