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Snowman Macarons

These snowman macarons are filled with my classic vanilla buttercream and are decorated with royal icing and edible luster dust. They are so cute, delicious and perfect for the holiday season!
Prep Time40 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Resting time20 minutes
Total Time1 hour 15 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: French
Keyword: macarons, snowman macarons
Servings: 18 macarons
Calories: 130kcal
Author: The Tipsy Macaron

Equipment

  • Kitchen scale
  • Strainer
  • Whisk
  • Stand mixer
  • Two spatulas
  • One 16 inch pastry bag
  • Four 8 inch pastry bags
  • Round piping tip (I used the Ateco 10)
  • Two silicone mats
  • Two half sheet pans
  • Oven thermometer
  • Three small glass bowls (to mix royal icing)
  • Food coloring markers (optional)

Ingredients

  • 90 grams powdered sugar
  • 80 grams almond flour
  • 70 grams egg whites (room temperature)
  • 70 grams granulated sugar
  • 2 grams egg white powder (optional)
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 4 drops white gel food coloring

Vanilla buttercream

  • ¼ cup salted butter (½ stick)
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp heavy whipping cream
  • tsp vanilla extract

Royal icing

  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • ½ tsp meringue powder
  • ½ tsp water (room temperature)
  • 2 drops black gel food coloring
  • 1 drop teal gel food coloring
  • 1 drop orange gel food coloring
  • teal luster dust
  • ¼ tsp vodka

Instructions

Prepare dry ingredients

  • Sift powdered sugar and almond flour using a whisk to break down any clumps. Set aside.
  • Line sheet pans with silicone mats and place the templates under the mats.
  • Insert the piping tip into the 16 inch pastry bag.

Make the meringue

  • Whisk the egg whites on medium speed (speed 4) until you see small bubbles (this can take as little as 15 seconds sometimes).
  • Slowly add 3 tbsp of granulated sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, waiting about 10 seconds between each tbsp.
  • Whisk until you start to see tracks in the meringue.
  • Increase speed to 6 and continue slowly adding the remainder of the granulated sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, until you’ve added all the sugar.
  • Once you have soft peaks, stop the mixer, scrape the sides and add the vanilla extract and the white gel food coloring.
  • Whisk for about 5 more minutes, or until you have stiff peaks.

Combine ingredients

  • Add in the powdered sugar and almond flour mixture in three parts, 1/3 at a time, folding each part until fully combined.
  • Once the meringue and dry ingredients are fully combined, stop folding.
  • Now you need to deflate some of the air in the batter by taking the spatula and smearing the batter on the sides of the bowl two or three times, and then folding once or twice.
  • Repeat the process of smearing some of the batter on the side of the bowl and folding until the batter looks smooth and glossy and runs down the spatula slowly in ribbons.
  • You can test the consistency by lifting the spatula and letting the batter run down. If it falls in ribbons and sinks back into itself within 30 seconds, the batter is ready.
  • Transfer the batter to the 16 inch pastry bag.

Pipe the macarons

  • Take the pastry bag and, holding the bag at a 90° angle, pipe the body of the snowman (the large round shape) first. Once the bodies are all piped, pipe the heads (the smaller round shape). This prevents the two circles from mixing together and losing their shape.
  • Pop any air bubbles with a scribe or a toothpick. Don't tap the tray against the counter because the macarons might spread out and lose their shape.
  • Let the macarons rest until they form a skin and are no longer sticky.
  • While the macarons are resting, preheat the oven to 300°F.
  • Bake the macarons for 14-15 minutes.
  • Macarons are ready when they no longer shift if you touch the tops.
  • Let the macaron shells cool for at least 30 minutes before decorating.

Make the royal icing

  • In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, meringue powder, and a few drops of water and stir with a spoon.
  • Continue stirring adding a few more drops of water if necessary.
  • Check the consistency by lifting the spoon and counting how many seconds it takes for the icing to sink back into itself. If it takes around 20 seconds, it's ready.
  • Separate the icing into 3 parts, (two of the bowls should have an equal amount of icing and the third should have a little bit more icing). Add 1 drop of teal to the bowl with more icing, 2 drops of black to one of the other bowls, and 1 drop of orange to the last bowl.
  • Transfer the royal icing to separate 8 inch piping bags, and cut a very small opening at the tip of each one.

Decorate the macarons

  • If using the food coloring markers, mark the macarons where you'll be placing the royal icing for the face and the buttons.
  • Now take the black royal icing and decorate the eyes, mouth, and buttons.
  • Take the orange royal icing and pipe the nose.
  • Now take the teal royal icing and pipe the scarf around the neck only of each snowman. After a few minutes, pipe the longer part of the scarf, and once that starts to set, pipe the shorter part of the scarf. You want to let each part of the scarf start to set before piping the rest so each part doesn't lose its shape.
  • Let the royal icing dry for about an hour before adding the luster dust.
  • Once the royal icing has dried, in a small bowl add a little bit of the luster dust with 1/4 tsp of vodka and mix. Take a very small brush, dip it into the luster dust/vodka mix and paint all the scarves. You may need to go over the scarves a second time so that the sparkles show up more.

Vanilla buttercream

  • In a medium bowl, using the stand mixer, whisk the butter until smooth.
  • Add half of the powdered sugar and whisk until fully combined.
  • Add the remaining powdered sugar and whisk until combined.
  • Add the heavy cream and the vanilla extract and mix until creamy and smooth.

Assemble the macarons

  • Fill an 8 inch pastry bag with the buttercream and cut a ¼ inch opening at the tip of the bag.
  • Pipe the buttercream in the center of the snowman head, then the center of the body.
  • Top the filled macaron shells with the decorated shells and refrigerate for at least 24 hours so that the macarons can mature.
  • When ready to eat, remove the macarons from the refrigerator at least 20-30 minutes before and let come to room temperature before eating.

Notes

All ovens are different so temperature and baking times should only be used as a guide
Mixing bowl should be clean and grease free
Weigh all ingredients in grams for accuracy
Use room temperature egg whites (to bring eggs to room temperature quickly, put them in a bowl filled with hot water for about 5 minutes)
Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar together because almond flour is moist and doesn't sift well alone
Mix the egg white powder and the granulated sugar before adding to the egg whites to fully dissolve the egg white powder
Whisk the meringue until you have stiff peaks
Let macarons dry before baking so they don't crack
*Calories reflected are for macaron shells only

Nutrition

Serving: 1 macaron | Calories: 130kcal