These Gluten Free and Nut Free Grinch Macarons are tinted Grinch green, have a single heart sprinkle on top, are filled with vanilla buttercream and rolled in crushed peppermint candy canes.
The Grinch is one of our favorite holiday books to read and movies to watch. It was that way for me as a child and now for my own children.
I even co-hosted a Grinch themed party for my daughter's Girl Scout troop years ago with Grinch Cupcakes with Candy Filling.
I saw the idea for Grinch Macarons from a bakery's Instagram page and loved the concept. Of course, I must make my own macarons so they are nut free. I use certified gluten free oat flour to keep them allergy friendly.
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Supplies
Other than the ingredients for the macaron shells, you will need:
- 2 macarons mats
- 2 half sheet pans
- Medium sized round tip like #12
- Disposable piping bags
- Piping bag holders or a tall drinking glass
- green and yellow food coloring gel, such as AmeriColor
- heart sprinkles
- Easy Vanilla Buttercream
- candy canes
Make the Macaron Shells
If you are new to macaron making, I highly recommending reviewing my recipe for Nut Free French Macarons. I include tips and tricks in that post to help ensure success. Macaron making is notoriously finicky. Nut free macarons are a bit different than traditional almond flour macarons in that the dry ingredients are mixed less, meaning a shorter "macaronage" process.
To make the shells, the egg whites are whipped until frothy, then the cream of tartar is added, followed by the slow addition of the granulated sugar, vanilla, and food coloring.
The dry ingredients are carefully folded into the meringue in a process called "macaronage." In traditional macarons made with almond flour, you aim to get to a figure-8 stage where the batter runs off the back of a spatula back into the bowl and can form a figure-8 pattern that will settle back into the batter.
For oat flour macarons, you want to stop mixing the batter before you get to the figure-8 stage. The dry ingredients will be completely incorporated but sort of fall off the spatula in clumps rather than a ribbon. The reason for this is that you go from a nice thick batter to a too thin batter very quickly. Even the process of transferring the batter from the bowl into the piping bag will thin the batter.
Once the batter is in the piping bag, you can pipe your circles onto your macaron mats. I usually pipe the first pan and then put down the piping bag and cover the tip opening while I slam the pan on the counter and use a toothpick to pop any air bubbles.
Then, I'll pipe the second pan.
Once all the shells have been piped, you can press a small heart sprinkle into the top of each shell. I like them to the right of center, but this is personal preference.
It's important to keep in mind that some sprinkles melt during baking. I had two brands of heart sprinkles and one of them melted and made a big mess, the other did not melt and looked perfect after baking.
You can try placing the sprinkles alone on parchment in the oven and baking them to make sure your brand does not melt.
You can leave half of the shells without hearts to be the bottom of the cookies if you want.
The shells should rest for 40 minutes or until the surface is not longer tacky. You can test one by touching it with your fingertip to see if it sticks.
Bake them until they have puffed, rotating half way through. For my oven, this is 14 minutes total baking time.
After the shells are finished, you can cool them on the mat and them remove them to an airtight container until you are ready to fill.
Fill the Macarons
Pair up the shells by size so you have a similarly sized top and bottom for each cookie sandwich.
Place vanilla buttercream in a disposable piping bag fitted with a medium round tip, such as a #12. Pipe a dollop of buttercream in the center of each bottom shell.
Then, carefully press the top shell on top until the buttercream reaches the edges of the cookie. This will allow you to roll the sides in crushed peppermint, if desired.
Roll in Peppermint
This step is optional, but if you like peppermint, I highly recommend it. It adds some color, crunch, and holiday flavor.
Place the candy canes in a thick gallon sized freezer bag. Use a hammer or ice mallet to crush the candy canes into tiny pieces. Transfer to a small plate or shallow dish.
Press the crushed candy canes into the buttercream around the filling of each macaron. You can leave some without peppermint if you want.
Storage
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
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 Grinch Macarons
Equipment
- 2 half sheet pans
- 2 macaron mats
- 1 medium round tip such as #12
- disposable piping bags
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)
- yellow and green food coloring gel
For the Filling:
- 10 tablespoons salted butter
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 5 ounces powdered sugar (see note)
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
For Decorating:
- heart shaped sprinkles
- 3 candy canes (approximately)
Instructions
- Place a macaron mat on each of 2 baking sheets. You can also use parchment paper with 1-inch circles drawn on underneath. Set these aside.
- Place a large round tip, like a #12, in a disposable piping bag. 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.
Prepare the Batter:
- 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 the food coloring gel. Continue to beat the mixture until the meringue forms stiff peaks. Remove the bowl from the mixer.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, yellow and green food coloring gel
- Using a rubber spatula, carefully fold ⅓ of the flour/powdered sugar mixture into the meringue. Then add the remaining ⅔ of the flour mixture and continue folding until the ingredients are fully incorporated and the batter falls off the spatula in clumps, just before you reach the figure 8 stage. See note.
- Once the batter is the proper consistency, transfer it to the prepared piping bag. Pipe 1-inch circles of batter onto the first macaron mat.
- Once the batter has been piped on a full tray, 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. Add a heart sprinkle to the top of each shell. You can leave half of them without a sprinkle to be the bottom of the cookie, if desired.
- 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 a single layer in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer, or you can fill them immediately. If you must stack them, separate them with layers of parchment paper so they don't stick together.
Make the Filling:
- In a stand 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, ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Add the 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 vanilla extract and heavy cream, and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds.1½ teaspoons vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 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.
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 in size as possible.
- Add the filling to a piping bag fitted with a medium-sized round tip, such as #12. Pipe the filling on the flat side of one shell and carefully place the flat side of the other shell on top. Repeat with remaining pairs until all have been sandwiched.
- Roll the sides of each macaron in crushed peppermint so it sticks to the buttercream.
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