Lemon Meringue French Macarons
Okay, it's been a few months but I'm joining a group of ladies for Cookie of the Month. The theme was lemon cookies, so I went to lemon meringue french macarons. The tart, zingy lemon curd in the center of the macarons really make these. It breaks up the sweetness of the meringue cookie and frosting.
I added a tiny bit of lemon zest to the top of each cookie before they dried. It's not really necessary and I'm not even sure it added any flavor. I just kind of did it to say, "hey, I have a little lemon in me."
I absolutely love making French macarons. They taste amazing and always end up being a show stopper. They can be very expensive to make, so it's best to really get it right the first or second time.
Lemon Meringue French Macarons
Ingredients
Lemon Curd
- zest of 1 lemon
- ยฝ cup lemon juice
- ยพ cup granulated sugar
- 3 yolks
- 1 whole egg
Macaron Shell
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 ยฝ cups powdered sugar
- zest of 1 lemon
- 3 egg whites room temperature
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- pinch of salt
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ยฝ teaspoon lemon extract
Marshmallow Frosting
- 2 tablespoon butter
- ยฝ cup marshmallow cream
- 1 ยฝ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Lemon Curd
- Zest 1 medium lemon. Set aside.
- Using a juicer, press out ยฝ cup of lemon juice. Set aside for a moment.
- In a double boiler, add in the granulated sugar, egg yolks and egg. Stir to combine.
- Add in the lemon juice and whisk to combine.
- Whisking constantly, let the curd thicken until it covers the back of a spoon. It will take about 20 minutes.
- After it thickens, strain the curd through a fine mesh strainer.
- Add in the lemon zest and place into a shallow bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Be sure to lay the plastic wrap on the top of the curd.
- Place in the fidge to chill.
Macaron Shell
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place a silicon mat or parchment paper on a baking sheet.
- Sift together the almond flour, powdered sugar and lemon zest. If you can't find almond flour you can always make it with almonds and a food processor. Finely grind the almonds and sift through a fine mesh sifter. Discard any large pieces.
- In a large mixing bowl, add in the egg whites. Turn the mixer on high and beat until the egg whites form a soft peak meringue.
- Add in the sugar, salt, cream of tartar and lemon extract. Mix on high until a stiff peak meringue forms.
- Very carefully fold in a third of the almond flour and powdered sugar into the meringue with a spatula. All together you'll want to have about 65 turns of this mixture. If you don't mix enough the macaron shell will be extremely fluffy and cracked. If you over mix, the macaron shell will be extremely flat and might not form a foot.
- Repeat with the rest of the almond flour and powdered sugar.
- Fill a disposable piping bag with the macaron filling. I just used a coupler on the end of my piping bag.
- Pipe macaron shells on the baking sheet. Zest a small amount of lemon zest for the top of each macaron shell.
- Let the macarons dry until they are no longer tacky to the touch. It will take about 20 minutes to 1 hour.
- Place in the oven for about 16- - 17 minutes until they no longer stick to the silicon mat or parchment paper.
- Let the macaron shells cool.
Frosting
- In a mixing bowl, add in the butter, marshmallow cream, powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix on medium/high until light and fluffy. It will take about 2 minutes.
- Place in a piping back with a small star tip.
- Pair up the macarons by the same size.
- Pipe the frosting in a circle around the outer edge of the macaron.
- Place the chilled curd into a sandwich bag and cut out a corner.
- Fill the center of the macaron with the lemon curd. Repeat with all macarons.
- Serve. Store in the fridge.
Notes
Nutrition
(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)
I'm not leaving a rating because I didn't follow the cookie recipe, only the filling. I was tasked with making Lemon Meringue Macarons and I had the idea to use marshmallow cream for the frosting to give it kind of a meringue-y taste (instead of actual meringue filling that other recipes use, macarons are already made from meringue anyway). So with some searching I found this recipe which had a marshmallow cream frosting and gave it a try! For me there is too little marshmallow creme compared to powdered sugar it just tasted like a sweet frosting. With the frosting and lemon curd the macrons were still a hit, but didn't give me the meringue-y taste I was hoping for. I did try piping pure marshmallow creme instead but it didn't set enough to stay as a filling inside the cookies and oozed out. Maybe next time I will just increase the amount of marshmallow cream or decrease powdered sugar in the frosting to get closer to what I am hoping to achieve. Thank you for the inspiration!
My friends and family loooved these macaroons. I also found that they taste great w/ cream cheese frosting.
So happy to hear!
Oh, my goodness! These are so pretty I could cry! They sound delicious too with the lemon curd and marshmallow filling! Wow! I have never made french macarons before, but you make me want to try them. Thanks for sharing this delightful recipe!
Blessings,
Nici
Oh wow... those macarons are GOR-GEEEEE-OUS! I've only made macarons once (and it was in a class where I had two teachers to help out and make sure I didn't screw up), and I know how tricky it can be to get that nice smooth top and the little ruffly feet at the bottom. That little dusting of lemon zest may not have done much flavour wise, but it sure is pretty!
Such cute little cookies! I like the lemon zest decoration, definitely perfect for this flavor of macaron ๐
Thank you June! They were so tasty. I miss them.
These look delicious! I love how delicate they look. I've always been afraid of making these cookies but now I want to try!