Description
Santa Claus Macarons are festive, beautifully decorated French macarons featuring crisp almond shells filled with a sugar cookie buttercream and adorned with royal icing to resemble Santa’s iconic belt. This recipe guides you through creating glossy red macaron shells, a smooth royal icing for decoration, and a creamy buttercream infused with toasted flour and shredded coconut for extra texture and flavor. Perfect for holiday celebrations or gifting, these macarons combine technique with fun seasonal design.
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
Royal Icing
- 1 1/2 cups Domino® Powdered Sugar (187 grams)
- 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 all-purpose flour (63 grams)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (113 grams)
- 1/4 cup Domino® Golden Sugar (50 grams)
- 1 1/4 cups 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)
Instructions
- Prepare Macaron Ingredients and Equipment: Gather all ingredients and prepare two baking sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone mats with macaron templates. Fit a large piping bag with a 1/4-inch round tip and set aside.
- Sift Dry Ingredients: Sift powdered sugar and almond flour together in a bowl and set aside for folding into the meringue later.
- Preheat Oven: Preheat oven to 300ºF (270ºF for convection ovens) for 60 to 90 minutes to stabilize temperature and reduce fluctuations during baking.
- Make Sugar Syrup for Meringue: Place a bowl over a pot of barely simmering water. Add granulated sugar and optional egg white powder; whisk to remove clumps. Add egg whites and whisk continuously until sugar dissolves completely without cooking the eggs.
- Whip Meringue: Transfer mixture to a stand mixer bowl. Whip on low for 30 seconds, then medium for 2 minutes, then medium-high until stiff peaks form and meringue is glossy and stable. Watch for defined waves on the whisk and stiff peaks when lifted.
- Fold Dry Ingredients and Color: Add sifted almond flour and powdered sugar to the meringue. Add about 1 tbsp red gel food coloring if using. Fold gently using a spatula in a letter J motion, pressing batter against bowl sides to deflate air, until batter is glossy, thick, and flows slowly in figure 8 shapes falling off the spatula.
- Pipe Macaron Shells: Transfer batter to piping bag. Pipe circles over each template spot on the baking sheets. Tap trays against the counter to release air bubbles and pop any visible bubbles with a toothpick.
- Rest Macarons: Allow piped shells to rest until a firm, dry skin forms on top and they are no longer sticky to the touch. This can take up to an hour or more, depending on humidity.
- Bake Macarons: Bake one tray at a time for 15–20 minutes at 300ºF (or adjusted oven temp). Look for developed feet and a non-jiggly, matte shell surface. Adjust baking time based on oven performance to avoid under or overbaking.
- Cool Shells: Let baked macarons cool completely on trays before decorating.
- Prepare Royal Icing: In a mixer bowl, combine powdered sugar and meringue powder. Slowly add water while mixing on low until smooth. Whip on medium-high until glossy and fluffy, with a consistency similar to sweetened condensed milk. Divide into two bowls, color one black, the other yellow.
- Decorate Shells: Pipe a black royal icing line across half of shells to form Santa’s belt. Allow it to dry (fridge helps speed drying). Pipe a yellow square buckle on the black belt. Let decorated shells dry while preparing filling.
- Heat Treat Flour for Buttercream: Spread flour on a baking sheet and bake at 350ºF for 5 minutes, stirring once. Cool completely before use to ensure it’s safe to consume raw.
- Make Sugar Cookie Buttercream: Cream butter and sugars thoroughly for 4-5 minutes until smooth. Incorporate cooled flour, vanilla, and almond extracts on low speed. Add milk or cream gradually to reach desired consistency. Add more powdered sugar if too runny.
- Assemble Macarons: Fill a piping bag with buttercream and pipe onto undecorated bottom shells. Sandwich with decorated shells on top. Roll edges gently in shredded coconut to coat the buttercream filling sides.
- Store Macarons: Refrigerate covered for up to 5 days or freeze up to 1-2 months. Allow frozen macarons to thaw at room temperature before serving.
Notes
- Egg white powder is optional and recommended if you live in humid climates (humidity above 30%) to stabilize the meringue. In dry climates it can be omitted.
- Resting the macaron shells before baking is critical, especially with added food coloring, to prevent cracking.
- Baking times vary widely by oven type and temperature; watch for visual cues like feet and firmness rather than relying solely on time.
- Heat treating the flour in the buttercream ensures safety as the frosting is not cooked afterward.
- Use gel food coloring to achieve vibrant colors without affecting batter consistency.
- Keep royal icing covered during decoration prep to prevent crusting.
- Macarons are best enjoyed after resting in the fridge for at least 24 hours to allow flavors to meld.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 macaron
- Calories: 110 kcal
- Sugar: 15 g
- Sodium: 10 mg
- Fat: 4 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 17 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 10 mg
