These Gluten Free and Nut Free Pumpkin Spice Latte Macarons have an espresso buttercream border with a pumpkin spice filling. The flavors are inspired by Starbucks famous fall drink, the Pumpkin Spice Latte.
Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte is the first fall drink I ever tried, many years ago when the pumpkin trend was in its infancy. My kids almost don't believe me that there was a time when pumpkin drinks and food were few and far between, before the explosion of pumpkin everything.
I immediately loved the Pumpkin Spice Latte, or PSL. I still look forward to its return each August. It was the PSL and Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread that sparked my desire to include pumpkin in a number of sweet and savory recipes.
Still on my Nut Free French Macaron kick, I made Nut Free Apple Macchiato Macarons and these Pumpkin Spice Latte Macarons last Thanksgiving to celebrate the flavors of my two favorite fall drinks.
My oldest daughter made this cute label for the macarons.
To pull from the flavors of a PSL for these macarons, I used an espresso buttercream dam and a spiced pumpkin puree filling.
These macarons were delicious and definitely reminded me of a Pumpkin Spice Latte!
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Supplies
Other than the ingredients, you will need:
- small wire strainer
- small wire whisk
- medium round tip like #12
- Plastic tip coupler
- Disposable piping bags
- Piping bag holders
- Digital kitchen scale
- 2 macarons mats
- 2 half sheet pans
- orange food coloring gel, such as Chefmaster
Make the Shells
To begin making the macaron shell batter, you will weigh out the egg whites.
It's important to use egg whites from whole eggs, not an egg white carton from the store.
In a separate bowl, sift together the powdered sugar and oat flour and whisk to completely combine.
Fit a disposable piping bag with a medium round tip, like #12. I use a plastic tip coupler to ensure the placement and security of the tip. I also use a piping bag holder to keep the bag upright and open for when I fill it with batter. Lastly, I twist the piping bag near the tip and clamp it with a small binder clip to prevent the batter from flowing out of the tip while filling the bag.
Now that the ingredients have been prepped, it's time to start mixing. Using the wire whisk attachment of a stand mixer, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until foamy. Then, add the cream of tartar and continue to beat the whites while you add the granulated sugar by the spoonful to the whites while the mixer is still running.
Once the whites get to the soft peak stage, add the vanilla and orange food coloring gel and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
Once the whites are stiff, they are ready for the dry ingredients. Folding in the dry ingredients into the egg whites is a process called "macaronage," and it is arguably the trickiest step of making macarons.
Start by carefully folding in ⅓ of the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula. Once incorporated, fold in the remaining ⅔ until just before the batter reaches the figure 8 stage.
If this is your first time making macarons, I recommend consulting two resources with visuals as to when the batter is ready to be piped: America's Test Kitchen and Le Cordon Bleu. Keep in mind that these two sources use an almond flour batter, and this is an oat flour batter, so you want to stop folding a little sooner or the batter will end up too runny.
Transfer the batter to the piping bag.
When the bag is full, carefully remove the binder clip and allow the batter to flow into the piping tip.
Pipe 1-inch round circles of batter onto a macaron mat placed on an upside-down half sheet pan. If you don't have a macaron mat, you can use parchment paper with 1-inch circles traced onto the underside of the paper.
After the first try is piped, slam the tray down on the counter several times to force air bubbles to the surface. Use a toothpick to pop any large bubbles and then smooth the batter over the hole.
Pipe the second tray and repeat the bubble popping process. You should not have enough batter to fill the second tray.
Allow the batter to rest for about 40 minutes at room temperature, until the batter does not stick to your finger when gently touched. Meanwhile, preheat the oven.
Bake the shells one tray at a time, rotating the tray half way through baking time.
Allow the shells to cool on the mat at room temperature before removing them.
Make the Pumpkin Filling
First, you will need to mix up the pumpkin spice mix. Combine ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and cloves.
You will not need this entire mix, so set it aside for now.
Add together the pumpkin puree, sweetened condensed milk, brown sugar or honey, and ¾ teaspoon of the pumpkin spice. At this point, you can taste the filling to see if you prefer more sugar/honey or spice. This is a personal preference.
Keep in mind that the macarons will have a sweet buttercream dam, so you may prefer a less sweet pumpkin filling.
Make the Buttercream
I used this Easy Coffee Buttercream recipe for the buttercream dam in the macarons. It is made with instant espresso powder to give that flavor to these macarons.
I include the step by step photos to make it in that recipe.
Assemble the Macarons
Pair up the macaron shells by size to most closely match what will be the top and bottom of each sandwiched cookie.
Fill a piping bag fitted with a medium round tip, like a #12, with the coffee buttercream. Fill a separate piping bag with the pumpkin filling and snip off the tip so there is a large round opening.
You can either pipe a ring of buttercream around the border of the bottom shell or pipe dots of buttercream to give the cookies a decorative edge when assembled.
Pipe the buttercream on all of the bottom shells.
Pipe the pumpkin filling into the middle of the buttercream border.
Pick up the top shell by the edges and place the flat side on top of the filling, pressing down carefully to adhere. Repeat with all of the pairs until all of the cookies are assembled.
Storage
Macarons should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours before enjoying to mature and improve in texture. The pumpkin filling will soften the shells.
Allow the cookies to come to room temperature before serving so the buttercream can soften.
Gluten Free Option
These cookies are naturally gluten free if you use a certified gluten free brand of oat flour. I like Bob's Red Mill brand of gluten free oat flour.
📖 Recipe
Nut Free Pumpkin Spice Latte Macarons
Equipment
- 2 macaron mats or parchment paper with circles drawn on
- 2 half sheet pans
- toothpicks
Ingredients
For the Macaron Shells:
- 126 grams oat flour
- 126 grams powdered sugar
- 100 grams egg whites (at room temperature)
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 90 grams granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- orange food coloring gel
Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix:
- 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
Pumpkin Macaron Filling:
- 1½ tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
- ⅔ cup pumpkin puree
- ¾ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (see recipe)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar (or honey, more to taste)
For the Buttercream:
- 10 tablespoons butter (softened)
- 5 ounces powdered sugar
- 1 pinch table salt
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1½ teaspoons instant espresso powder
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Prepare the Batter
- Prepare a piping bag fitted with a large round tip or with the tip of the bag cut off. Set aside.
- Sift together the oat flour and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.126 grams oat flour, 126 grams powdered sugar
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed.100 grams egg whites
- Once the egg white are foamy, add the cream of tartar. Then, slowly add the granulated sugar, one spoonful at a time.¼ teaspoon cream of tartar, 90 grams granulated sugar
- Add the vanilla and food coloring and continue to beat until the meringue has formed stiff peaks.1 teaspoon vanilla, orange food coloring gel
- Remove the bowl from the mixer and carefully fold ⅓ of the flour mixture into the meringue. Then add the rest of the flour mixture. Continue folding and stirring until just before the figure 8 stage.
- Transfer the batter to the piping bag and pipe 1-inch circles onto the macaron mat or parchment with 1-inch circles drawn on the under side of the paper.
- Slam the tray on the counter several times to cause air bubbles to rise to the surface. Use a toothpick to pop any large bubbles and smooth batter over the hole.
- Allow the batter to sit for 40 minutes to dry at room temperature before baking. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300°F.
Bake the Macaron Shells
- Bake the macarons for 12-15 minutes, rotating once after 7 minutes.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool completely on the mat before removing.
Make the Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix:
- Combine the spices in a small bowl.1½ teaspoons cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ginger, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon allspice, ¼ teaspoon cloves
- Mix thoroughly and set aside.
Make the Pumpkin Filling:
- Combine ingredients in a medium sized bowl, using just ¾ teaspoon of the pumpkin pie spice.1½ tablespoons sweetened condensed milk, ⅔ cup pumpkin puree
- Add extra brown sugar or honey to taste.2 tablespoons brown sugar
Make the Buttercream:
- In a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat butter at medium high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds.10 tablespoons butter
- Add powdered sugar and salt and beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds.5 ounces powdered sugar, 1 pinch table salt
- Scrape down the bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully combined, about 15 seconds. Scrape bowl.
- In a small bowl, dissolve espresso powder in warmed heavy cream and vanilla.1 tablespoon heavy cream, 1½ teaspoons instant espresso powder, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add to mixer bowl and beat at medium speed until incorporated, 10 seconds.
- Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice.
Assemble the Macarons
- Because the macarons will be sandwiched, pair up the shells by size. You want the top and bottom of the sandwich cookie to match as closely as possible.
- Add the buttercream to a piping bag with a round tip and the pumpkin filling to a piping bag with the tip snipped off.
- Pipe a border around the bottom shell of each pair either by making a circle or dots of buttercream for a more decorative edge.
- Pipe the filling into the center of each bottom shell. You will have leftover buttercream and filling.
- Carefully place the flat side of the top shell on top of the filling, pressing down slightly to adhere.
- Store the assembled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for several days. If refrigerated, allow the cookies to come to room temperature before serving.
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