These Nut Free Bunny Peep Macarons are an adorable French macaron cookie for Easter or spring. They are also gluten free.
When deciding on a macaron to make for Easter, I was inspired by these shirts I made for my girls many years ago.
The shirts feature 3 bunny peeps with the phrase, "chillin' with my Peeps."
For that reason, I made three batches of these macarons so I could have blue, pink and purple peeps, just like with these Easter Bunny Peep Cookies.
These macarons are quite big due to the shape, but no one seemed to mind!
They looked so cute stacked up on a serving tray on the Easter table!
SEE ALL OF MY EASTER RECIPES HERE!
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Supplies
Other than the ingredients for making the macaron shells, you will need the following:
- digital kitchen scale
- 2 macaron mats or parchment paper
- 2 half sheet pans
- pink, blue and purple food coloring gel
- piping bag holder, optional
- disposable piping bags
- small binder clip, optional
- plastic tip coupler, optional
- medium round piping tip, like #12
- black royal icing powder or Easy Royal Icing and black food coloring gel
Prepare the Supplies
Before making the batter, I like to set up my trays and prepare the piping bag.
You will need 2 baking sheets for each batch of this recipe. I use macaron mats on rimmed baking sheets that I turn upside down so the mat lays perfectly flat.
You can use parchment paper if you don't have these mats.
To prepare the piping bag, fit it with a plastic tip coupler and a medium round tip, like a #12.
Twist the bag above the tip and add a small binder clip. This optional step prevents the macaron batter from flowing out of the tip when you are filling the bag.
Place the piping bag in a tall drinking glass with the bag opening folded over or use a piping bag holder to keep it open.
I made 3 separate batches of batter so I would not have to divide the batter and risk overmixing it when trying to incorporate the food coloring gel.
Make the Macaron Batter
To make the macaron shell batter, sift together the oat flour and powdered sugar into a medium sized bowl, then set it aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the wire whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until foamy, then add the cream of tartar. Next, with the mixer still running, add the granulated sugar one spoonful at a time.
Add the vanilla and blue, pink or purple food coloring gel, and continue to beat the whites until the meringue has formed stiff peaks.
The next step is "macaronage," the process of folding the dry ingredients into the meringue. This is the trickiest step of macaron making. The batter will be too thick if you under mix it or too thin if you over mix it.
I recommend 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 for oat flour macarons, you want to stop folding just before the figure 8 stage; whereas, with almond flour macarons, the batter needs to reach the figure 8 stage.
To incorporate the dry ingredients, first fold ⅓ of the flour/powdered sugar mixture into the meringue.
Then, add the rest of the dry mixture and continue to fold and carefully press the batter against the sides of the bowl until the batter reaches just before the figure 8 stage.
Pipe and Bake the Shells
Transfer the batter to the prepared piping bag. Remove the binder clip and allow the batter to fill into the tip.
Pipe a 1-inch circle of batter to make the bunny's body, then pipe a connecting oval to make the bunny's head and pipe the ears on top of the head. Repeat until the tray is full, then slam the tray down on a hard surface several times so the air bubbles reach the surface. Use a toothpick or scribe tool to pop bubbles on the surface and smooth the batter back over the hole.
Repeat this process with the second tray. You will not fill the entire second tray. One batch of this batter will make approximately 25 shells, which will result in about 12 assembled cookies. This will vary depending on the size of the shells.
Let the shells dry at room temperature for 40 minutes. While they dry, preheat the oven to 300°F.
Bake the shells for 12-15 minutes, rotating once after 7 minutes. I recommend baking one tray at a time.
Remove the pan from the oven. Allow the shells to cool on the mat completely before removing them.
Repeat the entire process with the pink and purple food coloring gels to make the remaining shells if you want three colors of shells.
Try your best to make all the shells the same size and shape, which is more challenging with a free form shape like this. I ended up with some smaller bunnies and some larger.
Fill the Macarons
I filled most of the macarons with Easy Vanilla Buttercream. I did try a whipped white chocolate ganache filling for some of them, but I'm still working on that recipe because it was more like a white chocolate whipped cream than a ganache.
For a less sweet buttercream, try this Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream.
You can also experiment with curds and jams as fillings, or pipe a buttercream ring around the shell and fill the center with a curd or jam.
Pair the shells up by size. Pipe the buttercream onto the flat side of the bottom shell.
Then, holding the top shell by the sides, carefully place on top of the buttercream and press down very gently so it sticks.
Add the Peep Faces
For the peep faces, I used black royal icing powder that I mixed with warm water according to the package directions. I added the icing to a disposable piping bag with a small opening cut in the tip of the bag.
I piped a small dot for each eye and the nose.
Storage
Assembled macarons typically should be chilled for 24 hours to mature for the shells to become chewier and less crispy.
Store the macarons in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Macarons can be frozen for up to several months.
Bring the macarons to room temperature before serving.
Gluten Free Option
To keep these macarons nut free and gluten free, make sure to use a certified gluten free brand of oat flour, like Bob's Red Mill.
📖 Recipe
Nut Free Bunny Peep Macarons
Equipment
- 2 macarons mats
- 2 half sheet pans
- 1 small binder clip
- Medium round tip like #12
- Plastic tip coupler optional
- disposable piping bags
- Piping bag holder optional
Ingredients
For the Macaron Shells:
- 126 grams oat flour
- 126 grams powdered sugar
- 100 grams egg whites (see note)
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 90 grams granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (see note)
- Blue, pink or purple food coloring gel (such as AmeriColor)
For the Buttercream Filling:
- 10 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 dash table salt
- 5 ounces powdered sugar (see note)
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
For Decorating:
- Black royal icing powder
Instructions
Prepare the Batter:
- Place a macaron mat on each of 2 upside down baking sheets. Set these aside.
- Place a plastic tip coupler in a disposable piping bag and add a medium round tip, like a #12. Twist the bag above the tip and secure with a small binder clip to prevent the batter from running out. Fold over the top of the bag and place it in a tall glass or in a piping bag holder so it will be easy to fill with the batter. Set this aside.
- Sift together the oat flour and the powdered sugar in a medium-sized bowl, then whisk to combine them completely. Set this bowl aside.126 grams oat flour, 126 grams powdered sugar
- Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on medium-high until frothy. Add the cream of tartar, then slowly add the granulated sugar, one spoonful at a time, with the mixer still running.100 grams egg whites, ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar, 90 grams granulated sugar
- Add the vanilla extract and food coloring gel. Continue to beat the mixture until the meringue forms stiff peaks. Remove the bowl from the mixer.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, Blue, pink or purple food coloring gel
- Using a silicone or rubber spatula, carefully fold ⅓ of the flour/powdered sugar mixture into the meringue. Add the remaining ⅔ of the flour mixture and continue folding until you reach the figure 8 stage. See note.
- Once the batter is the proper consistency, transfer it to the prepared piping bag. Pipe a 1-inch circle of batter to make the bunny's body, then pipe a connecting oval to make the bunny's head and pipe the ears on top of the head. Repeat until the tray is filled.
- Slam the tray down hard on the counter or a table several times to force any air bubbles to the surface. If desired, take a toothpick and pop large bubbles then smooth out the hole left after the bubble pops.
- Pipe the batter onto the second macaron mat. You will not fill the entire mat. Depending on the size of your bunnies and consistency of your batter, you will have about 25 shells.
- Allow the batter to dry at room temperature for 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300°F.
Bake the Macaron Shells:
- Bake the macaron shells for 12-15 minutes, rotating the pan once about 7 minutes into the bake. Only bake one pan at at time.
- Allow the shells to cool completely on the mats before removing them. To remove more easily, push up on the mat from underneath to help them pop off. If you have trouble with them sticking, that may mean they are underbaked. Some of the shells in the center of the tray may have a little bit of sticking. Very carefully use a stiff metal spatula to pry them off the mat, taking care not to rip the shell.
- The cooled shells can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer, or you can fill them immediately.
Make the Buttercream Filling
- In standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat butter and salt at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds. NOTE: If using a hand-held mixer, increase mixing times by at least 50%.10 tablespoons salted butter, 1 dash table salt
- Add powdered sugar and beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds.5 ounces powdered sugar
- Scrape down bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully combined, about 15 seconds; scrape bowl, add heavy cream and vanilla extract, and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds.1 tablespoon heavy cream, 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice. This step is important to create a smooth and whipped buttercream.
Fill and Decorate the Macarons
- Pair up the macaron shells by size to ensure the bottom and top of each macaron are similar in size.
- Fit a medium round piping tip, such as a #12, into a piping bag. Add the buttercream to the bag. Pipe the buttercream over the entire flat surface of the bottom shell. Holding the top shell by the edges, place it on top of the filling and carefully press together.
- Repeat with the remaining pairs until all of the macarons are filled.
- Mix black royal icing powder with warm water according to package instructions. Transfer the icing to a piping bag with the tip snipped off.
- Pipe two eyes and a nose on the face of each bunny macaron.
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