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Easy Pastel Macarons 🍬🌈: Perfect French Cookie Recipe

These pastel macarons are light, crisp on the outside, and chewy on the inside — with soft colors that make them perfect for spring celebrations, baby showers, or weddings. Filled with silky buttercream or ganache, they’re as beautiful as they are delicious.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine French
Servings 20 macarons
Calories 90 kcal

Equipment

  • - Kitchen scale (recommended)
  • - Electric mixer (hand or stand)
  • - Mixing bowls
  • - Fine mesh sieve or sifter
  • - Silicone spatula
  • - Piping bags with round tips
  • - Baking sheet
  • - Silicone baking mat or parchment paper
  • - Cooling rack

Ingredients
  

  • **For the macaron shells:**
  • - 100g almond flour
  • - 100g powdered sugar
  • - 75g egg whites room temperature
  • - 75g granulated sugar
  • - Gel food coloring pastel colors of choice: pink, mint, lavender, yellow
  • **For the buttercream filling simple vanilla:**
  • - ½ cup unsalted butter softened
  • - 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
  • - 1–2 tbsp heavy cream or milk
  • - 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • - Pinch of salt

Instructions
 

  • **Prep:** Line baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats. Sift almond flour and powdered sugar together. Set aside.
  • **Make meringue:** Beat egg whites until foamy, then gradually add granulated sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.
  • **Macaronage:** Gently fold the dry ingredients into the meringue in 2–3 additions. Keep folding until the batter flows like lava and forms a ribbon when lifted.
  • **Color:** Divide the batter if using multiple colors. Add a small amount of gel food coloring to each portion and mix until just combined.
  • **Pipe:** Transfer batter to piping bags. Pipe small rounds onto prepared sheets.
  • **Rest:** Let macarons sit at room temperature for 30–60 minutes until they form a skin (they should not stick to your finger when touched).
  • **Bake:** Bake at 300°F (150°C) for 14–16 minutes. Let cool completely.
  • **Make filling:** Beat butter until creamy. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, cream, and salt. Beat until fluffy.
  • **Assemble:** Pipe filling onto one macaron shell, then sandwich with another.
  • **Mature (optional):** Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 24–48 hours for best texture.