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Lemon Bar Macarons

Servings 50 whole macarons

Ingredients

Macaron Filling

  • 1 1/2 sticks (4 oz sticks) unsalted butter (room temperature)
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
  • 4 teaspoons whole milk powder
  • 2 teaspoons instant vanilla pudding mix
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
  • 1 cup lemon curd (see notes at bottom of page) approximately

Graham Cracker Crust

  • 117 grams graham crackers (pulverized into fine crumbs) I use Kinnikinnick gluten free graham crackers
  • 1/2 stick (1/2 of a 4oz stick) unsalted butter
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1/16 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Macaron Shells

  • You can use any plain macaron shells for this recipe. Go here for my favorite shell recipe: https://michellesmacarons.com/french-macaron-recipe/
  • Bake the shells and let them cool completely

Make the Graham Cracker "Crust"

  • Brown the butter. Don't fully brown it because it will continue to cook in the next steps.
  • Add the brown sugar and salt and cook over low heat until the brown sugar smoothes out a little bit (it will still be a bit grainy)
  • Add the graham cracker crumbs and cook until the sugar starts to clump up a bit but be careful not to burn it
  • Let this mixture cool completely
  • Lightly pulse in a food processor (You could also put it in a bag and whack it with a rolling pin. You just want to break up the bigger pieces and make it easier to roll the macarons in)

Make the Filling

  • Beat the butter and the brown sugar together with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy
  • Add the powdered sugar and pulse until combined
  • Add the rest of the filling ingredients (except the lemon curd) and beat for at least 5 minutes on high speed until the filling is fluffy
  • Put into a piping bag and pipe onto the cooled macaron shells

Assemble the Macarons

  • Pipe the filling around the edge of a macaron shell. Put a dollop of lemon curd in the center, and sandwich another shell on top
  • Sprinkle a little of the graham cracker topping in the center
  • Put another macaron shell on top and before you completely press the shells together, roll the edges in the graham cracker topping
  • For best results, put in the fridge overnight (24 hours is best) then bring to room temperature before enjoying

Notes

If you're in a hurry, you can use any store-bought lemon curd that you like. If you want to make it from scratch (a great way to use up those extra egg yolks from making macarons), here are two of my favorite recipes: https://preppykitchen.com/lemon-curd/ and https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/53683/perfect-lemon-curd/