Description
These Santa Claus Macarons are festive, colorful French-style cookies featuring delicate almond meringue shells filled with a sugar cookie-inspired buttercream and decorated with royal icing to resemble Santa’s iconic belt. Perfect for holiday celebrations, these macarons combine the light, airy texture of classic macarons with seasonal flavors and festive design.
Ingredients
Scale
Macaron Shells
- 100 grams Domino® Golden Sugar
- 4 grams egg white powder (optional, see notes)
- 100 grams egg whites
- 105 grams almond flour
- 105 grams Domino® Powdered Sugar
- 1 tbsp red gel food coloring (optional for color)
Royal Icing
- 1 1/2 cups (187 grams) Domino® Powdered Sugar
- 1 tbsp meringue powder
- 4 tbsp water
- 2 drops black gel food coloring
- 1 drop yellow gel food coloring
Sugar Cookie Buttercream
- 1/2 cup (63 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) Domino® Golden Sugar
- 1 1/4 cup (156 grams) Domino® Powdered Sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp almond extract
- 1/2 tbsp milk or heavy cream
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) desiccated coconut (shredded)
Instructions
- Prepare Macaron Shell Ingredients: Gather and measure all ingredients. Sift powdered sugar and almond flour together; set aside. Preheat oven to 300ºF (or 270ºF if convection) for 60–90 minutes to stabilize temperature.
- Make Sugar-Egg White Mixture: Place granulated sugar and optionally egg white powder in a bowl over barely simmering water. Whisk to dissolve sugar completely without overheating or letting the bowl touch the water. Add egg whites and continue whisking until sugar is fully melted.
- Whip Meringue: Transfer mixture to stand mixer bowl. Whip on low for 30 seconds, then medium for 2 minutes, then medium-high until stiff, glossy peaks form (about 13–15 minutes, but watch consistency). Avoid overwhipping to prevent hollow macarons.
- Fold Dry Ingredients into Meringue: Add sifted powdered sugar and almond flour to meringue along with red gel food coloring if using. Fold gently with a spatula in a letter J motion, pressing against sides to deflate slightly, until batter is thick, glossy, and flows slowly in figure-8 shapes without breaking.
- Pipe Macaron Shells: Transfer batter to piping bag fitted with a 1/4” round tip. Pipe 1 1/2-inch circles onto parchment or silicone-lined baking sheets with macaron template. Tap trays against counter to release air bubbles; pop surface bubbles with a toothpick.
- Rest Shells: Let shells rest at room temperature until a firm, dry skin forms on top (not soft to touch). This step is critical to prevent cracking due to the added coloring.
- Bake Macaron Shells: Bake one tray at a time for 15–20 minutes at 300ºF (or 270ºF convection). Macarons should develop feet and not feel jiggly or soft on top. Remove and cool completely.
- Make Royal Icing: Mix powdered sugar and meringue powder on low. Slowly add water while mixing; then whip on medium-high until fluffy and glossy, with a flowy but thick consistency. Divide into two bowls and color one black and the other yellow with gel food coloring.
- Decorate Shells: Pipe black royal icing horizontally to create Santa’s belt on half the shells. Let dry briefly (refrigerate to speed drying). Then pipe yellow buckle in middle of belt on these shells. Keep icing covered to prevent crusting.
- Prepare Sugar Cookie Buttercream: Heat treat flour by baking at 350ºF for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add cooled flour, vanilla, almond extract, and mix. Add milk/heavy cream as needed for consistency; add powdered sugar if too thin.
- Assemble Macarons: Pipe buttercream onto undecorated shells. Sandwich with decorated shells. Roll macaron edges in shredded coconut to finish.
- Storage: Store macarons in fridge up to 5 days or freeze for 1–2 months.
Notes
- Egg white powder is optional and recommended only in humid climates or humidity above 30%. It is not mandatory in drier environments.
- Oven temperatures vary; adjust and test baking times between 13 to 30 minutes based on your oven.
- Resting the shells until dry to the touch is crucial to prevent cracking during baking, especially with heavy food coloring.
- Heat treating flour ensures it is safe to consume in uncooked buttercream.
- Keep royal icing covered to prevent drying out and forming a crust while decorating.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 macaron
- Calories: 110
- Sugar: 15g
- Sodium: 20mg
- Fat: 5g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1.5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 16g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 15mg
