This post may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
A fancy AND delicious Christmas treat! Perfect for a dessert table centerpiece or a gift for family and friends. Plus they taste so darn good.
In the filling, I used melted crushed candy canes for the peppermint flavor because I ran out of peppermint extract. Turns out—that was a super tasty mistake. Hooray for happy little accidents.
When piping the tiers, take it SLOW, and plan ahead! You want to make 4 different sizes that are only slightly smaller than the one before. Start with the largest at about 2″ and go down in size from there.
To decorate—any sprinkles you have will do! My favorite are the sugar pearls or nonpareil varieties to mimic ornaments and lights. Maybe next time I’ll get more festive with decorations and add some icing garlands and a cute fondant star. Sifting confectioners sugar snow over them might also be a cute idea, depending on your dessert table theme! I’d wait to do that until the last minute for the cleanest effect.
Obviously you can take this idea and use any flavor, but peppermint seemed season appropriate and I happen to love the flavor. Plus the added butter tones it down beautifully so the mint isn’t overpowering.
Peppermint Christmas Tree Macarons
Ingredients
SHELLS
- 3 egg large whites
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ⅔ cup confectioners sugar
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar
- 1 cup almond flour
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Green gel food coloring
PEPPERMINT FILLING
- ¾ cup milk
- 3 egg yolks
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 small candy canes crushed
- 8 tbsp butter softened
- Green food coloring
- 1-4 tbsp confectioners sugar optional
- Sprinkles for decorating
Instructions
SHELLS
- Grind up almond flour in a dry food processor and sift through a sieve. Do not force it through the sieve.
- Sift confectioners sugar into almond flour with a sieve and a whisk.
- Beat egg whites and cream of tartar on medium / high. Slowly add in granulated sugar.
- When the soft peak stage is reached add food coloring and vanilla. Mix till stiff peak stage.
- Add about ¼ the dry ingredients to the egg whites. Fold with spatula till combined.
- Then add the rest of the dry ingredients and gently macaronage (fold) till “lava” texture is reached. The batter should make ribbons that don’t break when you lift the spatula. Try making a figure 8.
- Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment, using a tiny dab of batter on each corner as glue.
- Add batter to a piping bag using a plain round tip.
- Pipe holding the bag perpendicular to the cookie sheet. To break off batter, make a little swirl motion on top. Make 4 sizes starting with the biggest or base of the tree. The biggest should be no more than 2 inches in diameter. The last and smallest piece about 1 inch. You should have 4 pieces each slightly smaller than the first.
- Bang sheet on counter to get rid of bubbles and to help tops get smooth.
- Let sit for 45 – 60 minutes on the counter uncovered. You should be able to touch the macarons, there will be a skin formed on top.
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
- Bake for 10 – 15 minutes. You should be able to see the “feet”.
- Let cool completely before piping in the filling.
PEPPERMINT FILLING
- In a saucepan add the egg yolks, milk, sugar, crushed candy canes, and cornstarch.
- Cook and stir until egg mixture starts to bubble. Turn heat down and let simmer for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Take off the heat and pour into a mixing bowl. Use whisk attachment and mix on high until cooled down.
- Add in vanilla and butter. Whisk until well incorporated, if too soft you can add in some confectioners sugar. Start with one tbsp.
- Color with green food coloring.
- Match up all the pieces for each tree. Pipe the frosting using a bag with a star tip. Either pipe a circle and a dot in the middle or pipe from the outside to the center all the way around. Add any sprinkles now, before placing on the next layer, I used sugar pearls, nonpareils, and stars. Repeat till you get to the top.
- Store in the fridge. Cookies taste best the next day. They can also be frozen and thawed by letting them sit out for 30 minutes.
