These macarons are filled with key lime pie filling and toasted marshmallow, topped with graham cracker crumbs!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, French
Keyword macarons
Prep Time 1 hourhour
Cook Time 40 minutesminutes
Servings 26macarons
Calories 130kcal
Author Camila Hurst
Ingredients
Macaron Shells
3 egg whites 100 grams, 3.5 oz
1/2cupwhite granulated sugar 100 grams, 3.5 oz
1 cupalmond flour 96 grams, 3.4 oz
3/4 cup powdered sugar 90 grams, 3.17 oz
Green food coloring
Key Lime Pie Filling
1-14 oz can of condensed milk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1-2 tablespoons key lime zest
Marshmallow Frosting
2 egg whites
1/2 cup granulated sugar 100 grams, 3.5 oz.
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
To assemble
1/4cupwhite chocolate chipsoptional to drizzle on top
1/4cupgraham cracker crumbs
Instructions
Macaron Shells
Before you start, get all of your ingredients ready. Prepare a large piping bag, fitted with a large round tip.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon mat.
I use a baking mat with the macaron template already in it. You can make your own or print it from the internet, and just place it under silicon mat, or parchment paper. I recommend using a silicon mat if you want more uniform bottoms.
Measure out all of your ingredients.
Sift powdered sugar and almond flour together. Set aside.
Place egg whites and granulated sugar in a heat proof bowl or in a double boiler. Over a pan of simmering water, whisk the whites and sugar until frothy and sugar completely melted. It will take a couple minutes. You can test by touching the mixture between your fingers, and if you feel any sugar granules just keep whisking mixture over the water bath.
Make sure the bottom of the bowl isn’t touching the simmering water.
Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer.
With the whisk attachment, start whisking mixture on low for about 30 seconds, then gradually start increasing speed to medium. Whisk on medium for one minute, until mixture is white and starting to become fluffy. Raise speed to high for 2-3 more minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Best way to check this is to keep your eye on the whites. Once they get glossy and you start seeing streaks formed by the whisk, it might be time to stop.
You don’t want to overbeat the mixture at this point, because you don’t want to add too much air to it. Just whisk until stiff peaks have formed, the peak should be shooting straight up if you hold the whisk upright, it shouldn't be bending down to the side.
Pour powdered sugar and almond flour into stiff whites.
Start folding gently forming a letter J with a spatula. Add the food coloring at this point, if using.
It’s time to stop folding when the batter is glossy and has a thick and flowing consistency. There are several ways to test this.
First, I pick up some batter with my spatula and try to draw a figure 8 with the batter that is dripping off the spatula. If you can form several 8 figures without the batter breaking up, that’s one indication that it might be ready.
Then, I grab a teaspoon of batter and spoon onto my parchment paper or silicon mat.
If the batter stays stiff and doesn’t spread out a bit, I start folding a little bit more, about 3 folds.
Test again.
Once the batter spreads out a bit and starts to look glossy on the parchment paper, I transfer my mixture to the piping bag.
You don’t want your batter to be too runny either. So be careful not to overmix. It’s always best to undermix and test several times until the proper consistency has been achieved.
Once you’ve piped as many circles as you could, bang the trays against the counter a few times each.
Let your trays sit for a while so the shells will dry out a little bit. I usually leave about 20-40 minutes, depending on how humid the day is. You’ll know they’re ready when you gently touch the surface of a macaron and it seems dry.
Pre-heat the oven to 300°F.
Bake one tray at a time.
Bake for 4 minutes, rotate tray.
I usually bake the macarons for a total of 15 to 20 minutes.
When baked, the macarons will have a deeper color and formed feet.
Remove from the oven and bake the other tray.
Let the macarons cool down before proceeding with the filling.
Key Lime Pie filling
Place all ingredients in a small saucepan.
Bring to a boil over medium heat.
Keep stirring, non-stop, for 10-15 minutes while the mixture simmers. Don’t let the heat be too high, or it will burn the fudge. Also, don’t stop stirring, or that will also burn the fudge.
The fudge will be ready when it’s very thick and you can see the bottom of the pan easily as you stir with your spatula.
Tilt the pan over, and if the fudge comes off the bottom all at once, you can probably remove from the heat.
Place it in a heat proof bowl, let it cool down all the way.
Place room temperature filling in a piping bag.
Marshmallow frosting
Mix all ingredients, except for the vanilla extract together in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Set the bowl over a pot of simmering water over medium heat.
Whisk mixture while it sits in the double boiler.
Keep whisking over simmering water until it reaches 140F.
That way the egg whites will be in a safe temperature to be consumed.
Move bowl to the mixer.
Whip with the whisk attachment for about 5 minutes on high speed.
Add vanilla and mix to combine.
To assemble
Pipe the marshmallow frosting around the edges of the bottom shell macarons.
Fill with the key lime pie filling.
Place another shell on top.
Drizzle white chocolate and graham crackers on top.
Use a torch to toast the sides of the marshmallow.
Storage
These macarons will store nicely in the fridge for up to 5 days. The marshmallow frosting doesn't keep for too long, so I don't recommend freezing them.
Notes
*Any leftover key lime pie filling will store nicely in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and in the freezer for a couple of months. Roll the leftover up into fudge balls, like here. Or eat it with a spoon.**You will also have some leftover Marshmallow frosting, but I don’t recommend making less because initially I made half of this recipe and ran out of frosting in the middle of filling the macarons.