Description
Santa Claus Macarons are festive, delicate French cookies with bright red shells filled with a sugar cookie buttercream and decorated with royal icing to resemble Santa’s belt and buckle. These macarons feature a crisp exterior, chewy interior, and a deliciously creamy coconut buttercream, making them perfect holiday treats that combine classic macaron technique with fun seasonal decoration.
Ingredients
Scale
Macaron Shells
- 100 grams Domino® Golden Sugar
- 4 grams egg white powder (optional)
- 100 grams egg whites
- 105 grams almond flour
- 105 grams Domino® Powdered Sugar
- Red gel food coloring, about 1 tbsp
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 Ingredients and Workspace: Gather all ingredients and equipment. Fit a large piping bag with a 1/4” round tip. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats, ideally with a macaron template.
- Sift Dry Ingredients: Sift together the powdered sugar and almond flour. Set aside.
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 300ºF for about 60 to 90 minutes to stabilize temperature. For convection ovens, use 270ºF. Experiment for best results.
- Melt Sugar with Egg Whites: Place a bowl over a pan with barely simmering water. Add granulated sugar and optional egg white powder, whisking to prevent clumping. Add egg whites and whisk until sugar is fully dissolved, over the warm bath but without touching the water, then remove.
- Whip Meringue: Transfer mixture to a stand mixer bowl. Start whipping on low for 30 seconds, then medium low for 2 minutes, then medium-high until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 13-15 minutes. Avoid over-whipping to prevent hollow macarons.
- Mix Dry Ingredients into Meringue: Pour sifted powdered sugar and almond flour into the meringue. Add about 1 tbsp red gel food coloring if desired. Fold gently using a spatula in letter J motions until batter becomes glossy with thick, flowing consistency that forms figure eights when dripped off spatula, taking 10-15 seconds to incorporate back.
- Pipe Macarons: Transfer batter to piping bag and seal top. Pipe round circles onto lined trays over template, applying firm but gentle pressure for 3-5 seconds, then lift and twist to finish. Tap trays on counter to release air bubbles and pop any surface bubbles with toothpick.
- Rest Macaron Shells: Let piped shells rest at room temperature until a firm skin forms on top, dry to touch and not soft. This is crucial due to large food coloring addition; resting prevents cracking during baking.
- Bake Macarons: Bake one tray at a time for 15-20 minutes. Baking times may vary (13-30 minutes) depending on oven and temperature. Fully baked macarons will have formed feet, deeper color, and top will not feel soft or jiggly. Let cool before decorating.
- Make Royal Icing: Place powdered sugar and meringue powder in mixer bowl. Gradually add water while mixing on low, then raise speed to medium-high and whip till glossy and fluffy with thick, flowy consistency. Adjust thickness by adding water or powdered sugar.
- Color Royal Icing and Prepare Piping Bags: Divide icing into two bowls; tint one black using 2 drops black gel color and the other yellow using 1 drop yellow gel color. Transfer black icing to piping bag fitted with size 3 tip, and yellow icing to size 2 tip. Keep covered to prevent drying.
- Decorate Shells: Pipe a black line across center of half the shells to form Santa’s belt. Allow to dry a few minutes (refrigerate to expedite). Then pipe a yellow square buckle over the black belt line.
- Prepare Sugar Cookie Buttercream: Heat treat flour by baking on parchment-lined tray at 350ºF for 5 minutes, stirring halfway, then cool. Cream butter and sugars for 4-5 minutes until smooth. Add heat-treated flour, vanilla, almond extracts and mix on low to combine. Add milk or cream if needed for consistency. Adjust sweetness by adding more powdered sugar if frosting is too runny.
- Fill Macarons and Assemble: Fill piping bag with buttercream and pipe onto undecorated bottom shells. Sandwich with decorated top shells. Roll sides of assembled macarons in shredded coconut for a festive finish.
- Storage: Freeze macarons up to 1-2 months for best freshness, or refrigerate up to 5 days.
Notes
- Egg white powder is optional and recommended only in humid climates above 30% humidity to improve meringue stability.
- Resting the piped shells before baking is critical to prevent cracking due to high food coloring content.
- Oven temperatures and baking times vary widely; experiment to find optimal settings for your oven.
- Heat treating flour in the buttercream ensures it is safe to eat raw.
- Keep royal icing covered while working to prevent crust formation.
- Use parchment or silicone mats with macaron templates for uniform size and shape.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 macaron
- Calories: 110
- Sugar: 12g
- Sodium: 20mg
- Fat: 5g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1.5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 15g
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 20mg
