Gingerbread Macarons

Gingerbread Macarons have a classic french macaron shell flavored with ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves, filled with molasses buttercream, and drizzled with a sweet icing.

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 15

Resting Time 1

Total Time 1 35

Servings macarons

Calories 102kcal

Author Ellie Haley

Ingredients

For Gingerbread Macaron Shells:

1 ⅔ cup (200 grams) powdered sugar
1 cup (110 grams) almond flour
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon cocoa powder or brown food coloring as needed
3 large (100 grams) egg whites
¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar

For Molasses Buttercream:

4 tablespoons (56 grams) unsalted butter softened
1 cup (113 grams) powdered sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
heavy cream as needed

For Vanilla Icing:

½ cup (56 grams) powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
heavy cream or milk as needed

Instructions

For Macarons:

Line a cookie sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
In a food processor add the powdered sugar, almond flour, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and cocoa powder and pulse until fully combined and rid of lumps. Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. If you don’t have a food processor you can just sift the ingredients together.
In a medium bowl, prepare the french meringue. Beat the egg whites on low speed until they get frothy. Increase the speed and slowly add the sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form.
Add the french meringue into the dry ingredients and begin to gently fold with a silicone spatula. You will know the batter is ready when the ingredients are fully combined and not streaky. You should be able to hold the spatula above the bowl and draw a figure 8 smoothly without the batter breaking off. Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a piping tip. Pipe 1-inch disks onto the prepared cookie sheet.
Firmly tap the cookie sheet onto the counter 3 or 4 times to bring any air bubbles to the surface. Use a toothpick to pop any remaining air bubbles.
Let the macarons rest for an hour. There needs to be a dry layer on the top. You should be able to run your finger over the top without any transferring to your finger.
Preheat the oven to 280 degrees (F).
Place the gingerbread macarons on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 5 minutes, rotate the cookie sheet, bake for another 5 minutes, and rotate the cookie sheet again, bake for 5 minutes. 15 minutes in total.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. They should peel off the mat easily.
When the macarons are cooled peel them off of the mat and match each shell to another that is the same size.

For Molasses Buttercream:

In a medium bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter until it is very soft and creamy.
Add half of the powdered sugar. Beat until fully combined.
Add the rest of the powdered sugar and the molasses. Beat on medium speed for 5-6 minutes.
If the buttercream is too thick add the heavy cream or milk, 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.

For Vanilla Icing:

In a small bowl whisk together the powdered sugar and vanilla. Slowly add the milk until you reach the desired consistency.

For Assembly:

Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a piping tip.
Pipe your desired amount of icing onto the inside of one macaron shell.
Sandwich another macaron shell on top and drizzle with your desired amount of icing.

Notes

If possible, make your macarons on a less humid day. You will need to rest the macarons for longer and they might not turn out as well on a humid day.
Don’t over mix the batter. You only need to macaronage until you can make a figure 8 with the batter. If you over mix the red velvet macaron recipe will spread too much.
Wipe the bowl down with vinegar before adding the egg whites to whip. Even a speck of leftover dish soap or fat (egg yolk, butter, etc.) will inhibit the egg whites from whipping up properly.
Let the macarons rest before eating. Macarons are best when they have matured for 12 or so hours. So after you fill the macarons, let them rest overnight for the best flavor.
The provided nutrition information is an estimate. The calorie accuracy is not guaranteed.

Nutrition