Key Lime Macarons are the perfect tropical inspired treat! I adore macarons, but whenever I see them in a bakery they are so crazy expensive.
Surprisingly, they are not that hard to make! As almond flour is used, that part of the recipe is a bit more expensive, but these little pieces of heaven are so worth it.
For more lime recipes, you've got to try this amazing Key Lime Pie recipe and this Key Lime Crumbl Cookie recipe -it's seriously one of the best cookies in the world!
And if you haven't been to the Florida Keys, check out these things to do with kids in Key West. You'll have a blast!
Don’t buy macarons when you can do it yourself. These Key Lime Macarons are perfect for a summer dessert, and would also make a lovely gift delivered in these pretty bags.
What You Need to Make Them
Key Ingredients
Almond flour - this is what gives macarons their chewy texture.
Key Lime juice and zest - give the cookies that luscious Key Lime flavor. You can use regular limes, but Key Limes are better if you can find them.
Eggs and unsalted butter - make the Key Lime curd filling inside creamy and rich!
How to Make The French Macarons
Place the almond flour and powdered sugar in a food processor and run for 2-3 minutes on medium speed, occasionally scraping the sides with a rubber spatula.
Sift the mixture into a large bowl. Set aside.
In a large metal bowl, add the large egg whites and cream of tartar.
Whip on medium-high using a mixer with whisk attachment or in the bowl of your stand mixer until the eggs become frothy and white. (I love this mixer as it has a compartment for all the attachments!)
Scrape the bowl, and add a tablespoon of granulated sugar, whipping for 40 seconds, repeating until all sugar is used.
Continue to whip at medium-high just until stiff peaks form.
Add the lime zest and a few drops of yellow and green gel food coloring.
Sift about one third of the dry ingredients into the bowl.
Gently fold the egg whites.
Repeat until the all the sugar flour is mixed.
DO NOT OVER MIX the egg mixture with the almond powder sugar mix it will destroy the consistency of the batter.
Spoon into a pastry bag prepped using a 1 inch round tip and pipe circles onto a cookie sheet that you cover with parchment paper.
Lightly tap the baking sheets again a flat surface to release any air bubbles and level out the batter.
Place the macarons to the side to rest for 20-60 minutes.
Bake in a 300 degree oven for 13 minutes.
How to Make the Key Lime Filling
Add eggs, sugar, salt, juice, and zest in a saucepan away from the heat.
Whisk the ingredients together until smooth.
Place on low heat, stirring often until the mixture thickens, about 4-5 minutes.
Add the butter, stirring until smooth.
Remove from heat and spoon into jars. Set aside.
Assembling the Cookies
Take half of the macaron shells and flip them upside down where the flat surface is facing up .
Using a small spoon or a pastry bag, place a small amount of curd on the cookie, filling it enough to where the curd covers ¾ of the cookie, leaving edges of the cookie visible.
It's a good idea to fill all the cookies before adding the second macaron cookie on top, to make sure you have even amounts.
Lightly place another cookie on top with the flat edge on the curd.
Place the cookies in the refrigerator until serving.
Top Tips
It's important to fold when adding the flour to the egg whites. Folding is scraping the sides to the bottom of the bowl and then back over the top until the sugar and flour is incorporated.
It's also really imperative that you don't overmix egg mixture with the almond powder sugar as it will destroy the consistency of the batter.
Variations
Once you've made your first macaron recipe, you will start thinking of other variations to try - and there are so many!
You could even add a dollop of meringue and a sprinkle of graham cracker crumbs to these this delicious recipe to make Key Lime Pie macarons!
A little coconut extract added to this recipe would be amazing as coconut and lime pair so well.
You could make these cookies with mint extract and a chocolate filling. Any kind of citrus, like lemon or orange, would be delicious with this same filling.
Raspberry or strawberry macarons with white chocolate or vanilla filling would be amazing in this bite-sized delicacy.
Frequently Asked Questions
You really can't. Almond flour or almond meal is what gives the cookies that chewy, soft texture.
No, in fact, they are very different! Macarons are very light cookies made with almond meal. Coconut macaroons are heavy cookies with the main ingredient being coconut. Both delicious, but very different!
These could be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a couple of days, but it's best to refrigerate them. Bring them back to room temperature before serving. You can also freeze these cookies for up to a few months.
More Delicious Cookie Recipes
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Key Lime Macarons
Equipment
- 1 Baking Sheet
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
Cookies Ingredients
- 3 Egg whites large
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 ⅓ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoons Cream of Tartar
- Zest of 2 limes
- Yellow and green gel food coloring
Lime Curd Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
- ½ cup fresh lime juice
- Zest of 1 large or two small Key limes
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter diced
Instructions
Assembling the Cookies
- Take half of the macaron shells and flip them upside down where the flat surface is facing up .
- Using a small spoon or a pastry bag, place a dollop of curd on the cookie, filling it enough to where the curd covers ¾ of the cookie, leaving edges of the cookie visible.
- Lightly place another cookie on top with the flat edge on the curd.
- Place the cookies in the refrigerator until serving.
Notes
This Key Lime Macaron recipe was first published on Food, Fun & Faraway Places on May 28, 2015.
Billy Bob
I made them and they turned out wrinkly, flat and sticky such a waste of almond flour and nine bucks and 3 hours the would not recommend.
Allisha
These turned out fantastic for me! I might have made them too big because I needed to bake them for about 16-17 minutes and I used a lime buttercream instead of the lime curd only because it was faster to make. I'll have to try them again with the lime curd! Thanks for the recipe!
Mayra
Hello, thank you for your recipe. Although I used a different one for the macaron shells, I followed your lime curd recipe. My question is, the picture shown looks like a buttercream rather than the curd. I noticed that the curd (first time making it) was sipping out the sides of the macaron. So I did a vanilla buttercream near the rim of the macaron and “filled” the macaron with the key lime curd. It really came out delicious nonetheless. Was just curious to see f you did anything different. Thank you
Jilly
These Macaron's were so delicious and easy to make!!! The recipe was simple to follow and there weren't that many confusing steps in the process. I suggest that anyone should try them!
Kelly
So glad to hear that, Jilly! Happy 4th of July! Thanks so much for sharing.
Alyson
Based on some other macaron recipes I've seen, I think this recipe might be off a little bit on the proportions of egg white to almond flour/powdered sugar. I attempted this particular recipe, and my batter was extremely dry (I know the batter can look too thick if you haven't mixed the meringue with the dry ingredients well enough, but I definitely mixed well enough). I've made macarons before with success, but this time my batter never reached the correct consistency. Other recipes also call for three egg whites, but only have 2/3 cup almond flour and 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar. I'm not trying to be negative, but just giving my review on what happened when I tried this exact recipe.
Kelly Stilwell
Thanks for the feedback, Alyson. Recipe creation is hard, and sometimes something I make once (and is so delicious!) turns out terrible the next time. I've made black bean burgers several times, and was trying to make them to update my photos from a couple of years ago, and I completely flopped it twice! So many factors can be the reason why. I will go back and make these again as soon as I can and see if I went wrong somewhere in the calculations. Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know. I'm so sorry you went to all that work to have a recipe not turn out.
C. Calcinari
I am going to adjust the ratio as you suggested and let you know how they turn out.
Elisa
Wow, these look lovely! How many macarons does this produce?
Sandra Watts
These look so good and in my favorite color of green. I can't believe how perfect you got them. I can never get them so nice looking.
krystel
never had macroons but these macroons look really delicious
Mai T.
I'd love to know how this tastes. Very interesting idea!
Donna Hup
I didn't realize they were gluten free! I can't wait to make them. Thanks!
Wanda McHenry
I can't wait to try those! Thanks for the recipe.