Adorable, delicious, fun and a little silly, this panda macarons recipe is one of the cutest and most awesome French macarons I’ve made in a while.
Every time I think of making macarons, there is always some new and random idea that I really want to try and make as my next little mini art piece. Enter these absolutely adorable panda macarons.
Personally, macaron cookies are my favorite, because I can do a lot of things with them that I’m just not really able to pull off with other cookies. Macarons are so perfect for any occasion.
To make these macarons, I have some awesome tips, so you can make yours with as little frustration as possible.
NO-FAIL MACARON TIPS:
- Don’t over-mix. When you’re combining your wet and dry ingredients, only mix until the ribbon stage. Do not go past it. If you don’t get to the ribbon stage, you have to keep going, but if you have reached ribbon-satisfaction, STOP!
- If you don’t have a stand mixer, don’t fret! You can use a hand mixer (paid link), but like with everything else, you’re going to spend a little bit more time putting elbow grease into these cookies, so if you have a stand mixer (paid link), this is the time to break it out.
- Always weigh all your ingredients. I know this sounds crazy (I mean, who does that?!) But, because this is kind of a finicky recipe, you really do need to weigh the ingredients–there might be more moisture in your almond flour than was in mine, you never know! And that kind of thing can throw off French macaron cookies in a heartbeat.
MAKING THE PANDA MACARONS
Because you’ll need to weigh the ingredients, you’ll be needing something like this simple, flat digital scale (paid link). I’ve been using it for quite some time whenever ingredients need to be weighed (mostly macarons – pretty much only with macarons) and it’s really great.
And then you need a template, so you know about how much cookie batter to put out on your silicone mat (paid link)–and thus how big your French macaron cookies will be.
And of course 2 piping bags (paid link). One with a medium round tip and the other one with a small size tip.
Plus, I suggest having a look at these 12 Tips for Perfect Macarons. There is more to learn there, too that will totally help you out.
Loving this recipe but no time to make it right now? Don’t forget to Pin this into your easy cookie recipes Board so you can find it again quick when you’re ready to make a batch of these adorable panda macarons later.
Panda Macarons Recipe
They're cute. They're sweet - and they're actually fun to make. These easy Panda Macarons are literally one of my favorite treats ever.
Ingredients
COOKIE
- 4 oz. confectioners sugar
- 2 oz. almond flour I recommend Bob’s Red Mill
- 1 oz granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 oz. egg whites roughly two eggs at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla optional or you can use your favorite extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Black gel food coloring
GANACHE
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
COOKIE
- First, weigh out all of your ingredients.
- Next, sift together your almond flour and powdered sugar in a large bowl and set aside.
- Add your egg whites to the bowl of your mixer and start mixing on a medium speed until they get frothy. Add in the salt.
- Gradually add in your sugar to the egg whites and mix on a medium speed until you get a soft peak consistency.
- After the egg whites are the right consistency, add about 1/3 of the dry mixture to the egg whites and fold in until there are no dry spots left.
- Add in the remaining dry mixture to the meringue and fold in until there are no dry spots. Begin to check for the “ribbon” stage, where the batter falls off in ribbons and you can make a figure 8 without it breaking off. Once you get to this consistency stop folding.
- Separate about 1/3 cup of the batter and place into a small bowl. Then add black food coloring, a little at a time, and blend well until desired shade is reached. Place into a piping bag with a small round tip.
- Place the remaining batter into a pastry bag with a medium round tip. Place your bag in a large cup to make it easier to add your batter.
- Place the macaron template under a silicon mat on a baking sheet.
- Hold your piping bag completely vertical when piping and lift straight up. In making the circles, try not to pipe out the batter pass or outside the line of the template.
- Using the black batter, pipe the panda face details: eyes, nose, ears, and feet on the macarons.
- After you have piped all the batter, bang the baking sheet on the counter 10-20 times (seriously) to remove all air bubbles. Use a toothpick or something sharp to pop them.
- Now it is time to let them dry. Leave them sitting on the counter for 30-60 minutes until you can touch them and you can feel a “shell” form over them. No batter should come off on your finger.
- Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F. and bake your macarons for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned. When you touch the top of the macaron it should not wiggle around on the “feet”.
- Allow them to cool COMPLETELY before taking them off the baking sheet.
GANACHE
- Place the chocolate chips and heavy whipping cream in a microwave-safe bowl and melt in thirty-second increments until fully melted. Allow to sit for 10-15 minutes until thickened. You can also put the ganache in the fridge to speed up the thickening process.
- Once the ganache is ready, place in a piping bag with a star tip, and pipe a generous amount on half the macaron shells.
- Sandwich them with the remaining macaron shells.
- Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours to allow them to “mature”.
Notes
TOOLS
- Digital Weighing scale this
- Template
- Silicone Mat
- Piping bag with a medium round tip ( you may use a ziplock bag and cut off a corner)
- Piping bag with a small round tip
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 72Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 19mgSodium: 60mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 1gSugar: 8gProtein: 2g
