These Snowman Macarons are so perfect for the Christmas season. They are very easy, make a great gift and taste ah-mazing!
Personally, macarons are my favorite. Because I can do a lot of things with it such as themed designs.
I’ve already made a lot of macarons but every time I make one, there’s a new one that pops up in my mind. And indeed there’s always more to come!
Follow these No-Fail Macaron Tips
Before jumping straight to the recipe, I have some tips for fail-proof macarons below. You may want to check that out, no matter if you’re a long-time macaron maker or if it’s your first try.
- 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!
- Always weigh all your ingredients. Because this is kind of a finicky recipe, you do have 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.
- If you don’t have a stand mixer, don’t fret! You can use a hand mixer, but like with everything, you’re going to spend a little bit more time putting elbow grease into these cookies.
Making the Snowman Macarons
First off, you’re going to need just a few tools so you can make these cookies.
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 the ingredients needed to be weighed and they’re really great.
And then you need a template so you know about how much to put out on your silicone mat (paid link)–and thus how big your French macaron cookies will be.
And of course a piping bag with a small size tip. You can also use a zip lock bag making a cut on one corner.
If you’re still unsure about tackling this, I also suggest having a look at these 12 Tips for Perfect Macarons. There is so much more to learn there, too.
INGREDIENTS
COOKIE
- 4 oz. confectioners sugar
- 2 oz. almond flour I recommend Bob’s Red Mill (paid link)
- 1 oz granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 oz. egg whites roughly two eggs at room temperature
- 1/2 – 1 tsp vanilla extract, optional (or another flavor or extract)
- 1/4 tsp salt
FILLING
- 1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips (paid link)
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
ICING
For Snowman Macarons eyes, nose, scarf, and buttons
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup corn syrup
- ½ tbsp coconut milk, like what you use in cereal is fine
- Red, orange, and brown food coloring.
- 1 tsp Vanilla flavoring (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
COOKIE
- Weigh out all of your ingredients.
- Then 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.
- Prepare your piping bag with a medium round tip. Place your bag in a large cup to make it easier to add your batter. Slowly add in your batter.
- Then 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
- 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.
FILLING
- Place the chocolate chips, food coloring and heavy whipping cream in a microwave-safe bowl and melt in thirty-second increments until smooth and fully melted. Allow to sit for 10-15 minutes until the mixture is fairly thickened. You can also pop the ganache in the fridge to speed up the thickening process.
- Once the ganache is thick enough to stand, but still soft enough to pipe, place the filling 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.
NOTE: You can also use any of the fillings from my different macaron recipes, linked below this recipe to use in these Snowman macarons.
ICING
Eyes, nose, scarf, and buttons
- Mix your coconut milk, powdered sugar, and ⅓ cup of your corn syrup together. If it’s still too dry, add more corn syrup. (The mixture should be the consistency of white glue, or maybe a little thicker.)
- Divide the mixture into 3 in separate small bowls.
- Then add a drop each of food coloring. Stir. Red for the scarf, orange for nose, and brown for eyes and buttons. You may use other colors for the scarf and buttons too. Add more color for a darker decoration.
- Then place your icing into 3 separate piping bags with small tips (Wilton tip #3 or #4). Or use a ziplock plastic bag and cut off a small hole in one corner
- Carefully, make the eyes and buttons by making dots. Make the nose by piping a small line. And then for the scarf, pipe the icing over the ‘neck.” NOTE: You may practice piping first on the side of the sheet before making the design on the cookies.
- Allow to chill in the refrigerator for 10 minutes or until the icing is set.
- Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours to allow them to “mature”.
Enjoy!
Loving these easy snowman macarons?? Be sure to pin this to your favorite holiday recipes board so you can find it again when you’re ready to get your mac on!
Snowman Macarons
An easy and fast holiday cookie recipe, these Snowman Macarons are fun and seriously addictive, they're so yummy!
Ingredients
Cookies
- 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
- 1/2 - 1 tsp vanilla extract, optional (or another flavor or extract)
- 1/4 tsp salt
Filling
- 1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup corn syrup
- ½ tbsp coconut milk, like what you use in cereal is fine
- Red, orange, and brown food coloring.
- 1 tsp Vanilla flavoring (optional)
Instructions
- To make the cookies, start by weighing out all of your ingredients. Then 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.
- Prepare your piping bag with a medium round tip. Place your bag in a large cup to make it easier to add your batter. Slowly add in your batter.
- Then 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
- 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.
- To make the filling, place the chocolate chips, food coloring and heavy whipping cream in a microwave-safe bowl and melt in thirty-second increments until smooth and fully melted. Allow to sit for 10-15 minutes until the mixture is fairly thickened. You can also pop the ganache in the fridge to speed up the thickening process.
- Once the ganache is thick enough to stand, but still soft enough to pipe, place the filling 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.
- To make the icing decorations, mix your coconut milk, powdered sugar, and ⅓ cup of your corn syrup together. If it's still too dry, add more corn syrup. (The mixture should be the consistency of white glue, or maybe a little thicker.)
- Divide the mixture into 3 in separate small bowls.
- Then add a drop each of food coloring. Stir. Red for the scarf, orange for nose, and brown for eyes and buttons. You may use other colors for the scarf and buttons too. Add more color for a darker decoration.
- Then place your icing into 3 separate piping bags with small tips (Wilton tip #3 or #4). Or use a ziplock plastic bag and cut off a small hole in one corner
- Carefully, make the eyes and buttons by making dots. Make the nose by piping a small line. And then for the scarf, pipe the icing over the 'neck." NOTE: You may practice piping first on the side of the sheet before making the design on the cookies.
- Allow to chill in the refrigerator for 10 minutes or until the icing is set.
- Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours to allow them to “mature”.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 321Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 203mgCarbohydrates: 53gFiber: 2gSugar: 47gProtein: 5g
If you’re on the hunt for more Macaron Recipes, here are my favorites (this week).