Light and airy lemon macarons encompass a tart and creamy lime curd filling.  This small batch recipe yields the perfect amount: just six elegant Lemon Macarons with Lime Curd.

Although I've been baking since I was a young girl, there are still several recipes that I find intimidating.  For example: Angel food cake.  I've made it from scratch once, and it turned out fine.  But it took me until just this year to try my hand at angel food cake.  The thought of using 12 egg whites -- and possibly not being able to whip them up properly -- makes me feel a little uneasy.  That's a lot of egg whites to experiment with, you know?  The same thing holds true for lemon meringue pie.  It's one of my favorite desserts, but I haven't ever made it  because I'm so afraid that I won't be able to create that fluffy, signature meringue topping.  And until recently, I struggled with Swiss meringue buttercream.  I can't tell you how many egg whites were wasted on failed batches of Swiss meringue buttercream (actually, I can tell you.  Precisely 21 egg whites, to date.  Not that I'm counting, or anything).

Have you noticed a theme here?  I seem to have issues with egg whites.

With those egg white issues in mind, it's probably no surprise that I held off on making macarons for as long as I did.  Macarons already have a reputation for being a finicky cookie, requiring particular measurements and just the right consistency.  They also have egg whites folded into the batter.  Given my bad track record with egg whites, I didn't feel hopeful about my own chances of whipping up a batch of macarons from scratch.

But after seeing Zainab's recipe for Lemon Macarons on her blog Blahnik Baker, I knew it was time.  Time to get serious and make myself some macarons.  My version is based very, very closely on Zainab's.  The only changes I made to the macaron shells were to omit the lemon extract and increase the amount of lemon zest.  I also cut the recipe in thirds, which yielded a batch of just 6 or 7 macarons.  I had some extra homemade lime curd on hand after making Margarita Ribbon Cookies, so I whipped up a creamy, tangy lime curd buttercream to use as the filling.  Luckily, my previous egg white curse didn't repeat itself.  These cookies came out just as expected.  It's a good thing I made a small batch of these cookies, because we ate them all in a single sitting.  And I have a feeling the same thing would have happened if I'd made 18 or 20 of them.  Small batch = automatic portion control.

(click here for printable recipe)

Lemon Macarons with Lime Curd

By The Land of Milk 'n' Cookies. Macarons adapted from this recipe by Blahnik Baker.
Light and airy lemon macarons encompass a tart and creamy lime curd filling.  This small batch recipe yields the perfect amount: just six elegant Lemon Macarons with Lime Curd..

Cook time: 20 min

Total time: 1 hour 30 min

Ingredients

• 36 grams  almond flour*
• 51 grams  confectioner's sugar
• 2 teaspoons  lemon zest
• 1  egg white
• 18 grams  granulated sugar
• scant 1/8 teaspoon  cream of tartar
• 2 tablespoons lime curd 
• 3 tablespoons  unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup  confectioner's sugar

Instructions

1. On two 8.5" x 11" pieces of paper, draw 12-14 circles.  Each approximately 1.5" in diameter (I traced around a small cookie cutter).  Arrange templates on a baking sheet, and cover with a silicone baking mat.  Your baking mat should be transparent enough that you can see the template underneath. 
2. Place the almond flour, confectioner's sugar, and lemon zest into a food processor (I used a 3-cup mini food processor), and pulse until the mixture resembles very fine crumbs. Pass the mixture through a fine mesh sifter into a small mixing bowl.  If any crumbs remain after sifting, add those to the bowl.     
3. In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to beat together the egg white, granulated sugar, and cream of tartar.  Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, approximately 5-7 minutes. 
4. Add the almond flour mixture into the wet ingredients.  With a rubber spatula, gently fold 18-22 strokes.  The batter should have a consistency that forms a long ribbon when the spatula is lifted from the bowl.
5. Pour batter into a piping bag, and pipe onto the prepared silicone mats (I used a Wilton 2A decorating tip).  Hold baking sheet by the rim and gently tap against the counter top to release air bubbles.  Allow baking sheet to sit on the counter for approximately 20 minutes.  In the meantime, preheat oven to 30 degrees. 
6. Bake macaron shells for 18-20 minutes, or until shells harden.  Midway through the baking time, rotate the cookie sheet so that the shells bake more evenly.  Allow to cool completely on the baking sheets. 
7. While macarons are baking, use an electric mixer to beat together the lime curd, butter, and 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar.  Continue mixing for 2 minutes, or until light and creamy.  Refrigerate until ready to use. 
8. Once macarons have cooled completely, peel away from baking sheets.  Use an offset spatula or butter knife to spread lime curd filling generously onto the bottom (flat side) of a macaron shell.  Top with a second macaron shell to form a sandwich.  
9. If not serving immediately, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.   

Yield: 6 or 7 macaron sandwiches

Notes: Almond flour is also called almond meal

(click here for printable recipe)

Thanks for reading, friends!  Just for kicks, here's a fun graphic of a lemon macaron.  Why not, right?