Description
These festive Santa Claus Macarons combine delicate almond meringue shells with a creamy sugar cookie buttercream filling and are beautifully decorated with royal icing to resemble Santa’s iconic belt and buckle. Perfect for holiday celebrations, they offer a delightful balance of crisp texture, rich flavors, and eye-catching presentation.
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
- 1 tbsp meringue powder
- 4 tbsp water
- 2 drops black gel food coloring
- 1 drop yellow gel food coloring
Filling – Sugar Cookie Buttercream
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (63 grams)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (113 grams)
- 1/4 cup Domino® Golden Sugar (50 grams)
- 1 1/4 cup Domino® Powdered Sugar (156 grams)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp almond extract
- 1/2 tbsp milk or heavy cream
- 1/4 cup desiccated coconut (shredded) (50 grams)
Royal Icing
- 1 1/2 cups Domino® Powdered Sugar (187 grams)
- 1 tbsp meringue powder
- 4 tbsp water
- Black gel food coloring
- Yellow gel food coloring
Instructions
- Prepare Ingredients and Equipment: Gather all ingredients and prepare two baking sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone mats. Fit a large piping bag with a 1/4″ round tip and set aside.
- Sift Dry Ingredients: Sift together the powdered sugar and almond flour to ensure there are no lumps, then set aside.
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 300ºF and maintain it for 60 to 90 minutes beforehand to stabilize temperature. For convection ovens, lower to 270ºF and experiment as needed.
- Make Sugar Syrup: Place a heatproof bowl over barely simmering water (bain-marie). Add granulated sugar and egg white powder (if using) to the bowl and whisk to prevent clumps.
- Add Egg Whites and Melt Sugar: Add the egg whites and whisk continuously until the sugar has fully dissolved. Avoid overheating or letting the bowl touch the water.
- Transfer to Mixer and Whip Meringue: Move sugar-egg mixture to a stand mixer bowl. Whip on low speed for 30 seconds, medium-low for 2 minutes, then medium-high until stiff peaks form, approximately 13-15 minutes. Look for glossy meringue that holds stiff peaks.
- Fold in Dry Ingredients: Add sifted almond flour and powdered sugar mixture to the meringue along with red gel food coloring (about 1 tbsp). Fold gently using a spatula to combine without deflating the batter. Fold until the batter flows in thick ribbons and passes the figure-8 test.
- Piping Macarons: Transfer batter to the piping bag, sealing the top to prevent drying. Pipe rounds onto prepared trays over the macaron template, holding the bag perpendicular and applying gentle pressure.
- Remove Air Bubbles and Rest: Tap trays firmly on the counter to release air bubbles. Pop any remaining air bubbles with a toothpick. Let shells rest until a firm skin forms on top—dry to the touch but not soft.
- Bake Shells: Bake trays one at a time for 15 to 20 minutes, adjusting timing based on your oven. Macarons should have feet and a firm top when done. Cool completely before removing from trays.
- Make Royal Icing: In the mixer bowl, combine powdered sugar and meringue powder. Gradually add water while mixing on low, then whip on medium-high until glossy and fluffy with a thick, flowy consistency. Divide into two portions and tint one black and the other yellow. Place each into piping bags with small round tips.
- Decorate Macaron Shells: Pipe a line of black royal icing across the middle of about half the macaron shells to form Santa’s belt. Allow to dry fully (fridge accelerates drying). Then pipe a small square buckle with yellow icing on top of the black line.
- Prepare Sugar Cookie Buttercream: Heat treat the flour by spreading it on a baking tray and baking at 350ºF for 5 minutes, stirring once. Let cool. In a mixer, beat butter and sugars for 4-5 minutes until creamy. Add cooled flour, vanilla, almond extract, and mix on low. Add milk or cream if needed to reach desired consistency.
- Assemble Macarons: Pipe buttercream onto the bottom macaron shells. Top with the decorated top shells. Gently roll the sides of each assembled macaron in shredded desiccated coconut for a festive touch.
- Storage: Store macarons in an airtight container. They keep well refrigerated for up to 5 days and freeze excellently for 1-2 months.
Notes
- Egg white powder is optional and can be omitted without affecting the recipe.
- Resting the shells to form a skin before baking is critical, especially due to the large amount of red food coloring.
- Oven temperatures vary, so adjust baking time and temperature accordingly.
- Overwhipping or underwhipping meringue can cause hollow or flat macarons.
- Heat treating flour for the buttercream ensures it is safe to eat raw.
- Keep royal icing covered to prevent it from drying out during decorating.
- Seal piping bag tops to prevent batter from drying and to maintain better control while piping.
- Using a macaron template on baking mats helps achieve consistent shell sizes.
- Rolling filled macarons in shredded coconut adds texture and festive appeal.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes per tray (approximately 40 minutes total)
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking, Whipping, Piping
- Cuisine: French
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 macarons (1 sandwich)
- Calories: 180
- Sugar: 20g
- Sodium: 40mg
- Fat: 8g
- Saturated Fat: 4.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 25g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 25mg
Keywords: Santa Claus macarons, holiday macarons, festive macarons, almond macarons, royal icing decoration, sugar cookie buttercream, Christmas desserts
