These gingerbread macarons are adorable, delicious, and sure to brighten anyone’s day!!
Making These Gingerbread Macarons with the French Method
There are a few different ways macarons are made. French macarons are considered easier to make while the Italian and Swiss methods use a few more steps but are thought of as more structurally sound.
French macarons also require less equipment. While I love Italian macarons, I wanted to keep things simple and stick with the French method for this recipe.
Equipment You’ll Need to Make These Gingerbread Macarons
I’ve made quite a few batches of macarons, and they definitely turn out best when the ingredients are weighed, and the macarons are baked on a silpat mat.
These are the tools I like to use when I make these French gingerbread macarons:
- Kitchen scale
- Stand Mixer or Electric Mixer
- Large piping bag
- Round piping tip
- Large, flat baking sheets
- Silpat Mats (or parchment paper)
Making Gingerbread Macarons – Step by Step Process
While the recipe below is quite detailed, I find visual cues to be super helpful!
Below are some photos and a video tutorial of the process to help guide you through this recipe.
Step #1: Prep Your Ingredients and Equipment
After weighing the ingredients, wipe down your mixing bowl and whisk the attachment with a bit of vinegar or lemon juice.
This removes any residual grease and helps the meringue whip up better!
Step #2: Make the French Meringue
Next, it’s time to make the French meringue!
Whisk the room-temperature egg whites on a medium-low speed until the surface is covered in small bubbles.
Add in a pinch of cream of tartar and continue to mix until the whisk begins to leave tracks.
Gradually add the granulated sugar and mix on a medium speed for 30 seconds. The mixture should look opaque at this point.
Increase the mixing speed to a medium-high speed. Mix until stiff peaks form like in the photo below. Keep a close eye on your mixer to avoid over-mixing the meringue.
Step #3: Sift and Fold the Dry Ingredients into the Meringue
Sift the superfine almond flour and powdered sugar into the meringue and add in a generous squirt of warm brown gel food coloring.
Fold the ingredients together with a rubber spatula.
Use a circular motion that sweeps around the edge of the bowl and then pull through the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is getting mixed together.
Fold until a thick ribbon of batter runs off the spatula when it is lifted.
You should be able to draw a few figure 8s with the batter running off your spatula in a continuous stream once it is the right consistency.
If the stream of batter breaks before you’re able to do this, you may need to stir it a bit more.
Step #4: Pipe the Macaron Shells
Fill a large piping bag with the macaron batter and pipe 1 1/4-inch rounds onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart.
Firmly bang or drop your pans on the counter a few times to bring any trapped air bubbles to the surface and pop them with a toothpick. This can help you avoid hollow or cracked shells.
Step #5: Rest the Piped Macarons
Next, let the macarons rest for 30 minutes, or until they form a skin.
They should be dry to the touch and look matte at this stage. While the shells rest, preheat the oven.
Step #6: Bake the Macaron Shells
Bake one tray of macarons at a time and place the tray on the middle rack of your oven. Bake time can vary based on the size of macarons you pipe and your oven, so adjust the bake time as needed.
Let the macarons cool fully on the pan then gently remove them from the silpat mat.
Step #7: Assemble These Gingerbread Macarons
While the macaron shells bake and cool, make the gingerbread buttercream.
The final step is to pair up the macaron shells and pipe a small dab of gingerbread buttercream on one macaron shell. Gently top it with a second shell.
If desired, decorate the macarons with anedible markerand leftover frosting.
Place the finished macarons in the fridge to mature overnight and bring them to room temperature the next day then enjoy!
Troubleshooting These Gingerbread Macarons
While I’d love to think everyone’s first batch of these gingerbread macarons will turn out perfectly, my own experience has taught me that’s not how things usually go.
Macarons are incredibly temperamental, and it might take a few tries to get them just right. If you run into any issues, check out my macaron troubleshooting guide!
Choosing the Right Filling for Your Gingerbread Macarons
While we put tons of energy into the shell of a macaron, almost all the flavor in a macaron comes from its filling.
The shell gives the macarons an incredible texture, but the filling is what determines its flavor. You can use just about any type of frosting or ganache to fill these gingerbread macarons.
If you don’t want your macarons to be super sweet, I recommend using a quarter batch of my hybrid buttercream or Swiss meringue frosting as your frosting base.
Recipe Yield
This recipe makes about 36 macaron shells, which can be used to make 18 macarons. You can double or triple this recipe to make more macarons if needed.
The yield and bake time will also vary based on the size of the macarons you pipe. I pipe my shells with a diameter of about 3 1/4 inches.
Tips for Making the Best Gingerbread Macarons
- Wipe your mixing bowl and whisk with lemon juice or vinegar to remove any traces of grease before making your meringue. It will help your egg whites whip up better!
- Separate your own eggs and age them if possible. Do not use egg whites from a carton.
- Measure your ingredients in grams with a kitchen scale! You need to be precise with this recipe and the macarons will turn out best if the ingredients are weighed.
- Carefully read through the directions before making these macarons. There are quite a few steps and it’s good to know your game plan before you start!
- Use a macaron mat or print out a template to help you pipe consistently sized macarons.
- FIRMLY bang/drop your pans on your counter after piping your macarons. This helps release any air bubbles that may be trapped and prevent cracked or hollow shells.
- Rest the macaron shells for 30 minutes before they’re baked to let them develop a skin.
- Pipe a small number of macarons on a few sheets to test your oven for hot spots and to see if it bakes accurately. This way you won’t waste a whole tray of macs if your oven runs hot or cold.
- Let yourfilled macarons mature! It softens them (in a good way) and allows the flavors to develop.
- If your first batch of macarons doesn’t turn out, please check out my macaron troubleshooting guide.
Making These Gingerbread Macarons in Advance & Storage Tips
- You need to let French macarons mature for a few hours or overnight in the fridge before eating them. This gives them their best texture and taste.
- Store filled macarons at room temperature for up to 2 days in an airtight container.
- Refrigerate macarons for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
- Freeze filled macarons for up to a month in an airtight container.
- Freeze unfilled macaron shells for up to a month in an airtight container.
- Make the buttercreamahead of time too or save any leftover frosting! Store it in an airtight container in thefridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a month.
Let Me Know What You Think!
If you try this recipe for gingerbread macarons, I’d love to hear what you think of it! Please leave a rating and let me know your thoughts by sharing a comment.
Don’t forget to tag me @chelsweets and use #chelsweets on social media so that I can see your amazing creations!
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Yield: 18 macarons
Learn how to make these adorable gingerbread macarons! They're filled with homemade spiced buttercream and are absolutely delicious!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time18 minutes
Additional Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 8 minutes
Ingredients
French Macaron Recipe
- 110g aged egg whites (about 3.5 large egg whites)
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar - optional
- 110g granulated sugar (1/2 cup + 2 tsp)
- warm brown gel food coloring
- 140g superfine almond flour - blanched (1 1/2 cups)
- 125g powdered sugar (1 cup)
Gingerbread Buttercream Frosting
- 113g unsalted butter, room temperature (1/2 cup)
- 14g molasses (2 tsp)
- 4g ground cinnamon (2 tsp)
- 2g vanilla extract (1/2 tsp)
- 2g fine salt (1/4 tsp)
- 1g ground ginger (1/2 tsp)
- 1g ground nutmeg (1/2 tsp)
- 1g salt (1/8 tsp)
- 200g powdered sugar (1 2/3 cups)
- 30g heavy cream (2 Tbsp)
Equipment
Instructions
French Macaron Recipe
- Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon mats. Set aside.
- Pour 110g of aged egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk and mix on medium speed until the surface of the egg whites is covered in small bubbles. Add 1/4 tsp cream of tartar and continue to mix until it reaches the soft peak stage and leaves visible tracks.
- Gradually mix 110g of granulated sugar into the egg whites over a few minutes while mixing on a medium-low speed. Increase the mixing speed to a medium-high speed (6 on a KitchenAid). Keep mixing until stiff, glossy peaks form.
- Sift 140g of superfine almond flour and 125g of powdered sugar into the meringue. Use a rubber spatula to break up any big clumps and press them through the sieve.
- Add in a generous squirt of brown gel food coloring to give the shells a gingerbread color.
- Fold the ingredients together with a rubber spatula. Use a circular motion that sweeps around the edge of the bowl and then pulls through the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is getting mixed together. Don't forget to scrape off the inside of the spatula intermittently. Sometimes meringue can get stuck there and not get mixed in properly.
- Fold the batter until a thick ribbon of batter runs off the spatula when it's lifted. You should be able to draw a couple of figure 8s with the batter running off your spatula in a continuous stream when it's the right consistency. If the stream of batter breaks before you're able to do this, you may need to stir it a bit more.
- Pour the batter into a large piping bag fit with a medium-sized round piping tip and pipe 1 3/4-inch rounds on the prepared baking sheets. Space them about 1 inch apart.
- Bang the pans firmly on the counter a few times to release air bubbles, then pop any remaining air bubbles that come to the surface with a toothpick.
- Let the macarons rest for 30 minutes, or until they develop a skin. The macarons should look matte once the skin has formed. While the macarons rest, preheat the oven to 320 F / 160 C.
- Bake one tray of macarons at a time on the middle rack of your oven for18-21 minutes and rotate the pan halfway through to help the macarons bake evenly. Bake time can vary based on the size of your shells, so if you pipe them smaller than 1 3/4-inch, they may be done a few minutes earlier.
- Remove the macaron shells from the oven and let them cool fully on the pan (about 30 minutes), then gently peel them off the silpat mat. If they're properly baked, they should peel off the mat cleanly and have a shiny bottom.
Gingerbread Buttercream Frosting
- Beat 113g of room-temperature butter on a medium speed for a minute with a whisk attachment until it becomes lighter in color and smooth.
- Mix in 14g molasses (2 tsp), 4g cinnamon (2 tsp), 2g vanilla (1/2 tsp), 1g salt (1/2 tsp), 1g ginger (1/2 tsp), and 1g nutmeg (1/2 tsp).
- Slowly mix in 200g of powdered sugar and 30g of heavy cream on a low speed.
- Continue to mix on low for a couple of minutes until the ingredients are fully incorporated and the desired consistency is reached.
- If the frosting seems too thick, add in additional heavy cream or milk (1 tsp at a time). If the frosting is too thin, add in more powdered sugar (1 Tbsp at a time).
- Place in a piping bag fit with a round tip (or snip the end to have an opening that's about 1 cm wide) and set aside.
Assembling These Gingerbread Macarons
- Pair up the macaron shells, then pipe a dollop of gingerbread buttercream onto the bottom of one macaron shell. Gently press a second shell on top of the frosting to create a sandwich.
- If desired, decorate the macarons with anedible markerand leftover frosting or royal icing.
- Place the finished macarons in an airtight container and chill in the fridge overnight, then let them warm to room temperature and enjoy!
Notes
Recipe Yield
This recipe makes about 36 macaron shells which can be used to make 18 macarons. You can double or triple this recipe to make more macarons if needed.
The yield and bake time can vary based on how large you pipe your shells. I piped these shells with a diameter of about 1 and 3/4 inches, so about the size of a standard macaron.
Tips for Making the Best Gingerbread Macarons
- Measure your ingredients in grams with a kitchen scale! You really need to be precise with this recipe. Your macarons will turn out best if the ingredients are weighed.
- Separate your own eggs and age them if possible! Do not use egg whites from a carton.
- Carefully read through the directions before making these macarons. There are quite a few steps and it's good to know your game plan before you start!
- Use a macaron mat or print out a template to help you pipe consistently sized macarons.
- FIRMLY bang your pans on your counter after piping your macarons. This helps release any air bubbles that may be trapped and prevent cracked or hollow shells.
- Rest the macarons for 30 minutes before they're baked to allow them to develop a skin.
- Pipe a small number of macarons on a mat to test your oven for hot spots and see if it bakes accurately. This way you won't waste a whole tray of macs if your oven runs hot or cold.
- Let yourmacarons mature in the fridge overnight! Letting them rest overnight while they are filled softens them (in a good way) and allows the flavors to develop.
Making These Gingerbread Macarons in Advance & Storage Tips
- French macarons need to mature overnight (or ideally 24 hours) in the fridge before being eaten! They taste best 24 hours after being made.
- Macarons can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days in an airtight container.
- Macarons can be refrigerated for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
- Filled macarons can be frozen for up to a month, but the length can vary based on the filling.
- Unfilled macaron shells can be frozen for up to a month in an airtight container.
- Yourfillingcan be made ahead of time too or save any leftover filling! It can be stored in an airtight container in thefridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to a month.
Nutrition Information
Yield
18Serving Size
1
Amount Per ServingCalories 187Total Fat 9gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 15mgSodium 77mgCarbohydrates 26gFiber 1gSugar 25gProtein 2g
