Christmas Macarons

Skip to Recipe

Christmas Macarons

If you’re a Christmas cookie baker, you’ve got to add these adorable Christmas Macarons to your holiday baking bonanza! After making them for the first time a week ago, they’re really a lot easier than I thought, and I’ll be including them in my Christmas cookie baking from now on. I did make one or two minor mistakes, but I learned from them and the next batch will be all the better for it!

I had so much fun flavoring my Christmas Macarons with mint and peppermint extracts to match their festive red and green colors, I wasn’t even worried if they didn’t turn out perfect! It was all about celebrating the season and just being excited that I was finally tackling these cookies that I had wanted to make for quite some time. I also happened to have some silver luster-dust that I mixed with a little powdered sugar and sprinkled over the tops. It looked like sparkly frost; it was so pretty on the cookies!!

After watching a couple great Youtube videos I was ready to give these cookies a try. The recipe I’m sharing today I got from the first video I watched; it seemed simple and very straightforward. I was happy with the cookies I made, but I’ll be skipping the curd filling next time- I’d like to try a ganache instead.

Recipe Tips for creating Christmas Macarons

There are two steps in particular when baking French Macarons that can make people nervous; achieving the correct batter consistency, and piping the batter out in even smooth circles. The first one may take a couple tries. You basically have to eyeball the consistency by scooping a large amount of mixed batter onto your spatula and watching how it drips back into the bowl. If it glops in in chunks, it’s too stiff, so you’ve got more mixing to do. If it drips off in one continuous ‘ribbon’ from your spatula, it’s ready! This video is great at showing the ideal consistency, just fast forward to the 7:16 mark. When I made my first batch, they were a bit too stiff and didn’t form a really smooth top.

Piping the Christmas Macarons out is super easy when you use a simple printed template that’s placed under your parchment paper or silpat baking mat (which is transparent enough to see through). I used this template here. Just print a couple pages out and your macarons will be easy squeezy!

Speaking of easy squeezy, this batter is quite loose and can cause a MAJOR mess if you load up your piping bag without stopping up the tip first. I use Wilton disposable piping bags (LOVE them, so hassle free!) which have the pointy end sealed, aka you snip it to size after placing your piping tip in. So I leave the tip “un-snipped” while loading up the bag with macaron batter. The other option to use for more traditional bags is to fold the tip back against the bag, essentially creating a “kink” in the bag that will stop the batter from running out the tip end. Having someone hold the bag for you while you load it is also super helpful.

I will definitely be baking lots more of these adorable little cookies in the future now that I know they are easy! Don’t be intimidated, give them a try. You’ll be glad you did!

Christmas Macarons

---

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Emily
• Total Time: 1 hours 1 minutes
• Yield: 16-18 sandwich cookies

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Description

With their characteristic crunchy outside and chewy center, these classic french cookies are a delight to bake and give away during the holiday season! 

 

---

Ingredients

Cookies

1 cup powdered sugar

3/4 cup fine ground almond flour

2 egg whites

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla (skip if using another flavoring extract)

Food coloring paste (optional)

flavoring extract (optional)

Filling

6 ounces Ghiradelli white chocolate melting wafers

1/4 cup heavy cream

 

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

Line a baking sheet with a non-stick mat or parchment paper. Print out guides if desired and slip them under your baking surface.

Sift together the powdered sugar and almond flour, discarding the chunks left in the sifter. Stir the sugar almond flour mixture with a whisk a few times to fully incorporate the two. Set aside.

Beat egg whites for about 15-30 seconds with a handheld or stand mixer, or until frothy. With the machine still running on medium, slowing begin adding the granulated sugar. Once all sugar is added, beat on high until soft peaks form when mixer is lifted out.

Add vanilla or other flavoring extract and food coloring paste if desired. (Liquid food coloring is not recommended.) Continue to beat until thoroughly combined and meringue leaves stiff peaks when mixer is lifted out.

Add half the almond sugar mixture and gently fold in with a spatula. When mixed, add the other half and mix it in until the batter is very loose and looks like a “ribbon” as it drips from the spatula into the bowl. Load the batter into a piping bag with a round tip and pipe onto baking sheet following the guides. 

Set the oven to 300 degrees F. Slightly lift the baking sheet and let it fall onto the counter. Bang it in this fashion several times to remove excess large bubbles from the cookies. Let the cookies sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, or  until a skin forms over the cookie batter and when touched with a finger does not stick.

While cookies sit out, create the filling by placing the white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Pour the cream over the chocolate and place the bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and cook for another 30 seconds and repeat until the chocolate mixture is melted and smooth. Set aside to cool.

Place the cookies in the preheated oven and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until set. Remove from the oven, and let cool by sliding them off the hot baking sheet onto the counter. 

When cooled, flip half the cookies over and pipe filling onto the bottom. Place another cookie on top and repeat to create sandwich cookies. Refrigerate for 1-2 days before serving.

 

 

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 16 minutes
• Category: Dessert
• Cuisine: French

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 2 cookies
• Calories: 146
• Sugar: 19.1 g
• Sodium: 17 mg
• Fat: 6.6 g
• Saturated Fat: 2.6 g
• Carbohydrates: 20.3 g
• Protein: 2.5 g
• Cholesterol: 3 mg