Salted Caramel Macarons Recipe ~ Barley & Sage (2024)

These salted caramel macarons have a simple French macaron shell and are filled with salted caramel buttercream and homemade caramel sauce! Then drizzled with extra salted caramel and flaky sea salt.

I'll walk you through how to make homemade French macarons and give you all my tips and tricks for success!

You might also like these chocolate caramel cupcakes or these salted caramel blondies!

Ingredient Notes

You just need a few ingredients to make these salted caramel macarons!

• Egg Whites- I've recently started "aging" my egg whites and I've found it helps with my consistency. This is absolutely not necessary, but it's super easy to do so I recommend trying it out. Weigh out 100 grams of egg whites into a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and poke a few holes in the top. Place in the fridge for at least 24 hours but up to 3 days. Make sure to remove the egg whites from the fridge at least an hour before
• Almond Flour- If you've ever seen macarons that look bumpy, it's usually because the almond flour isn't ground finely enough. I love Bob's Red Mill for my almond flour because it's usually fine enough. But if you have lumpy almond flour you can also just pulse it in a food processor for a few seconds to break it up further. Sifting your dry ingredients is also super important for ensuring smooth macarons.
• Flaky Sea Salt- You can't have salted caramel without salt! I love usingMaldon Flaky Sea Saltbecause it has the best flavor and texture.

The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in therecipe card below.

Homemade Salted Caramel

For the salted caramel buttercream, I like to use my own homemade salted caramel! It’s super easy to make and only requires 4 ingredients.

• 1 cupgranulated sugar
• 6 tablespoonsunsalted butter
• ⅓ cupheavy cream
• ½ teaspoonflaky sea salt(add more to taste)

You can also check out my full post on how to make homemade salted caramel for more details and step by step photos!

1. Warning:do not walk away from your caramel because it will probably burn the second you walk away from it (trust me).
2. In a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat, add the sugar and stir every 1-2 minutes or so until it begins to melt (the sugar will start to clump up before melting).
3. Once the sugar is completely melted, immediately remove from the heat and stir in the butter until combined (don’t be scared if it bubbles a lot).
4. Add in the heavy cream and salt and mix until fully combined and smooth.
5. Pour the caramel into a glass jar to cool. Can be stored in the fridge for up to a month!
6. If you make the caramel the night before, you can let it sit, covered at room temperature overnight.

You want the caramel to be fully cooled before making the macarons.

How to Make French Macarons

Sift together almond flour and powdered sugar into a large bowl and set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites on medium speed until they become foamy, then add in the cream of tartar.

Turn the mixer up to medium-high and gradually add in the granulated sugar. Once all the sugar is added, turn the mixer to the highest setting and whisk on high until stiff peaks form.

Using a spatula, gently fold in half of the dry ingredient mixture until fully combined. Then gently fold in the remaining dry ingredients.

Continue to gently fold the batter until it reaches a “flowing lava” consistency. You should be able to make a “figure 8” with the batter before it breaks. As soon as you reach this consistency, stop mixing! If you over-mix the batter, the macarons won’t rise properly in the oven.

Line alarge baking sheetwith a silicone mat or parchment paper.

Scoop batter into a large piping bag fitted with alarge round tip. Hold the piping bag perpendicular to the silicone mat and pipe 1 inch rounds.

Pick up the baking sheet and drop it onto the counter 3-4 times to help bring any air bubbles to the surface of the macarons. Then use a toothpick to pop any visible air bubbles to make a smooth surface.

*The macaron batter will look like photo 5 before banging out the excess air, and photo 6 afterwards.

Let the macarons sit at room temperature for 30-40 minutes or until a skin forms on the surface. You should be able to lightly touch the surface without any batter being disturbed.

While the macarons are resting, preheat the oven to 300°F.

Bake one sheet at a time on the center rack of the oven for 13-15 minutes or when they do not move on their “feet” when touched.

Let the macarons cool completely on the baking sheet before removing them. They should easily peel off when fully cooled.

Match up your shells before filling, and then turn one side over. If desired, drizzle with salted caramel and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. Pipe the caramel buttercream around the edge of the macaron shell. Then add a small scoop of salted caramel in the center of the frosting (about ½ teaspoon) then top with the decorated shell.

Put the assembled salted caramel macarons in an airtight container, then place them in the fridge to mature for 12-24 hours. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days. However, for the best taste/texture, let them come up to room temperature for about an hour before eating! [Directly out of the fridge they can sometimes be super hard but at room temperature they're perfectly soft and tender!]

Macaron Tips & Tricks

Making macarons from scratch can be tough so setting yourself up for success is key!

• Buy akitchen scaleif you don’t already have one! Macarons are incredibly finicky, so weighing all your ingredients is super important!
• Clean the mixing bowl and whisk attachment of your stand mixer with lemon juice or white vinegar to make sure there are no trace fats on either (if you don’t, your meringue may not form).
• Use a super sturdy baking sheet that won't warp and conducts heat evenly! TheseCuisinart baking sheetsare my favorite for macarons!
• Invest in somesilicone macaron mats! They aren’t expensive and they will make your lifesomuch easier!
• Also invest in anoven thermometer! We want our oven as close to 300 degrees as possible to make perfect macarons but just because your oven says it's 300 degrees, doesn't mean it actually is. My oven tends to run hot, so I usually end up having it set to about 290.

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