These Lemon Bar Macarons combine lemon flavored macaron shells that are brought together with a buttery shortbread crust center and a creamy lemon curd filling. If you close your eyes you would swear you were eating a tart, rich lemon bar! They're lip-smackingly good and perfect for any lemon dessert lover in your life!
Prep your work area by cleaning your mixing bowls, whisks, and any other baking tools that will be used for making the macarons. Using a little white vinegar on a paper towel will help remove any grease left behind.
Line 2 baking sheets with either parchment paper or silicone mats and fit a large piping bag with a round decorating tip (like the Wilton 2A). Set to the side.
Weigh all your ingredients using a food scale.
Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar together twice, removing any bits left behind from the sifter. Whisk together to fully blend (or use a food processor).
1 cup Almond Flour, ¾ cup Powdered Sugar
Using a double boiler or bain-marie, heat the granulated sugar and aged egg whites over 1 - 1.5 inches of simmering water, continually whisking until the sugar has fully dissolved and the mixture is frothy in appearance (about 5-6 minutes). Test by rubbing a little of the mixture between your pointer finger and thumb to make sure all sugar granules have dissolved.
3 Large Egg Whites, ½ cup Granulated Sugar
Transfer the hot mixture to a mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and set the speed to high. When the mixture initially reaches the soft peaks stage, add in the lemon extract.
½ teaspoon Lemon Extract
As the meringue begins to reach medium peaks, add in the yellow food coloring.
4-5 drops Yellow Food Coloring
Continue to mix on high speed right until stiff peaks form (about 10 minutes). The meringue should look glossy and be able to hold its shape when you invert the whisk attachment.
Using a spatula, gently fold in the sifted dry ingredients with the meringue. As you continue to fold, press the batter against the side of the bowl. Keep folding until the batter is the consistency of a somewhat thick lava.
If the batter falls off the spatula in ribbons (or can make a figure 8 pattern) without breaking, it’s time to pipe! If not, fold 2-3 more times, then test again.
When ready, scoop the lemon macaron batter into the piping bag. Holding your bag perpendicular to the silicone mat (or parchment paper) and pipe out a circles close to 1.5 inches in diameter. When you bang the baking sheets on the counter after piping they should spread out just a little.
Bang your baking sheets on the counter 3-4 times to release the air bubbles, then use a toothpick to carefully remove any that came to the surface.
Set the trays of lemon macaron shells to the side, somewhere cool and dry, where they can rest/dry for 40 minutes. The lemon macarons shells are ready to be baked when the tops are no longer sticky and dry to the touch. Use a ceiling fan to help dry them, if you have one or drop your A/C to a cooler temp. Drying times will vary based on where you live. The higher the humidity, the longer the rest time!
When you are close to the end of the resting time, preheat your oven to 300ºF and place your oven rack on the 2nd level mark (just above the center).
Bake only 1 tray of the lemon macarons at a time for 16 minutes at 300ºF, rotating the baking sheet at the 8 minute mark. Do not skip this step!
When done, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 20-30 minutes. If your shells are still a little sticky after this time frame, you can pop them in the freezer for 15-20 minutes.
Once completely cooled, keep the macaron shells stored in an airtight container in the freezer until ready to use.
shortbread crust centers
Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Lightly cover your small baking sheet with a little baking spray.
Using your hand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the unsalted butter on medium-high speed for 1-2 minutes until soft and creamy.
¼ cup Unsalted Butter
Reduce the mixer speed to low and add in the all-purpose flour and powdered sugar. Mix until well blended.
½ cup All-Purpose Flour, ⅛ cup Powdered Sugar
Pat the mixture down into a thin layer, about ⅛ inch, on a small baking sheet.
Bake for 12-15 minutes at 350ºF.
Remove and allow to cool completely.
Using a 1 inch circle cookie cutter (or similar size from a large piping tip), cut out roughly 20-22 circles. Set to the side. Any leftover shortbread crust can be used as a topping for the leftover lemon curd filling!
lemon curd filling
Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the unsalted butter on medium-high speed for 1-2 minutes or until it's smoothy and creamy. Add in the granulated sugar, salt, lemon juice, and lemon zest, mixing until well blended. Add in the 2 eggs yolks and 1 whole egg and mix until fully combined.
6 tablespoon Unsalted Butter, ½ cup Granulated Sugar, ⅛ teaspoon Salt, ½ cup Fresh Lemon Juice, 2 teaspoon Lemon Zest, 2 large Egg Yolks
Transfer the mixture to a medium-size saucepan and while whisking constantly, cook over low heat until thickened (about 8-10 minutes).
Remove from heat and press through a fine mesh sieve into a mixing bowl.
Add a layer of plastic wrap directly over top of the lemon curd and chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour, or overnight. Kept in a tightly sealed container, lemon curd will last up to a week in the refrigerator.
Notes
Prep time for lemon curd filling is 15 minutes, with a cook time of 10 minutes. Chill time is a minimum of 1 hour.
Prep time for the shortbread crust centers is 10 minutes, with a bake time of 12 minutes. Cool completely before cutting out the circles.