These gingerbread macarons are so fun and festive! They're spiced macaron shells with a gingerbread buttercream filling, loaded with flavor! If you love gingerbread cookies and french macarons, this recipe is a must this holiday season!
For more macaron recipes, try my salted caramel macarons and strawberry macarons!
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This is recipe number 5 of my 12 days of cookies series! I hope that you all are enjoying these recipes so far because we are really LOVING the over abundance of cookies in my house right now. That's what I love about this time of year. You can let your hair down, relax a little, and eat cookies because that's the thing to do this season.
I made these delicious gingerbread macarons with this in mind. They're festive, light, and such fun and cozy little treats to enjoy. It's like gingerbread cookies and macarons got together and had a party. Besides, is there anything better than the chewy texture of a macaron filled with buttercream?! Probably not. You don't even need milk to eat them, although I'm sure it'd still be good.
If you want to surprise santa with something a little different this year, make these. He'll LOVE them!
Ingredients
Shockingly, you don't need too many ingredients to make homemade french macarons. Gather up these items:
- Egg Whites - you'll need about 4 eggs whites, save your egg yolks in the refrigerator to make something yummy later.
- Sugar - granulated sugar helps the beaten egg whites turn into meringue. You can also use caster sugar, which is superfine sugar that dissolves quickly into the meringue. If you can find this at your local grocery store, I recommend using it!
- Cream of Tartar - this is simply to stabilize the egg whites for a more stable meringue. You can also use 1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar (don't worry, it doesn't add a weird flavor).
- Spices - I added a couple spices to the macaron shell for extra flavor - ginger, cinnamon, and allspice.
- Almond Flour - when buying almond flour, be sure to get the superfine almond flour.
- Powdered Sugar - powdered sugar helps soak up the moisture in the macaron batter and also gives the macarons their "feet".
Gingerbread Buttercream Filling
- Salted Butter
- Powdered Sugar
- Honey - I used honey instead of molasses because it's a more pleasant taste but still gives you that traditional gingerbread flavor. Molasses is always a bit strong to me - but if you like it, feel free to use it instead.
- Gingerbread spice - I like to make my own spice blend to control the ingredients and really achieve that classic gingerbread flavor. You'll need ground cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and ground cloves.
- Heavy Cream
Tips
Now I know what you may be thinking "aren't macarons super hard to make?" - to answer your question vaguely, yes and no. I've found macarons to actually be pretty easy once you know what you're doing. I think that in my blog posts, I've made it pretty simple to understand and how to make sure that my macaron recipes are foolproof.
That being said, there's a couple things you need to know about making macarons.
- Firstly, when making your meringue, make sure you beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. This means that you should be able to turn the bowl over and the meringue doesn't fall out. In fact, it shouldn't really move at all. The meringue is the basis of the macaron so it's important that it's sturdy - be patient with this phase.
- Secondly, when folding in the almond flour and powdered sugar, fold until the batter forms long ribbons when you pull the spatula out of the bowl. This means that all of the ingredients are fully incorporated and ready to be piped onto the baking sheet.
- Thirdly, let the macarons dry! Don't skip this step! Depending on the humidity, it could take up to two hours for your macarons to form a "skin". You'll know when they're dry when they don't look so glossy. You can also run your finger over them (very gently), if the tops of the shells don't stick to your finger, they're ready to bake.
Here's a few more pointers that are really useful:
- You'll want to use a kitchen scale for this recipe! It's imperative that the ingredient measurements are precise.
- Check your oven temperature to make sure it's accurate. Unfortunately, not all home ovens have accurate temperature readings. You can do so by using an oven thermometer. If your oven temperature is too hot, the macarons will be burn - too cool and they won't rise properly. This is important for not only this recipe, but it can affect all others as well. It's worth a test!
- If you don't have a pastry bag, you can use a ziploc bag instead.
How to make Gingerbread Macarons
Prepare the Macaron Batter
- Begin by adding almond flour and powdered sugar to a food processor and blending for about 20-30 seconds. Then sift the mixture into a large bowl. Sift at least two times to remove any large granules. Then add cinnamon, allspice, and ground ginger. Mix together.
- Add egg whites to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and begin beating the egg white on low speed, gradually increasing to medium speed. As the egg whites begin to become foamy, add the cream of tartar and mix until fully incorporated.
- Slowly, begin adding the granulated sugar and begin to increase the speed to medium-high. Once all sugar is added, beat until stiff peaks form.
- Once stiff peaks have been reached, add vanilla extract (if you'd like to add brown gel food coloring, add now - this is optional, I didn't add any to mine but it does add a nice gingerbread man color).
- Add half of the almond flour mixture and begin to fold into the meringue to form the macaron batter. I recommend using a rubber spatula for best results. Once the almond flour is fully incorporated, add the remainder of the dry ingredients and continue folding together, also known as macaronage.
- Mix together until the batter has a lava-like consistency. When lifting your spatula, you should be able pull the spatula out of the batter and form long ribbons of batter that can draw a "figure 8" without breaking. This is how you know it's time to stop mixing and you're ready to move to the next step.
- Transfer batter to a large piping bag or a ziploc bag with a large round piping tip (I used 1a Piping Tip by Wilton). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a macaron silicone mat.
- Pipe each shell until it's about the size of a quarter and then tap the baking sheet to ensure that all of the air bubbles escape the macaron shells and any larger particles fall to the bottom. If any air bubbles come to the surface, pop them gently with a toothpick.
- Let the piped macarons "dry" on a flat surface in the prepared baking sheets for about one hour, until a skin forms. You will know that the skin is formed when if you touch the cookies gently, none of the batter sticks to your fingers.
Bake the Macarons
- Bake the macarons at 300 degrees F for 14-15 minutes. You will know that they are done when you can touch them and they do not move. Allow them to cool completely on the baking sheet (at least 40 minutes undisturbed).
Make the Gingerbread Filling
- While the macarons are resting, make the gingerbread buttercream filling. Add room temperature to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed. Then add powdered sugar, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, clove, nutmeg, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Mix together and add heavy cream one tablespoon at a time.
Assemble the Gingerbread Macarons
- Match macarons of a similar size together then use a spoon or piping bag to add the buttercream filling to the bottom macaron. Place a second macaron on top to make the cookie sandwich.
- Optional: if decorating the top of the macarons, I drizzled a little melted chocolate and garnished with a few festive christmas sprinkles.
Storing Macarons
You can store your homemade macarons in an airtight container with parchment paper separating them. To store in the fridge, put the macarons in an airtight container and then place a sheet of parchment paper on top. Then repeat.
They can last up to 7 weeks in the fridge. Storing in the freezer is just a little different. You will need to place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet in the freezer. Once the macarons freeze, you can store them in an airtight container.
Recipe FAQs
Macarons use almond flour instead of all purpose flour and are naturally gluten free.
Yes, macarons freeze exceptionally well. Store in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
The macaron shells do not typically have dairy, however, the fillings can tend to have dairy depending on the recipe.
More Cookie Recipes
- Chai Cookies
- Snowflake Cookies
- Butter Pecan Cookies
- Pink Peppermint Sugar Cookies
- Sprinkle Sugar Cookies
- Chewy M&M Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Whoopie Pies
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Let's stay connected on social media and continue to cook together! Also, if you decide to make this recipe, please leave a star rating on the recipe card and leave a comment below! Tag @BritneyBreaksBread on Instagram and hashtag #britneybreaksbread so I can see your creations! I hope that you love this recipe as much as we do!
Gingerbread Macarons
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- Baking Sheet
- Silicone Macaron Baking Sheet
- Piping Bags
Ingredients
Gingerbread Macarons
- 140 grams Egg Whites
- 120 grams Sugar
- 140 grams Almond Flour
- 240 gramas Powdered Sugar
- 1 tsp Ground Ginger
- ½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Allspice
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- ½ tsp Cream of Tartar
Gingerbread Buttercream Filling
- ¾ cup Butter
- 3 ½ cups Powdered Sugar
- 2 tbsps Honey
- 2 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- ½ tsp Allspice
- ¼ tsp Ground Cloves
- 2 tbsps Heavy Cream
Directions
- Begin by adding almond flour and powdered sugar to a food processor and blending for about 20-30 seconds. Then sift the mixture into a large bowl. Sift at least two times to remove any large granules. Then add ginger, cinnamon, and allspice. Mix together.
- Add egg whites to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and begin beating the egg white on low speed, gradually increasing to medium speed. As the egg whites begin to become foamy, add the cream of tartar and mix until fully incorporated.
- Slowly, begin adding the granulated sugar and begin to increase the speed to medium-high. Once all sugar is added, beat until stiff peaks form. Once stiff peaks have been reached, add vanilla extract (if you'd like to add brown gel food coloring, add now - this is optional, I didn't add any to mine but it does add a nice gingerbread man color).
- Add half of the almond flour mixture and begin to fold into the meringue to form the macaron batter. I recommend using a rubber spatula for best results. Once the almond flour is fully incorporated, add the remainder of the dry ingredients and continue folding together.
- Fold together until the batter has a lava-like consistency. When lifting your spatula, you should be able pull the spatula out of the batter and form long ribbons of batter that can draw a "figure 8" without breaking. This is how you know it's time to stop mixing and you're ready to move to the next step.
- Transfer batter to a large piping bag or a ziploc bag with a large round piping tip (I used 1a Piping Tip by Wilton). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a macaron silicone mat.
- Pipe each shell until it's about the size of a quarter and then tap the baking sheet to ensure that all of the air bubbles escape the macaron shells and any larger particles fall to the bottom. If any air bubbles come to the surface, pop them gently with a toothpick.
- Let the piped macarons "dry" on a flat surface in the prepared baking sheets for about one hour, until a skin forms. You will know that the skin is formed when if you touch the cookies gently, none of the batter sticks to your fingers.
- Bake the macarons at 300 degrees F for 14-15 minutes. You will know that they are done when you can touch them and they do not move. Allow them to cool completely on the baking sheet (at least 40 minutes undisturbed).
- While the macarons are resting, make the gingerbread buttercream filling. Add room temperature to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed. Then add powdered sugar, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, clove, nutmeg, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Mix together and add heavy cream one tablespoon at a time.
- Match macarons of a similar size together then use a spoon or piping bag to add the buttercream filling to the bottom macaron. Place a second macaron on top to make the cookie sandwich.
- Optional: if decorating the top of the macarons, I drizzled a little melted chocolate and garnished with a few festive christmas sprinkles.
Notes
- You'll want to use a kitchen scale for this recipe! It's imperative that the ingredient measurements are precise.
- Check your oven temperature to make sure it's accurate. Unfortunately, not all home ovens have accurate temperature readings. You can do so by using an oven thermometer. If your oven temperature is too hot, the macarons will be burn - too cool and they won't rise properly. This is important for not only this recipe, but it can affect all others as well. It's worth a test!
- If you don't have a pastry bag, you can use a ziploc bag instead.
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