Blood Orange Macarons

This Blood Orange Macarons recipe is sweet & chewy with a tangy citrus flavour; they’re sure to be the star of the show at any holiday party.

Have you ever tried baking macarons?

These French delights are perfect for the holiday season. They’re small, colourful and delicious. There’s nothing better than a homemade macaron with your favourite tea or coffee! We have an easy blood orange macaron recipe that will delight your taste buds.

Baking can be challenging, but not when you have our easy to follow blood orange macarons recipe at home to guide you through the process. This is a great dessert idea for the holidays because these delightful treats are both festive and flavorful – what more could one ask for?

Best of all they are gluten free making them safe for even those with gluten sensitivity.

Blood oranges are such a gorgeous fruit, and they give the filling a vibrant pop of pink with a lovely citrus flavour.

The macaron shells are just a basic macaron recipe with just bit of zest added for a hint of citrus flavour. You really don’t want to play around much with the shell portion as it can go wrong all too easily. Following my directions, you will end up with perfect shiny, smooth and chewy macarons shells.

Instead we fill our shells with an amazing tangy and sweet blood orange buttercream made with freshly squeezed blood orange juice and blood orange zest. Of course, if you can’t get blood oranges you can opt for navel oranges instead.

Macarons are best enjoyed the day after, you need to let them age in the fridge so that all the amazing flavour from the buttercream will be absorbed into the shell.

How to Make Macarons for Beginners

All the tips and tricks you need to know for how to make french macarons are included in the recipe card directions you can print off and reference.

Let me quickly summarize though how to make macarons, and all the little tricks and tips I have learned making them myself. This should make following a french macaron recipe simple for even the most novice baker.

Your goal when making Macarons is to create perfectly round shells with feet at their base and smooth, shiny tops and bottoms, and this should be consistent across your batch of macarons.

How to make perfect round macaron shells

To get perfectly round macaron shells you need to start off by preparing a guide for piping your macaron batter.

Personally, I love to use silicone macaron mats but you can also trace circles onto parchment paper and that works equally as well.

How to make Macarons with perfect feet and shiny tops

The key to this is to ensure you do not over-mix anything when making the batter. Be careful to do only just enough.

The batter should be rather thick. If it has gotten runny, you have over mixed and need to start over again. This is an expensive mistake to make, so please do not get overzealous with mixing.

After piping your batter onto your prepared baking sheet, you absolutely need to rest your macaron shells, uncovered, in a dry, cool place for 20-40 minutes.

You will notice the piped batter will become dull as the shells form a “skin”. This is absolutely critical in making perfect macarons.

Oven temperature matters when Baking Macarons!

Macarons need to bake at a somewhat low and consistent temperature. 

Your macarons are not going to turn out until you figure out the heat of your oven.  You may need to adjust cooking times and oven temperature before you achieve success.

I’ve noted the oven temperature as being 275 degrees F but that is just a baseline.  It should be anywhere between 250 and 300 degrees F, but for most ovens,  275 degrees F should be spot on.

If your oven has poor air circulation the temperate will get too hot, if that is the case then prop the door open slightly while they bake.

Can I bake Macarons on a humid day?

Avoid making macarons on a humid or rainy day until you get a good handle on it. 

Humidity may cause issues with the shells so it is best just to avoid it altogether if possible while you are learning how to make them.

How to Store French Macarons

You can freeze french macarons filled with buttercream for up to two months in an air-tight container. When you want them, thaw at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

If you are eating them right away and not freezing, you will want to keep them in an air-tight container in the fridge. They will keep nicely in the fridge for up to a week.

Equipment Needed to Make Homemade Macarons

You don’t really need any special equipment to make macarons, however there are some kitchen tools that make the job a lot easier.

Macaron Silicone Mat – Using these helps you skip the process of making your own guide on parchment paper. Highly recommend!

Piping Bag with a 2A tip (or cut the end off a small freezer bag in a pinch)

Stand Mixer – You can totally beat the egg whites into submission by hand, but a stand mixer makes this a dream.

About the Ingredients for Macarons

Powdered Sugar – This is icing sugar or confectioners sugar depending on where you live. You will want to sift it.

Almond Flour – May also be called ground almonds. Either way, sift it first.

Zest – The zest ca be omitted but it does add a nice hint of citrus to the shells. Make sure it is very very fine.

Egg whites – Make sure there is no yolk, they absolutely need to be at room temperature before starting.

Sugar – Plain white granulated sugar. No substitutes.

About the Ingredients for Blood Orange Buttercream

Butter – Salted butter tastes best in my opinion but you can use unsalted. Should be soft enough to cream.

Powdered sugar – You may need more or less, it depends on how thick you like your buttercream.

Blood Orange Juice & Zest – You will need a medium blood orange for this. Blood oranges are usually in season from November to May. You can use navel oranges instead if you can’t get your hands on blood oranges.

Looking for More Homemade Macaron Recipes?

If you loved this recipe, then check out my reader favourite recipe for Lemon Macarons. They are perfectly tangy and sweet and so addictively good!

How about Some Easy Cookie Recipes?

Macarons are very technical, let’s take a look at some much easier to make homemade cookies then!

These melt-in-your-mouth Lemon Crinkle Cookies are absolutely dreamy. This cookie recipe is one of my favourites, I could have these for dessert everyday and be happy!

Light and flavorful with a dash of citrusy flavours, this orange carrot cookies recipe is worth a shot when you’re in the mood to bake!

This recipe for chocolate turtle cookies is full of chocolate, caramel and pecan goodness! Easy to make and fun to eat cookie recipe.

How to Make Blood Orange Macarons

Yields: 12 Macarons | Prep time: 15 mins | Rest time: 40 mins | Cook time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

• 3/4 Cup Powdered Sugar
• 3/4 Cup Almond Flour
• 1 tsp finely grated
• 2 Large Egg Whites, room temperature
• 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar

For the Filling

• 1/2 Cup butter, softened
• 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup blood orange juice
• 1 teaspoon blood orange zest

Directions:

Either Line 2 small baking sheets with the silicone mats OR with parchment paper. 

If using parchment paper, trace a small cup or shot glass with a pencil to make guides for piping the macarons. Turn the parchment paper over (so the pencil marks are on the back) and use it to line the baking sheets.  Set aside.

Mix together the ground almonds, powdered sugar, and zest in a medium bowl. Whisk together until smooth and set aside.

With a stand mixer, whisk the egg whites in a large metal bowl until stiff peaks form. Add the sugar and whisk until well incorporated, being careful not to over-whisk.

Fold in the almond mixture with a flexible spatula, one spoonful at a time by repeatedly scraping around the bowl and moving towards the middle. Be careful not to over-mix. 

The batter is just right when it runs off your spatula slowly but consistently. If it gets as thin as pancake batter you have mixed it way too much.

Transfer the batter to your piping bag, and holding the bag vertically, pipe the batter into the centre of each circle.

Rest your macaron shells, uncovered, in a dry, cool place for 20-40 minutes. The batter will become dull as the shells form a “skin”.  Do not skip this step.

Heat your oven to 275 degrees F*.  Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes or until the shells have formed “feet” and the tops have set. Allow to cool on sheet for 15-20 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Filling

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until it is light and airy.

On low speed, add in the powdered sugar slowly.

Add in the blood orange juice and zest. Turn the mixer to high speed and beat until the buttercream is fluffy– about 2 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with your choice of tip.

Assemble and Age

Place the macarons into similar sized pairs.

Pipe a small amount of the blood orange buttercream onto one shell of each pair and place the other shell on top.

Press down gently, just until the buttercream reaches the edge of the macaron.

Transfer the filled macarons to an airtight container and place them in the fridge to age overnight.

Bring to room temperature before enjoying the next day.