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5 from 1 vote

Praline Macarons

Macarons with carmel buttercream and a sweet and salty praline center
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: buttercream, caramel, macaron, praline

Equipment

  • mixer with whisk attachment
  • kitchen scale
  • oven thermometor
  • sifter
  • aluminum baking pans
  • macaron mats
  • bowls
  • spatulas
  • whisks
  • piping bags

Ingredients

Salted Praline Sauce

  • 1/4 cup chopped pecans
  • 2 TBS unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • pinch coarse sea salt

Caramel Buttercream

  • 4 TBS caramel from prepared praline sauce
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2-1 cup confectioners sugar
  • 1 tsp heavy cream

For decorations

  • 1/4 cup caramel candy melts

Instructions

Macaron Shells

  • Prepare macaron shells from macaron post linked at the top of the post

For the Salted Praline Sauce

  • Chop the nuts very small so they will not clog your piping bag.
  • Put chopped nuts and butter into a small-medium sauce pan.
  • Allow the nuts to toast and the butter to melt over medium high heat for a couple minutes.
  • Once the nuts are toasted and the butter is melted add the brown sugar, cream, and vanilla and stir to combine.
  • Turn the heat down to medium and allow it to come to soft roll. Continue stirring while it softly rolls (you may need to adjust temp) for 3 minutes.
  • Remove it from the heat and let it cool completely. As it cools it will thicken.
  • Once cool, add the course sea salt and stir to combine.

For the Caramel Buttercream

  • Scoop some caramel out of the praline sauce trying to limit the amount of nuts you get. It's ok if you get a few. Put the sauce into a bowl with the softened butter.
  • Whisk it vigorously until it seems lighter in color and combined well.
  • Add the confectioners sugar starting with 1/2 cup and stir it into the butter with a spatula. Once it's totally absorbed into the buttercream you can add more, up to 1 cup to get it to the texture you like.
  • Add the cream. Stir to combine.
  • If it became too thin you can add a little more powdered sugar a tablespoon at a time.

To Decorate and Assemble

  • Pair up your macaron shells so similar sizes are matched up.
  • On a baking tray lined with parchment, put the pairs with one side up and one down. I like to keep the ones I plan to drizzle towards the center of the tray.
  • Melt the candy melts and stir until smooth. Put the mixture in a piping bag. Snip a small hole of the end with scissors. Drizzle the candy over the tops of the shells you wish to decorate. Set the tray in the fridge for a couple minute to harden the candy.
  • Fill a piping bag with your caramel buttercream. I chose to use a small French tip in my bag. Pipe a circle around 1 side of each pair.
  • Fill a piping bag with the salted praline sauce. Snip a hole at the end and fill the centers of the buttercream rings. Do not overfill
  • Put the top of the cookie on and push down to seal them. If you find you're having trouble sealing the cookie, add more buttercream to your buttercream ring, or push in the center of the bottom of your top shell to make more space for the filling.
  • Store them in an airtight container to let them mature overnight.