Name: Easiest Ever Red Velvet French Macarons
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 1 cup almond flour; 3/4 cup powdered sugar; 1 tbsp cocoa powder; 2 large egg whites; 1/4 tsp cream of tartar; 1/4 cup granulated sugar; 1 tbsp red food coloring; Fillings: chocolate ganache, frosting, buttercream, Nutella, Cookie Butter, etc...

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This recipe for the Easiest Ever Red Velvet Macarons is absolutely foolproof. I tested them using all the classic blunders, and they still turned out just fine!

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This recipe for the Easiest Ever Red Velvet French Macarons is absolutely foolproof. I tested them using all the classic blunders, and they still turned out just fine!

Fool Proof Red Velvet Macarons. For Real.

If you are a macaron purist, abort! This is NOT your traditional recipe for French macarons.

This is the easy way to make macarons for real life people who can’t be bothered to take more than 10 minutes to make cookies. Trust me, y’all, I get it!

I love French macarons, and I’ve gone through the painstaking process of making them several times before now. They’re not impossible for a baking novice, but they can be a little bit of a headache if you don’t know what you’re doing. So when I found myself wanting to make a batch of red velvet macarons the other day, I wondered if there was any way I could make the process easier.

Is it possible to make a batch of acceptable macarons without all the sifting the dry ingredients 52 times or whipping the eggs whites to impeccably stiff peaks or using a piping bag to make perfect little circles??

These Red Velvet Macarons are absolutely fool-proof. I tested them over and over using all the classic blunders, and they still turned out just fine!

Recipe Testing

As it turns out, the answer is YES.

I was on a mission to be as rough with this red velvet macarons batter as I possibly could, and guess what? It totally survived. I still ended up with perfectly crackly, airy, chewy macarons with shiny exteriors and dainty little feet. And it was easy.

Here’s where I’m making the big changes in comparison to a typical macaron recipe:

I didn’t sift the flours. Not even once. I was tempted, but like I said, I wanted to see how rough I could be with the batter and still come out with something passable. These macarons aren’t as immaculately smooth as they would be if you sifted the flours 2-3 times, like you would in a typical recipe. But it made NO difference in taste.

And I saved myself the headache of sifting. I hate sifting (it’s messy and time consuming and stupid). So slightly bumpy cookies are a VERY acceptable sacrifice in my book.

I whipped the egg whites to just medium peaks. They were definitely thick, don’t get me wrong. But I didn’t stress out about getting that ideal, picturesque peak that hangs off the beater just so.

I wasn’t overly cautious about over-mixing the batter or being particularly gentle with it. Now, I don’t mean go slinging it around or whip it up in your KitchenAid. You still want to do this with a spatula by hand. But you don’t need to stress out over it. Know what I’m sayin’?

Lastly– and this was my favorite lazy adaptation– I didn’t pipe the macarons. I used a small easy-release cookie scoop (it holds about a tablespoon) and just plopped the batter onto my Silpat.

If you’ve EVER thought about making French macarons and then chickened out… you’re not alone. But now you don’t have anything to be afraid of!! This recipe is almost easier than making chocolate chip cookies. If you can whip egg whites to a quasi-decent state of thickness, you’ll do just fine with these.

Easiest Ever Red Velvet French Macarons

Yield: approximately 2 dozen

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

These Red Velvet Macarons are absolutely fool-proof. I tested them using all the classic blunders, and they still turned out just fine!

Ingredients

1 cup almond flour
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp cocoa powder
2 large egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp red food coloring
Fillings: chocolate ganache, frosting, buttercream, Nutella, Cookie Butter, etc...

Instructions

Whisk together the almond flour, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder in a mixing bowl. Break apart any lumps with the whisk as best as you can.

In a separate bowl, use an electric hand mixer on medium speed to beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together until white and foamy. Increase speed to high and continue to beat the egg whites while gradually adding the granulated sugar a tablespoon at a time.

Beat egg whites until thick, shiny, and soft peaks form. Mix in the red food coloring at high speed.

In two additions, fold the dry ingredients into the egg whites until batter forms.

Gently scoop out a tablespoon at a time onto a baking sheet LINED WITH A SILICONE BAKING MAT. Tap the baking sheet on the counter gently to release any air bubbles. Allow to rest for 15-20 minutes, until a film has formed over the batter (you should be able to gently touch them without batter coming off on your finger).

Meanwhile preheat the oven to 300ºF.

Bake macarons for 18-20 minutes (they should not look wet on top). Let cool completely before using a spatula to transfer them to a wire rack.

Spread your favorite filling in between two of the cookies and enjoy!