I love French macarons, but retailing at about $3 per cookie, they are way too expensive to purchase, so I often make them myself. I first tried this recipe a few months ago, and have continually made it for friends and events. Because it’s the holiday season, I wanted to put a season twist on the classics, and came up with these holiday macarons in peppermint and mocha.
Making these holiday macarons is definitely a slightly long process, but totally worth the wait, and way more economical than buying them already made. There are a lot of steps to this recipe, but if you follow along and do everything as written, you shouldn’t have any problems.
These holiday macarons are perfect to bring for parties or give as gifts because they feel very indulgent and special. They are a total show stopper and everyone is super impressed when you casually mention that you made them from scratch. Trust me, if you have a little time, these are so worth it!
Holiday Macaron Ingredients
- 2/3 cup almond meal (71 grams)
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar (117 grams)
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar (53 grams)
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Jam or other filling (See bottom of instructions for filling ideas)
Filling Ingredients:
- ¼ tsp peppermint extract
- 1 tsp instant coffee
- 2 tbs unsweetened coco powder
- 1 stick of room temp salted butter
- 1 ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 crushed up candy cane for garnish
Place almond meal and powdered sugar in a food processor (I used my NutriBullet); process until it’s as fine as possible, about 1 minute. Next, pass almond mixture through a fine-mesh sieve to get out all of the lumps and aerate the mixture. It sounds like a pain, but it is totally worth it!
In a separate bowl (or the bowl of a standing mixer), whisk egg whites and granulated sugar by hand to combine. Beat on medium speed (4 on a KitchenAid) 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high (6 on a KitchenAid) and beat 2 minutes. Then beat on high (8 on a KitchenAid) 2 minutes more. The beaten egg whites will hold stiff, glossy peaks when you lift the whisk out of the bowl. Add in vanilla extract and beat on high speed 30 seconds.
Add dry ingredients all at once, folding them into the egg white mixture with a spatula from bottom of bowl upward. Repeat just until batter flows like lava, 35 to 40 complete strokes.
Next, Line baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly spray with cooking spray.
NOTE*** I tried using a silicone baking pad, and it didn’t work nearly as well as the parchment paper. The macarons started to stick to the silicone, but I’ve never had a problem with baking them on oiled parchment paper.
Rest a large ziplock bag inside a glass. Transfer batter to bag and cut off the tip, about 1/8 inch up from corner. With the tip of the bag 1/2 inch above sheet, pipe batter into a 3/4-inch rounds, spacing rounds 1 inch apart. This recipe makes about 60 round disks, 30 sandwiched macarons.
Let the rounds air dry for one hour so they form a skin/crust on them. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! This will ensure that the macarons hold their shape when baking and keep their pretty appearance.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bake 1 sheet at a time, rotating the pan after 5 minutes, baking the macarons for an additional 2-3 minutes, until risen and just set, (Total baking time of 8 minutes).
Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack and let the macarons cool completely before filling them.
To Make Buttercream Filling:
1 stick of room temp salted butter, 1 ½ cup powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla. Cream everything together to make a base, then to make the holiday macaron flavors, divide the batter in half.
Add ¼ tsp peppermint extract to half of the buttercream to make a peppermint buttercream. I like a mild peppermint flavor because too much tastes like toothpaste, so if you want to add more extract you can, but be careful because it’s strong!
Fill your macarons with the peppermint buttercream and then roll the edges in the crushed up candy cane for garnish. The key to this is making sure you put enough filling around the edge of the cookie so the candy cane pieces stick to it.
For the mocha macarons, add in the instant coffee mixed with ½ tsp water, and coco powder to the rest of the buttercream, and fill the remaining cookies.
These holiday macarons will be the hit of your next party! Enjoy!
