Description
These Pumpkin Spice Macarons are delicate French almond cookies flavored with warm pumpkin pie spices, filled with a creamy pumpkin buttercream, and decorated with festive jack-o-lantern faces. Perfect for fall and Halloween celebrations, they combine a crisp shell with a soft, flavorful center.
Ingredients
Scale
Macarons
- 100 g (about 3 large) egg whites, room temperature
- 140 g (about 1 1/3 cups) fine almond flour, sifted
- 120 g (about 1 cup) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 100 g (about 1/2 cup) baker’s sugar (caster sugar)
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 drops orange gel food coloring
Decoration
- Black food gel coloring
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Filling
- 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons pumpkin purée, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups (180 g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pinch Kosher salt
Instructions
- Prepare Egg Whites: Place the egg whites in a small bowl ensuring no yolk traces remain. Cover with plastic wrap pierced with holes and let sit at room temperature for 8 hours or refrigerate overnight. Bring to room temperature before use.
- Sift Dry Ingredients: Sift the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour through a fine mesh sieve over a bowl. Discard large clumps. Repeat twice. Set aside.
- Make Meringue: Using a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk egg whites on medium-low speed until frothy for about 1-2 minutes. Add cream of tartar, pumpkin pie spice, and salt, then slowly add baker’s sugar while mixing. Increase speed to medium-high and whisk until stiff peaks form (~5 minutes). Add orange gel food coloring during the last minute of whipping.
- Fold Dry Ingredients: Gently fold half the sifted dry ingredients into the meringue with a silicone spatula. When mostly incorporated, fold in the rest. Continue folding until the batter has a lava-like consistency and flows smoothly in figure-eight patterns without breaking. Avoid over-mixing.
- Pipe Macarons: Transfer batter to a piping bag with a 1/2-inch round tip. Pipe 1-inch diameter circles spaced 2 inches apart on a silicone mat or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Tap the baking sheet 3 times from 6 inches height, rotate 180°, and tap 3 more times to release air bubbles. Use a toothpick to pop visible bubbles.
- Rest to Form Skins: Let macarons rest uncovered at room temperature for 40-45 minutes up to 1 hour until dry to the touch and able to be gently patted without marking.
- Preheat Oven: Ten minutes before resting ends, preheat oven to 300°F (150°C).
- Bake Macarons: Bake macarons for 12-14 minutes, rotating halfway through. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheets.
- Decorate Shells: Match macarons by size. Pour a small amount of black gel food coloring on a plate and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Use a small brush dipped first in vanilla then lightly swirled with black gel to paint jack-o-lantern faces on selected macaron tops. Let dry fully before filling.
- Prepare Filling: Beat butter and pumpkin purée in a stand mixer with paddle attachment until creamy (~2 minutes). Gradually add confectioners’ sugar and pumpkin pie spice with mixer on low until smooth. Increase to medium speed and blend in vanilla extract and salt. Adjust with milk if needed for proper consistency.
- Assemble Macarons: Pipe pumpkin buttercream onto the flat side of one macaron shell, then sandwich with its matching top piece. Repeat for all macarons.
Notes
- Bob’s Red Mill superfine almond flour produces the best macaron shells.
- Cream of tartar stabilizes egg whites during whipping; be sure to include it.
- Separate eggs while cold and age whites overnight to reduce moisture in batter.
- Ensure mixing bowls and utensils are spotless and free of grease to achieve proper meringue.
- Store macarons in an airtight container refrigerated up to 5 days; best eaten within 24 hours.
- Freeze macarons up to 3 months, wrapped in groups of 4-5 and in airtight containers. Thaw in fridge before serving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 macaron
- Calories: 107
- Sugar: 9 g
- Sodium: 32 mg
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1.1 g
- Trans Fat: 0.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 19 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 10 mg
