Celebrate Spring and Easter with these sweet and delicate Easter macarons! Filled with a deliciously creamy caramel dulce de leche milk chocolate ganache and decorated like robin's eggs, they are perfect for Spring and make the tastiest Easter dessert.
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My new favorite Easter treat is these sweet and delicate French macarons! They are decorated like pale blue robins eggs and filled with the creamiest dulce de leche and milk chocolate ganache that is seriously to die for.
If you've never made macarons before, they are not as hard or difficult as many recipes lead you to believe. I like to say they are a little high-maintenance. They like to be well taken care of and just require a little extra patience when making them 😉.
These Easter macarons are sure to be the hit of your holiday and are also perfect for Spring!
They add beautiful and impressive color to any dessert table and can easily be made ahead of time.
But really if you need a reason to make them it should be just for the filling, trust me you have to make them!
why you'll love these easter macarons
- Creamy dulce de leche and milk chocolate ganache filling
- Pretty pastel blue macaron shells decorated like a robin's egg
- So fun and pretty for Spring and Easter
- Light, airy, chewy
- Impressive dessert
ingredient notes
- Milk chocolate: I recommend using a bar of chocolate instead of chocolate chips because they melt better, but you can use chips instead.
- Dulce de leche: You can use store-bought or homemade dulce de leche. I of course recommend making it yourself because it's really simple to do!
- Malted milk powder: Optional, but highly recommended as it gives the ganache this delicious milkshake flavor!
instructions
Step 1: Sift together the almond meal and powdered sugar to combine. Set it aside.
Step 2: In a stand mixing bowl or with a hand mixer, whip the egg whites until soft peaks, then add the cream of tartar and sprinkle in the granulated sugar. Keep mixing until stiff peaks form, then transfer the meringue to a large bowl.
Step 3: Add the dry ingredients into the meringue in thirds, folding gently to combine it with a rubber spatula.
Step 4: Once all the dry ingredients are combined, add the blue food coloring. Continue folding and mixing (macaronage) until the batter flows in slow ribbons off the spatula and you can draw a figure 8 with it.
Step 5: Pipe the batter onto an upside-down baking tray lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Let the tray sit out at room temperature to dry, for about 30 minutes.
Step 6: Bake each tray at 300 F/150 C for 12-13 minutes or until the feet no longer budge from the top of the shell. Let the tray cool completely on a wire rack before removing the shells. Once cool, mix a drop or two of black food coloring in a little bit of water. Tap and flick a small dry paintbrush to speckle the shells to look like Robin's eggs. Let dry while you make the filling.
Step 7: In a small saucepan, heat the cream, malted milk powder, and dulce de leche over medium-low heat until just the edges start to bubble. Pour it over the milk chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes, then stir to emulsify. Set the filling aside to firm up.
Step 8: Match up like-sized shells and flip one over. Pipe a ring of the milk chocolate ganache around the edges and then a dollop of dulce de leche in the center. Sandwich each with the other shell, then mature in the fridge overnight to soften.
expert macaron tips
- Use a kitchen scale: Although the weight is also given in cup measurements, I highly recommend using a scale! It will save you so much time and you'll know your ingredient ratio is spot on.
- Carefully read directions: I recommend reading through the entire post and recipe at least once!
- Flip your baking pan upside down: This usually helps alleviate some issues that come with baking macarons.
- Don't boil the cream: When making the ganache, don't bring the cream to an actual boil, it should just barely bubble around the edges when ready.
- Separate your own eggs: Fresh egg whites are best for making macarons. You should not use carton egg whites!
- Don't over-speckle the shells: You don't need to speckle them too much to give them the robin's egg look!
- Don't substitute ingredients: You can substitute the filling flavor and ingredients, but the main cookie ingredients should not be substituted.
storage & freezing
- Fridge: Once assembled, store them in the fridge in a sealed container for up to one week. They will naturally harden in the fridge, let them come to room temperature for an hour before serving.
- Freezer: You can store both the shells and the assembled cookies in the freezer for up to one month in a sealed container.
faq's
Absolutely! They can easily be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge or freezer until ready to serve and eat.
Yes! Add your favorite color to the batter, just use a small amount to get a pretty pastel color.
more macaron recipes you'll love
If you tried this or any other recipe on my website, please let me know how it went in the comments below, I love hearing from you! Also, please leave a star rating while you're there! You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can check it out!
Recipe 📖
Easter Macarons with Dulce de Leche
Equipment
- Small dry paintbrush
- small round piping tip
- Piping bags
- baking trays
- Silicone baking mat or parchment paper
- rubber spatula
Ingredients
Macaron Shell
- 1 ¼ cup + 2 tsp powdered sugar
- 1 ¾ cup super fine almond meal
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 3-4 large egg whites room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½-1 drop Americolor Royal Blue gel food coloring use less color to get the pastel blue color, a little goes a long way!
- Americolor Black gel food coloring for speckling the shells
Dulce de Leche Filling
- ⅛ cup + 1 tbsp heavy cream
- 2 teaspoon malted milk powder
- ⅔ cup milk chocolate
- 2 tablespoon dulce de leche plus more for the center (SEE NOTES)
Instructions
Making the Macarons
- In a large bowl, sift together the powdered sugar and almond meal, until no lumps remain. Set aside.1 ¼ cup + 2 teaspoon powdered sugar, 1 ¾ cup super fine almond meal
- Add the room temperature egg whites to a bowl of a stand mixer. Whip the egg whites on medium speed for 2-3 minutes, until white and foamy, then add the cream of tartar.3-4 large egg whites, ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- Slowly add in the granulated sugar and then increase the speed to medium high. Mix for 5-6 minutes until medium peaks, then add the food coloring. Continue whipping for 1-2 minutes longer or until stiff peaks form.½ cup + 2 tablespoon granulated sugar, ½-1 drop Americolor Royal Blue gel food coloring
- Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the almond meal/powdered sugar mixture into the stiff egg whites.
- Slowly fold and mix the batter smooth. The batter is ready when it flows slowly in ribbons off the spatula and you can draw a figure 8.
- Line an upside down baking tray with a silicone baking mat.
- Fill a piping bag with a small round piping tip and pipe the batter over the top of the tray into 1 ½ inch rounds spaced 2 inches apart.
- Tap the baking sheet on the counter to remove any air bubbles. You can pop any bubbles with a toothpick.
- Let the macarons sit at room temperature to form a skin, anywhere from 30-60 minutes.
- While the macarons are resting, preheat your oven to 300F/150C.
- Bake each tray for about 13-14 minutes. The macarons are done baking when you gently touch the top of the shell, it should just barely budge from the foot. Allow them to cool completely on a wire rack before filling.
Making the Filling
- In a small pot, heat the heavy cream and malted milk powder over medium-low heat until just the edges start to bubble.⅛ cup + 1 tablespoon heavy cream, 2 teaspoon malted milk powder
- Pour the cream over the milk chocolate and let sit for two minutes, then stir to emulsify and combine them. Stir in the dulce de leche and set it aside to cool and firm up.2 tablespoon dulce de leche, ⅔ cup milk chocolate
Assembly
- Add 1-2 drops of black food coloring to a small bowl with a little bit of water. Dip the dry paintbrush in it, then flick and tap the brush over the shells to speckle them. Let the shells dry for 10 minutes.Americolor Black gel food coloring
- Match up like sized macaron shells and flip one of each over.
- Pipe a ring of the milk chocolate ganache around the edge of the shell, then fill the center with more dulce de leche. Sandwich with the other shell.
- Mature the macarons in a sealed container in the fridge overnight to soften and intensify the flavor.
Notes
- Use a kitchen scale: Although the weight is also given in cup measurements, I highly recommend using a scale! It will save you so much time and you'll know your ingredient ratio is spot on.
- Carefully read directions: I recommend reading through the entire post and recipe at least once!
- Flip your baking pan upside down: This usually helps alleviate some issues that come with baking macarons.
- Don't boil the cream: When making the ganache, don't bring the cream to an actual boil, it should just barely bubble around the edges when ready.
- Separate your own eggs: Fresh egg whites are best for making macarons. You should not use carton egg whites!
- Don't over-speckle the shells: You don't need to speckle them too much to give them the robin's egg look!
- Don't substitute ingredients: You can substitute the filling flavor and ingredients, but the main cookie ingredients should not be substituted.
- Milk chocolate: I recommend using a bar of chocolate instead of chocolate chips because they melt better, but you can use chips instead.
- Malted milk powder: Optional, but highly recommended as it gives the ganache this delicious milkshake flavor!
storage
- Fridge: Store the macarons in a sealed container or wrapped on a tray for up to a week! The macarons will naturally harden in the fridge so I recommend letting them come to room temperature before eating.
- Room temperature: Macarons will stay fresh for about 1-2 days at room temperature in a sealed container.
- Freezer: You can store the shells and filled macarons in the freezer for up to one month.
Nutrition
The calorie information provided for the recipe is an estimate. The accuracy of the calories listed is not guaranteed.
Bailey says
OMG the filling is SO good! Everyone raved about how good these were. The recipe was so easy to follow, I followed all the tips and suggestions and they turned out amazing! Thanks for such a great recipe!!