Two favorite desserts in one bite-sized delight! These Tiramisu Macarons are full of delicious tiramisu flavors in the elegant form of classic French macarons.
If you like tiramisu like my family does, you will love these Tiramisu Macarons!!
My family is a huge fan of tiramisu dessert (and yes, you can make Dairy-Free Tiramisu!), and we adore macarons too. This Tiramisu Macarons recipe combines them into one delicious cookie that is the perfect little treat!
Tiramisu, with its layers of coffee-soaked lady fingers and creamy mascarpone, has long been a dessert icon. In this tiramisu macaron recipe, we infuse those classic flavors into the bite-sized elegance of a macaron.
Tiramisu Macarons are a truly special treat. A bite-sized testament to the delicious magic that happens when two iconic desserts join forces.
And if you've never made macarons before, have no fear. Yes, they are a little trickier and require more patience and attention than, say, a classic butterscotch cookie. But they are so worth it!
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🌟 Why this recipe works
Macaron recipes do require a little more attention to detail than your average cookie. But then again, the results are anything but average!
With each heavenly bite, Tiramisu macarons deliver an exquisite combination of flavors. The velvety mascarpone cream, gently infused with the bold aroma of espresso, takes center stage. Meanwhile the delicate almond shell provides a satisfying crunch that gives way to a melt-in-your-mouth experience.
Now, here's the sweet secret – crafting these divine Tiramisu Macarons is much easier than one might imagine. Despite their intricate appearance, mastering the art of macaron-making is within reach for home bakers.
With a bit of patience, a dash of precision, and our foolproof recipe, you can create these mini masterpieces in your own kitchen.
I've included step-by-step photos below to help you along the way. Be sure to review the steps before beginning to make the macarons.
🛒 Ingredient notes
You can find most of these ingredients at your local grocery store, or online.
- Egg whites - Make sure there is no yolk in the egg whites, otherwise they will not whip up the way they need to in order to make macarons.
- Meringue powder - This helps stabilize the egg whites and helps them whip up into stiff peaks.
- Granulated sugar - Granulated sugar provides structure and stability to macaron shells. It also helps control the moisture content in the cookies.
- Almond flour - This is what gives macarons their classic chewy shells. You cannot substitute all-purpose flour here; you must use almond flour, either store-bought or homemade almond flour.
- Powdered sugar - For the best results, sift the powdered sugar through a fine mesh sieve when measuring.
- Egg white powder - While you can make macarons without egg white powder, I find that it helps make the macaron shells fuller.
- White chocolate chips - Use high quality white chocolate chips or a chopped white chocolate bar for the best results.
- Heavy cream - Use heavy whipping cream. You can also substitute your favorite dairy-free whipping cream.
- Kahlua - This coffee liqueur gives these cookies the classic tiramisu flavor. For a non-alcoholic substitution, use brewed coffee or instant coffee powder or espresso powder in water, instead of kahlua.
- Mascarpone - Rich and luscious, this Italian cream cheese is softer and creamier than American cream cheese.
- Cocoa powder - Use a light dusting of cocoa powder to decorate the macarons.
✅ Step-by-step instructions
Detailed instructions and a full list of ingredients are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here are step-by-step photos & quick abbreviated instructions to help you bake these delicious tiramisu macaron cookies!
Make the macaron shells
Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line two baking sheets with silicon mats that have macaron cookie outlines, or with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until foamy, about one minute. Add in the meringue powder.
- Mix in the granulated sugar. The mixture should form very stiff peaks (see pic 2B).
3. In a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients - almond flour, powdered sugar, and egg white powder.
4. Pour the sifted dry mixture into the whipped almond mixture and mix on low, just until it is incorporated.
5. Using a silicone spatula, gently fold the batter, scraping the bottoms and sides of the bowl as you fold, to ensure there are no dry ingredients left unmixed.
6. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large round metal tip. Pipe onto the prepared baking sheet lined with the macaron baking mat.
Pro tip: Firmly bang the baking sheet on the counter several times. This helps release any air bubbles and helps the batter settle. If you see any stubborn air bubbles remaining, you can pop them carefully with a toothpick.
7. Rest the piped rounds to rest for at least 30 minutes. Once they have rested for about 30 minutes and are no longer sticky, bake them for 12 minutes.
Reminder: be sure to read the detailed instructions in the printable recipe card!
Make the tiramisu filling
- In a large microwave safe bowl, add the white chocolate chips, heavy cream, and Kahlua. Microwave for 30 seconds at a time and stir well between each interval until the mixture is smooth.
- Transfer the filling to the bowl of your stand mixer and allow to cool. Once cool to the touch, use the whisk attachment to whip the ganache on medium speed for about a minute or two.
- Add in the mascarpone cheese and the powdered sugar. Mix just until combined; it's important to not over-mix in this step.
Assemble the tiramisu macarons
- When ready to assemble, transfer the mascarpone filling to a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip and pipe a dollop of filling on a shell. Then place another shell on top of the cream filling to create the cookie sandwich. Repeat until you've filled and topped all shells.
- Sprinkle cocoa powder on the top of the macaron cookies just before serving.
👩🏻🍳 Macaron baking tips and FAQs
Macaron baking tips:
- For the best results, use freshly separated egg whites. However, you can substitute carton egg whites.
- Use room temperature eggs. Room temperature egg whites whip up quicker and create a smoother texture than cold egg whites.
- Don't skip the meringue powder. While technically you can make these tiramisu macarons without it, meringue powder helps stabilize the egg whites while whipping.
- I also recommend adding egg white powder to help fill the gaps in the macaron shells and make them fuller. This is also an optional ingredient, but it helps make the best macarons! You can find egg white powder online.
- Once baked, store the shells in an airtight container and keep them stored until you are ready to serve them. They can dry out quickly and lose their chewiness.
Mascarpone is luscious and creamy. If you can't find it at your local grocery store or don't have any on hand, you can whip together regular cream cheese with some heavy cream. This will help make the cream cheese softer and closer to the texture of mascarpone. I would also add a half teaspoon of vanilla extract to add flavor to the substitution.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Yes! Stored in an airtight container, they should keep in the freezer for up to three months.
🍽 Serving ideas
Tiramisu means "pick me up" in Italian, so these little cookies are perfect with a cup of coffee or hot cocoa.
Other macaron serving ideas:
- Use them to decorate a cake. Our Chocolate Coffee Cake would be the perfect companion to these tiramisu macarons! You can stack a few on top of the cake and then line the bottom of the cake with macarons.
- Decorate pies. Line the outer ring of a chocolate bourbon pie or sweet potato pie with these beautiful macaron morsels.
- Give as gifts. Macarons are decadent desserts that look beautiful wrapped up in little cookie boxes and tied with coordinating ribbon into a bow.
🍳 Kitchen tools and equipment
Ready to make this recipe? Here are the kitchen tools and equipment you'll need:
- Stand mixer - You will need a standard kitchen electric mixer for the batter. You can also use a large mixing bowl with hand mixer instead.
- Mixing bowls - Use a large mixing bowl to mix together the dry ingredients.
- Baking sheets - you will need at least one baking sheet to make these macarons.
- Silicone mat - These silicone macaron mats are specifically made to help you create uniform macaron cookies.
- Piping bags - Use a piping bag with piping tip to make the macarons.
More cookie recipes
Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to leave a 5-Star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card, and if you really loved it, please leave a comment further down on the page. Thank you!
Tiramisu Macarons
Equipment
- 1 Stand Mixer with whisk attachment
- 2 Silicone baking mats
- Pastry bags
Ingredients
For the macaron cookies
- 1⅓ cup almond flour (130 grams) loosely packed
- 1 cup powdered sugar (130 grams)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (90 grams)
- 3 large egg whites (100 grams)
- ½ teaspoon meringue powder
- 1 teaspoon egg white powder
For the tiramisu filling
- 10 ounces white chocolate chips
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 4 ounces mascarpone cheese
- 2 Tablespoons Kahlua
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- cocoa powder, for dusting
Instructions
Make the macarons
- Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line two baking sheets with silicon mats that have macaron cookie outlines, or with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In the bowl of the stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until foamy, about one minute. Add in the meringue powder.
- Slowly add granulated sugar about one-third at a time, mixing well at medium speed after every addition. Once all the sugar has been combined, increase the speed to medium-high and mix for another five minutes. Mixture should form very stiff peaks and be balled up in the whisk attachment, pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
- In a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl, sift the almond flour, powdered sugar, and egg white powder. If there are any large chunks left that do not sift easily, discard them.
- Pour the sifted dry ingredients into the whipped mixture and mix on low, just until it is incorporated.
- Using a silicone spatula, gently fold the batter, scraping the bottoms and sides of the bowl as you fold, to ensure there are no dry ingredients left unmixed. To check the consistency, pull some of the mixture up with your spatula and let the mixture drop back into the bowl. When it’s ready, it should flow nicely off the spatula, ribboning as it falls and then re-incorporating back into the mixture within about a 20 second count. Keep gently folding just until the mixture reaches this level.
- Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large round metal tip. If you do not have a tip, then use scissors to cut the end of the pastry bag in a small straight line.
- Hold the bag approximately ½ inch above the prepared baking sheet and perpendicular to the pan, using the center as a bullseye. Slowly squeeze the bag, keeping it in one place until the mixture reaches the inner circle of the template. The mixture should settle to the outer line. Repeat, piping out all the rounds until you've used all of the batter.
- Firmly bang the baking sheet on the counter several times. This helps release any air bubbles and helps the batter settle. If you see any stubborn air bubbles remaining, you can pop them carefully with a toothpick.
- Rest the piped rounds to rest for at least 30 minutes. If you live in a high humidity climate, increase this rest time. When ready to bake, the tops should no longer be sticky. If you think the shells are ready to bake, you can test one shell by gently touching the surface. If it sticks to your finger, it’s not ready yet. Allow it to rest until you can touch it without sticking to your finger.
- Once they have rested for about 30 minutes and are no longer sticky, bake them for 12 minutes. It's best to bake one baking sheet at a time. If baking more than one sheet at a time, make sure to rotate the pans halfway through the cooking time. NOTE: this is a good time to clean out the stand mixer bowl and whisk attachment, since you will need them again to make the filling.
- Once the macaron shells are fully baked, allow them to cool on the pan. Once cooled, very gently remove them from the baking sheet.
- Store the macaron shells in an airtight container stacked on their sides until you're ready to add the filling.
Make the tiramisu filling
- In a large microwave safe bowl, add the white chocolate chips, heavy cream, and Kahlua. Microwave for 30 seconds at a time and stir well between each interval until the mixture is smooth.
- Transfer the filling to the bowl of your stand mixer and allow to cool. Once cool to the touch, use the whisk attachment to whip the ganache on medium speed for about a minute or two.
- Add in the mascarpone cheese and the powdered sugar. Mix just until combined; it's important to not overmix in this step.
ASSEMBLE
- When ready to assemble, transfer the filling to a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip and pipe a dollop of filling on a shell. Then place another shell on top of the filling to create the cookie sandwich. Repeat until you've filled and topped all shells.
- Dust the macarons with cocoa powder just before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is a general estimate. Actual nutrition details may vary depending on the exact foods & brands you use to make this recipe. It does not take into account any substitutions, toppings, or optional ingredients.
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