Strawberry Shortcake Macarons

Nothing says spring more than macarons. Except maybe strawberry shortcake macarons. Take all of your favorite flavors from classic strawberry shortcake and make them in bite sized macron form. These vanilla macarons filled with a whipped buttercream and strawberry jam are what spring dessert dreams are made of!

This post is sponsored by ALDI. As always, all opinions are mine. Thank you for continuing to support the brands that help make Broma possible!

Strawberry Shortcake Macarons

Spring is officially here! What better way to say bye to heavy winter desserts and hello to fresh flavors than with my new favorite spring macarons: strawberry shortcake macarons. OH YES WE DID. These strawberry shortcake macarons are made with vanilla macaron shells and a creamy, whipped strawberry filling to pack all the flavor of strawberry shortcake into a cute, bite sized spring macaron. They’re the perfect sweet treat to serve up for Easter, Mother’s Day, or any spring occasion!

Even though all your spring celebrations may look a little different this year, that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate with a fun dessert. One of my favorite things about baking is the power of small confections to make any occasion feel special. Which is why I adore making macarons. I know that they get a bad rap for being a little finicky, but I have allllll the tips and tricks to ensure beautiful macarons that will make any day feel like a fancy party.

What are strawberry shortcake macarons?

Take all of your favorite flavors of strawberry shortcake and sandwich them into a French macaron. These might just be my favorite macarons I’ve ever had. And this girl has eaten A LOT of macarons.

These spring macarons consist of three scrumptious components: vanilla macaron shells, strawberry jam swirled buttercream, and a little cookie crumble to get that distinct strawberry shortcake taste and texture. The result is simply put, perfection. I mean LOOK AT THESE.

What do you need to make strawberry shortcake macarons?

Macarons are a little more labor intensive than your classic chocolate chip cookies or homemade cupcakes, but they’re actually pretty simple when it comes to ingredients. While these strawberry shortcake macarons might look and taste fine and fancy, there’s no need to run out to any specialty stores for artisanal flours or expensive extracts.

You can get everything you’ll need to whip up these pretty strawberry macarons at your local ALDI–yes, even the almond flour! We love shopping at ALDI because they have every single thing you could need from fresh spring produce, scrumptious snacks, high-quality baking ingredients and even alcohol for a fun spring cocktail. Plus you can shop in store, via Instacart delivery, or pre-order your groceries and do curbside pick-up. Whatever method works best for you, ALDI’s gotcha covered.

Grab your grocery bags and head over to ALDI. Here’s your list:

• Specially Selected Strawberry Fruit Spread: They key to that fresh strawberry shortcake flavor is this strawberry jam. It’s made with real fruit and packs all the punch of fresh strawberries in a spreadable jam. Not a strawberry fan? You can always swap out the strawberry jam for any of the other delicious jam flavors at your local ALDI. These spring macarons would be equally delicious with blueberry, cherry, raspberry, or really any jam flavor!
• Friendly Farms Heavy Whipping Cream: Any good strawberry shortcake dessert is loaded up with cream. Friendly Farms Heavy Whipping Cream beats up into a gorgeous, fluffy filling for these strawberry macarons. We always keep a pint of this in our fridge for fresh whipped cream for berries, homemade no-churn ice cream, or even adding a splash to homemade pastas to get them super creamy!
• Baker’s Corner Powdered Sugar: You’ll use powdered sugar to sweeten and thicken both the whipped cream filling and the macaron cookies.
• Egg Whites: Make sure you measure out the egg whites by weight and that absolutely no egg yolks make their way into the separated whites!
• Baker’s Corner Granulated Sugar: You’ll need granulated sugar to help aerate and whip up your egg whites into stiff peaks.
• Baker’s Corner Almond Flour: Repeat after me, almond flour is NOT almond meal. Make sure you use almond flour, which is much finer and made from blanched almonds (no skin) as compared to almond meal which is usually less fine and contains almond skin. We LOVE the Baker’s Corner Almond Flour from ALDI because it’s high quality and competitively priced so you can make macarons without breaking the bank.
• Vanilla Extract: A splash of pure vanilla extract goes a long way. It will flavor both the macaron shells and the whipped cream!
• Benton’s Vanilla Wafers: A little cookie crumble never hurt anyone. Sprinkle some crushed up vanilla wafers atop your macarons before popping them in the oven for some extra texture and sweetness to your shortcake macarons.
• Unsalted Butter: You’ll need 4 tablespoons of room temperature butter to whip up into the dreamy filling for your strawberry shortcake macarons.

Tips for the perfect spring macarons

Macarons can be  finicky because of the way they are traditionally made. The base of macarons is made from whipped egg whites, which you then fold a mixture of powdered sugar and almond flour into. This batter tends to be unstable and unpredictable, which can be pretty disheartening to even professionally-trained bakers.

But don’t worry guys. I have a solution for perfect macarons.

Years ago, I had the honor of making macarons with the amazing pastry chef Alon Shabo. He taught me a new technique for making macarons and I haven’t looked back since. Instead of making a French meringue (uncooked egg whites) you make a Swiss meringue (warmed egg whites). The result? A much more stable base for otherwise finicky macarons.

This base is also more forgiving when it comes to the folding stage. Instead of painstakingly counting the number of times you fold the almond flour into the egg whites, you mix everything in a stand mixer. Of course you still have to watch the batter, but it comes together in a flash and is incredibly reliable.

Repeat after me, “WE CAN DO THIS.” And the good news is that if all of that fails and your macaron shells still crack or don’t develop feet, they will still be delicious. I promise.

• Make sure you don’t get any egg yolks into your whites: Unfortunately if you get egg yolks into your egg whites they will not beat up light and fluffy! I recommend carefully separating each egg white individually so that if you do get a little bit of yolk in you don’t have to toss the whole batch!
• Use a kitchen scale: It’s important to be precise with macarons so we recommend using a kitchen scale. This will guarantee you get precisely the right amount of ingredients into your batter.
• Make sure your oven temperature is low: Macarons require a low and even oven temperature to prevent any cracking or browning. Make sure your oven is set to 300°F (not 350°F!) to guarantee perfect macarons!

How to store strawberry shortcake macarons

These spring macarons keep best in an airtight container in the fridge! Macarons can be a bit delicate, so I prefer to keep them in a single layer to prevent any cracked shells. They’ll keep in the fridge for up to a week!

Happy spring baking, my loves!

• Author: Sofi | Broma Bakery
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cooling Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 13 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Yield: 16 macarons
• Category: dessert
• Method: oven
• Cuisine: french
• Diet: Gluten Free

Strawberry Shortcake Macarons

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Nothing says spring more than macarons. Except maybe strawberry shortcake. Take all of your favorite flavors from classic strawberry shortcake and make them in bite sized macron form. These vanilla macarons filled with a whipped buttercream and strawberry jam are what spring dessert dreams are made of!

• Author: Sofi | Broma Bakery
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cooling Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 13 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Yield: 16 macarons
• Category: dessert
• Method: oven
• Cuisine: french
• Diet: Gluten Free

Units: USM

Ingredients

For the macaron shells

• 100 g egg whites
• 100 g Baker’s Corner Granulated Sugar
• 100 g Baker’s Corner Almond Flour
• 100 g Baker’s Corner Powdered Sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 10 Benton’s Vanilla Wafers, finely crushed

For the filling

• 3 tablespoons Friendly Farms Heavy Whipping Cream
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups Baker’s Corner Powdered Sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 3 tablespoons + more for garnishing Specially Selected Strawberry Fruit Spread

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Heat a small pot of water over medium-low heat until it steams. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine egg whites and a small amount of the 100 grams of Baker’s Corner Granulated Sugar (I usually take out about ¼ cup). Place bowl over steaming pot, creating a double boiler.
3. Whisk egg whites and Baker’s Corner Granulated Sugar continuously until sugar melts completely and egg whites become white and frothy, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and place the bowl back onto the stand mixer.
4. Fit stand mixer with whisk attachment and whisk on high speed while slowly adding in the remaining Baker’s Corner Granulated Sugar. Continue to whisk for another 3-4 minutes, until stiff meringue peaks form. Congratulations, you just made a Swiss meringue!
5. Next, sift together the Baker’s Corner Almond Flour, Baker’s Corner Powdered Sugar, and salt twice, then gently shake the mixture into the meringue bowl.
6. Place the bowl back onto a stand mixer, still fitted with a whisk attachment. Turn the mixer to medium speed and whisk for 5 seconds (just enough to combine the almond flour mixture with the egg whites).
7. Stop the mixer and use a large spatula to hand-mix the batter for the remainder of your mixing. You’ll want to gently fold the mixture with your spatula, scooping up the batter from the outside of the bowl and gently twisting it into the center in a circle-like manner. You’ll know to stop mixing when you can make a figure-eight out of the dripping batter without the batter breaking. If you cannot yet make a figure-eight, repeat the process if necessary, and try the figure-eight again. The best way to describe the perfect consistency is like slow moving lava. It should give, but only slightly, like in slow-motion.
8. Once your batter is the correct consistency, scoop it into a large pastry bag fitted with a 1-inch tip (you can also use a plastic bag and just snip off the end!). Pipe silver dollar-sized circles onto prepared baking sheets, keeping about 1.5 inches between each meringue. Bang baking sheet on counter two times to remove any air bubbles. Sprinkle the tops lightly with Benton’s Vanilla Wafer crumbs.
9. Let the macarons air dry for 15 to 30 minutes or until dry to the touch. Just pop them into the prepared oven for 13 minutes, turning around halfway through, then allow to cool completely before removing from baking sheets.
10. While the macarons are cooling, make the filling. Combine the Friendly Farms Heavy Whipping Cream, butter, Baker’s Corner Powdered Sugar, vanilla, and salt in a bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until fluffy and fully combined, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and drop spoonfuls of the Specially Selected Strawberry Fruit Spread into the filling, using a rubber spatula to fold the frosting a few times to slightly distribute the jam. Don’t overmix–the jam will swirl into the frosting more as you pipe it onto the macarons.
11. Scoop the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a ½-inch tip and set aside until ready to assemble the macarons.
12. Once the macarons are completely cool to the touch, pipe the filling onto the flat side of one macaron. Spread about a ½ teaspoon of Specially Selected Strawberry Fruit Spread on another macaron and sandwich together with the frosted one. Repeat with all macarons.
13. Place in the fridge to chill until ready to serve. Enjoy!