Santa Claus Macarons
These Santa Claus Macarons are the cutest Christmas cookies! Red almond shells decorated with Santa’s belt and filled with sugar cookie buttercream perfect for gifting, snacking, and holiday dessert trays.
Equipment
- Stand or hand mixer
- Sifter or fine mesh sieve
- Oven thermometer
- Piping bags and small round tips
- Silicone mats or parchment
- Mixing bowls and spatulas
Ingredients
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 4 g egg white powder (optional)
- 100 g egg whites
- 105 g almond flour
- 105 g powdered sugar
- red gel food coloring
- 1½ cups powdered sugar (for royal icing)
- 1 tbsp meringue powder
- 4 tbsp water
- black and yellow gel food coloring
- ½ cup all-purpose flour (heat-treated)
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ¼ cup brown sugar or golden sugar
- 1¼ cups powdered sugar (for buttercream)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ⅛ tsp almond extract
- ½ tbsp milk or cream
- ¼ cup shredded coconut
Instructions
- Whisk granulated sugar and egg white powder in a heatproof bowl. Add egg whites and gently heat over a double boiler, whisking constantly until the sugar dissolves.
- Transfer mixture to a mixer and whip until stiff, glossy peaks form. Sift almond flour and powdered sugar together, then fold into the meringue with red gel coloring. Batter should ribbon off the spatula.
- Pipe 1-inch circles onto parchment or a silicone mat. Rest macarons at room temp until dry to the touch, up to 2 hours for deep red shells.
- Bake at 300°F for 15–20 minutes, one tray at a time. Let cool completely before decorating or filling.
- To make royal icing, beat powdered sugar, meringue powder, and water until thick and glossy. Divide and tint one black and one yellow.
- Use piping bags to draw a black belt across the top of half the shells. Add a yellow square buckle in the center. Let dry completely.
- Heat-treat flour by baking it at 350°F for 5 minutes. Let cool fully.
- Beat butter and sugars until fluffy. Add flour, vanilla, and almond extract. Adjust texture with milk or powdered sugar if needed.
- Pipe buttercream onto the undecorated shell. Sandwich with a decorated shell. Roll sides in shredded coconut for a snowy effect.
Notes
• Skip egg white powder if you're in a dry climate
• Use gel coloring to avoid changing the batter consistency
• Macaron shells can be frozen ahead for up to a week
• Royal icing decorations harden as they dry—store them carefully
• Use gel coloring to avoid changing the batter consistency
• Macaron shells can be frozen ahead for up to a week
• Royal icing decorations harden as they dry—store them carefully