Adorable and delicious, these Nut Free Polar Bear Macarons are filled with vanilla buttercream and decorated with white and black royal icing and sparkling sanding sugar. This recipe is both nut free and gluten free!
My youngest daughter's most beloved stuffed toy is a polar bear she calls Huggie. Huggie is actually part of set of Hallmark Kiss Kiss Bears. Huggie's counterpart is a teddy that my daughter calls Brown Hug.
My daughter decided to give Huggie an actual birthday and then asked me to make a special treat for her. Her estimation of my naivety knows no bounds. I decided to play along and surprised her with Polar Bear Cupcakes the first year.
Since I was on a Nut Free French Macaron kick this past year, having already made Grinch Macarons, Snowflake Macarons, Valentine's Day Macarons, and Mini Rose Macarons, I wanted to tackle a shaped macaron. I chose to do polar bear faces since the shape is essentially the standard circle with two small ears at the top.
For Huggie's birthday, I decorated the macarons with her signature V-shaped smile.
I even made a royal icing bow with a white sugar pearl to match Huggie's green and white bow.
Huggie seemed pleased with her special birthday macarons.
Then for my daughter's Teddy Bear Birthday Party, I made Polar Bear Macarons with no smile to match these Nut Free Chocolate Teddy Bear Macarons.
They looked so cute together, along with the other treats that included Easy Polar Bear Cookies, Polar Bear Paw Cookies, Teddy Bear Cookies and Chocolate Bear Paw Cookies.
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Supplies
Other than the ingredients for the macaron shells, you will need:
- digital kitchen scale
- 2 macaron mats or parchment paper
- 2 half sheet pans
- white and purple/violet food coloring gel
- 1 batch Easy Vanilla Buttercream
- 1 batch Easy Royal Icing
- black royal icing
- 1 medium round piping tip, like #12
- 1 small round piping tip, like #7, optional
- disposable piping bags
- white sanding sugar
Make the Macaron Shells
For extra tips and details on making the shells, see my recipe for Nut Free French Macarons. I continuously update that recipe with more tricks and hints for making nut free macarons, which are perhaps even more finicky than traditional macarons!
Oat flour will turn the batter slightly off white or light tan. To keep these shells brighter for the polar bears, I added white food coloring gel to the meringue.
I also added a very tiny amount of violet/purple food coloring gel using a toothpick, which takes away some of the yellow. It works similarly to a purple shampoo taking away some of the brassiness from blonde hair.
The first time I made these, I filled two piping bags with the batter: one fitted with a #12 medium round tip for the face and a small round tip for the ears.
The next time I made them, I just used the medium #12 round tip for the face and the ears.
You can pipe all the circles on a tray first, and then quickly go back and add the ears. As with all other macarons, slam the tray down hard several times and use a toothpick to pop any bubbles, if desired.
Pipe any leftover batter onto the second tray. Bake them one tray at a time, rotating the tray half way through baking. Allow the shells to cool on the mat before carefully removing.
Add the Royal Icing
I like to start the decorating process by first pairing up the shells by size. Since we are only doing the face on one side of the sandwich, this will help you know which shells to decorate.
Alternatively, you can decorate all of the shells and have the face on both sides, but I don't think that is necessary.
After the shells have been paired, prepare untinted royal icing to a medium consistency, not as thick as outline but not quite as thin as flood. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe two inner ears on each top shell.
Immediately sprinkle with white sanding sugar while the icing is still wet.
I really like the Great Value brand of white sparkling sanding sugar from Walmart.
Shake off the excess.
Then, pipe on a larger oval for the snout. The first time I made these, I left the snout plain without sanding sugar because I was worried about the black royal icing details adhering to the sugar.
The second time I made them, I added the sanding sugar to both the ears and the snout. Both ways worked, so it's a matter of preference.
Next, prepare black royal icing and transfer to a disposable piping bag with a small opening of the tip cut off.
Pipe on two eyes, a nose, and a mouth if you prefer. I did Huggie's signature V-shaped mouth on the first batch.
The next time, I didn't add a mouth at all.
Allow the royal icing to set before filling the macarons.
Fill the Macarons
Keeping the shells in pairs, place the bottoms shell shiny side up next to the top shell for each of the pairs.
Fill a disposable piping bag with the tip cut off with Easy Vanilla Buttercream. Pipe the buttercream onto the bottom shells.
Carefully sandwich the macarons by holding the top shell by the edges and pressing down slightly.
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 Polar Bear Macarons
Equipment
- 2 macarons mats optional
- 2 half baking sheets
- 1 digital kitchen scale
- toothpicks
- disposable piping bags
- medium round tip such as #12
- small round tip such as #7
- plastic tip couplers
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 clear vanilla extract (see note)
- white and purple/violet food coloring gel
For the Decorations:
- Easy Royal Icing (see note)
- white sanding sugar (Great Value brand recommended)
- black royal icing powder
For the Filling:
- 10 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 dash table salt
- 5 ounces powdered sugar (see note)
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
Prepare the Batter:
- 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 medium 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. If you'd like to use a small round tip, like a #7, for the ears, repeat the same process in a separate glass.
- Sift together the oat flour and the powdered sugar in a medium-sized bowl, then whisk to combine them completely. Set this bowl aside.
- 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.
- Add the vanilla extract, white food coloring gel, and a tiny amount of violet/purple food coloring gel. Continue to beat the mixture until the meringue forms stiff peaks. Remove the bowl from the mixer.
- Using a silicone 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 you reach just before the figure 8 stage. See note.
- Once the batter is the proper consistency, transfer it to the prepared piping bag(s). Pipe 1-inch circles of batter onto the first macaron mat. Then, pipe two small ears at the top of each circle using either the same medium round tip or a small round tip.
- 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.
- 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 decorate them immediately.
Add the Decorations:
- Pair up the shells by size.
- Prepare untinted royal icing to a medium consistency, not as thick as outline but not quite as thin as flood. Transfer to a disposable piping bag with a small opening of the tip cut off. Pipe two inner ears and a larger oval shaped snout on each top shell. Immediately sprinkle with white sanding sugar while the icing is still wet. To leave the snout without sugar, pipe the ears, sprinkle with sugar, shake off excess, then pipe the snout. Allow the icing to set.
- Prepare the black royal icing to an outline consistency. Transfer to a disposable piping bag with a small opening of the tip cut off.
- Pipe on two eyes, a nose, and a mouth if you prefer.
- Allow the royal icing to set before filling the macarons.
Make the Filling:
- In the bowl of 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%.
- Add powdered sugar and beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds.
- 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.
- 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:
- Keeping the shells in pairs, place the bottoms shell, shiny side up, next to the top shell for each of the pairs.
- Fill a disposable piping bag with the tip cut off with the buttercream. Pipe it onto the bottom shells.
- Carefully sandwich the macarons by holding the top shell by the edges and pressing down slightly.
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