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Key Lime Macarons

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Key lime macarons are filled with a key lime buttercream and key lime curd. Lots of key lime flavor packed into every naturally gluten-free macaron bite! 

It’s time for another key lime recipe!!! *The crowd goes wild!* This is pretty exciting though, because it’s a recipe for macarons, and you always need a new macaron recipe, and it involves key limes, delicious, AND since I didn’t add any graham crackers or toppings, the macarons are gloriously naturally gluten free and the key lime shines through like no other. Yum.

Key lime macarons are filled with a key lime buttercream and key lime curd. Lots of key lime flavor packed into every naturally gluten-free macaron bite! * Recipe on GoodieGodmother.com

To make these, you’ll need to whip up a batch of lime curd using this recipe. If you’re planning to make my fabulous Key Lime Tart, go ahead and double the batch of curd. If you do that, there will be plenty for tart and macarons, and an instant party. Because if you invite people over and casually mention you will be serving tart and macarons, they will come. Don’t forget to put the tea on.

Key lime macarons are filled with a key lime buttercream and key lime curd. Lots of key lime flavor packed into every naturally gluten-free macaron bite! * Recipe on GoodieGodmother.com

Never made macarons?

For a primer on making macarons, head over to my Macaron 101 post. It details how to make macarons in the French and Italian methods, so you can pick your favorite. Being that I currently live in a rather humid climate, I use the Italian method most of the time. I have found that it’s a little more stable, and if I pre-mix my macaron flour, I know I always have the correct ratio of almond meal to powdered sugar. Either method works to make these key lime macarons though, so do what makes you happy.

A few details about the key lime macarons…

The cream of tartar helps to maintain the integrity of the shell with the addition of the lime zest. I wouldn’t recommend adding any more lime zest than listed in the recipe because it can make the shells heavy and hollow. Depending on the acidity of your particular limes, there’s a risk of this happening anyway, but I have only rarely had it occur – mostly when I skip the cream of tartar.

Key lime macarons are filled with a key lime buttercream and key lime curd. Lots of key lime flavor packed into every naturally gluten-free macaron bite! * Recipe on GoodieGodmother.com

You will still get plenty of lime flavor in the key lime macarons from the filling. Only a few tablespoons of the curd go to flavor the buttercream, and the rest is dolloped in the center of each cookie like a nice little key lime surprise. I prefer to go this route instead of using just buttercream so the lime flavor is stronger. I don’t use just curd because the curd can be a little runny for macarons I like to package on their side. If you’d like, you can cook your curd a few minutes longer to make it very thick and try going the curd-only route, but it’s a little messier and you’ll have very thick leftover curd since the macaron recipe doesn’t use the entire batch of lime curd.

Key lime macarons are filled with a key lime buttercream and key lime curd. Lots of key lime flavor packed into every naturally gluten-free macaron bite! * Recipe on GoodieGodmother.com

I hope you enjoy this recipe for key lime macarons! These bright little cookies are sure to make you smile!

 

Key lime macarons are filled with a key lime buttercream and key lime curd. Lots of key lime flavor packed into every naturally gluten-free macaron bite! * Recipe on GoodieGodmother.com

Key Lime Macarons

Yield: approx 18 macarons
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Key lime macarons are filled with a key lime buttercream and key lime curd. Lots of key lime flavor packed into every naturally gluten-free macaron bite! 

Ingredients

Macaron Shell:

  • 150 g almond flour
  • 150 g powdered/confectioner's sugar
  • 150 g granulated sugar
  • 30 g water
  • 110 g egg whites, divided
  • 1/2 tsp key lime zest
  • 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
  • gel color, optional

Filling

  • 1/2 cup key lime curd: https://goodiegodmother.com/lime-curd-recipe/
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg whites
  • 6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

Instructions

Make the shells:

  1. Sift together the almond flour and confectioner's sugar into a mixing bowl. Top with 55 g egg whites and the key lime zest. Do not mix.
  2. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with your whisk attachment, place the other 55g egg whites and the cream of tartar.
  3. In a small saucepan, combine the granulated sugar and water over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves. Bring the mixture up to soft ball stage (235 F/112 C) over medium high heat. When it is about 5 degrees away from the soft ball stage, start whisking your egg whites on medium speed until frothy. Once the sugar has reached soft ball stage, immediately remove from the heat, increase your mixer speed to high, and carefully drizzle in the sugar syrup, avoiding the sides of your bowl as much as possible. Continue whisking until you've reached a soft peak.
  4. Dump in the almond meal mixture (and a drop or two of color if using) and fold it into the egg whites until the mixture is homogeneous and looks like slow moving lava. Be careful not to over mix.
  5. Place the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a round tip and pipe onto parchment paper or silicone mat lined baking sheets.
  6. Heat your oven to 300 F.
  7. Bake the sheets one at a time for 15-17 minutes until the shells easily lift off the parchment but aren't colored around the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before filling.


To make the filling:

  1. For instructions to make the key lime curd, click the link in the ingredients list to go to my key lime tart post.
  2. Make the buttercream by placing your egg whites and sugar in a double boiler, or in the clean bowl of your stand mixer over a saucepan filled with a few inches of water (just not enough to touch the bowl). Set over medium heat and stir constantly until the sugar has dissolved into the egg whites. Remove the egg white/sugar mixture immediately and pour into a mixing bowl or set into your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
  3. Whisk on high speed until the mixture turns white, then add the butter 1 tbsp at a time. Add 2 tbsp of the key lime curd for flavor.

Assemble the macarons:

  1. Line up coordinating macaron shells and pipe a circle of Swiss buttercream around the inside of the first shell, then pipe a bit of key lime curd into the center of the circle. Place the second macaron shell on top. Repeat for all cookies.
  2. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 24 hours to rest. Remove 20 minutes before serving.

Did this recipe inspire you?

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Key lime macarons are filled with a key lime buttercream and key lime curd. Lots of key lime flavor packed into every naturally gluten-free macaron bite! * Recipe on GoodieGodmother.com

 

 

 

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Beth king

Sunday 24th of November 2019

I’m thrown off on why the egg whites are put on top of the dry ingredients and not mixed? Made for a clumpy mixture when folding it in the meringue mixture.

Mary (The Goodie Godmother)

Saturday 30th of November 2019

I made a batch of macarons and tested putting all the egg whites into the mixer instead of splitting them. And I have an answer from experience now! When you put all the egg whites in the mixer, you thin them just enough that the macaronage takes a very long time. Like a really long time. Which puts you at risk for knocking too much air out of the batter. And the mixture started a bit stiffer, so there was more air in genera. This meant I ended up with a few more cracked shells than usual. Not enough to call it a botched batch by any means, but more than usual (i.e. 5-6 cookies vs 1-2). No issue when I made another batch with split egg whites.

One thing I can recommend to help though, is adding your dry ingredients in 2 batches. I tried that with the second batch of macarons to see if maybe that would help smooth the lumps quicker, and it did. Either way, you will end up with a smooth mixture at the end of the macaronage process, but if you'd like to have it smooth a little faster, you can add the dry ingredients and unbeaten egg white in batches with no loss in quality of the final product.

I hope that helps!

Mary (The Goodie Godmother)

Tuesday 26th of November 2019

That is a great observation. I've always done it that way because that's how I was taught to do it when making the Italian style meringues. I haven't had issues with a clumpy mixture after macaronage is complete. You could always run the egg whites through a fine mesh sieve to break up any clumps beforehand. I'm making some macarons in the next couple weeks as part of my Christmas baking... I'll test putting all the egg whites in the mixer bowl and see what happens.

Suzanne

Monday 11th of November 2019

These look so good! What a perfect little treat when you don't want to indulge too much!

Mary (The Goodie Godmother)

Wednesday 20th of November 2019

Definitely. <3

Nicole

Thursday 11th of July 2019

How long will these last? Want to make up ahead of a get together.

Mary (The Goodie Godmother)

Wednesday 17th of July 2019

I've left them in the fridge up to a week in an airtight container. You can also freeze up to 2 months. Just thaw in the refrigerator and you're good to go!

Tiffany

Wednesday 6th of June 2018

Why does the filling recipe call for 1/2 cup of key lime curd but then the instructions only say 2 tbsp?

Mary (The Goodie Godmother)

Thursday 12th of July 2018

You only put 2 tablespoons in the frosting. In the instructions, I mention that you should dollop the rest of the curd in the center of the macaron. :)

Macaron Lover

Friday 24th of June 2016

My key lime Macarons were brown and cracked,what happened?

Mary (The Goodie Godmother)

Friday 15th of July 2016

It sounds like your oven was too hot or they baked too long, which will cause browning, and may account for the cracking. My How to Make Macarons post would have some more helpful technique tips: How to Make Macarons

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