These Nut Free Winter Snowflake Macarons are gluten free and the perfect combination of crisp and chewy with a silky vanilla buttercream filling. They are so festive with sparkling buttercream snowflakes piped on top!

I made these Winter Snowflake Macarons for my daughter's birthday following the Nut Free French Macarons recipe. She wanted them to be blue, and we agreed on decorating some of them with piped buttercream snowflakes.
I tried out a new decorative piping tip this time which gives this nice pattern in the filling on the sides of the macarons.

I sprinkled the shells with edible gold glitter which made them very sparkly and the buttercream with white sparkling sanding sugar. Just as happened with my Holiday Open House when I made a snow related dessert, it did indeed snow! We had to move her party to the day after.

ALSO CHECK OUT THESE SNOWFLAKE COOKIES, SNOWFLAKE GINGERBREAD COOKIES, AND SNOWFLAKE ROYAL ICING COOKIES.
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Supplies
- 2 macarons mats
- 2 half sheet pans
- Round tip like #12
- Disposable piping bags
- Piping bag holders
- Blue food coloring gel, such as AmeriColor
- Decorative star tip like #6B
- Gold edible glitter
- Food safe paintbrushes
- Small round tip like Wilton #5
- White sanding sugar
- White sugar pearls
Set Up
You will need 2 baking sheets for this recipe. I like using macaron mats on rimmed baking sheets, but you can use just parchment paper if you don't have these mats. You can also draw 1-inch circles with black permanent marker on one side of the parchment paper and flip it over to pipe on the opposite side.
Before making the batter, prepare a piping bag with a large round tip, like a #12. I like to use a plastic tip coupler to make sure the tip stays securely attached to the bag, but it's not necessary.
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.
A trick I learned from The White Whisk is to add a small binder clip on the piping bag near the tip so the macaron batter doesn't come out of the tip before you're ready. This is not an issue with buttercream, but macaron batter is thinner and will run out.
Make the Macaron Shells
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 food coloring, 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.
As I am relatively new to macaron making, I refer you to two resources with visuals as to when the batter is ready to be piped: America's Test Kitchen and Le Cordon Bleu.
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.
Transfer the batter to the prepared piping bag.

Here you can see the binder clip holding the batter back from flowing through the tip.

When you are ready to pipe the batter, remove the binder clip and allow the batter to fill into the tip.
Pipe the circles of batter onto the first mat.
Then, slam the tray down on a flat surface several times to cause air bubbles to rise to the surface. Use a toothpick or scribe tool to pop any large bubbles and smooth the batter over the hole.

Repeat this process with the second tray. You will not fill the entire second tray.
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.

Make the Buttercream Filling
I used Easy Vanilla Buttercream for these macarons. It is an American buttercream, so it's sweeter than Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream. Either will work.
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.
Fill and Decorate the Macarons
If you plan to dust your shells with luster dust, you can do this now before filling them or wait until after.
Tap a small amount of gold edible glitter onto each shell. Use a food grade paint brush or your index finger to evenly distribute the glitter over the surface of the shells.

Pair up the macaron shells by size to ensure the bottom and top of each macaron are similar in size.

Fit a piping tip into a piping bag. I used a #6B large open star tip for these in order to get the decorative edge with the buttercream. You can use a large round tip if you prefer a plain edge for the filling like in these classic French macarons. I used a large drop flower tip, 2D, for the filling in these Valentine's Day Macarons.
Add the buttercream to a piping bag. I used this piping bag holder instead of a glass to hold the bag open.

Pipe a mound of buttercream into the center of the bottom shell.

Holding the top shell by the edges, place it on top of the filling and carefully press together. You can press straight down, or twist when you press down to change the direction of the pattern the buttercream will make.

Immediately sprinkle the buttercream with the white sanding sugar so it sticks. Shake off the excess.
Another option is to use matte coarse sugar like this.

Repeat with the remaining pairs until all of the macarons are filled.

To add a buttercream snowflake on top, transfer some buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip, like a #5. If you prefer a thinner snowflake, you can use a #3 or #4.
Carefully pipe a snowflake pattern on the top side of some of the macarons. I did this with about half of them. Immediately after piping the buttercream, sprinkle it with white sanding sugar and place a white sugar pearl in the center.

I liked the look of having some of them plain, but you could certainly add the snowflake to every cookie.

Storage
Storing the cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a few days allows them to mature and improve in texture.
If refrigerated, allow the cookies to come to near room temperature before serving so the buttercream can soften.
Gluten Free Option
These macarons are naturally gluten free if you use a certified gluten free oat flour like Bob's Red Mill. Check your packaging for possible gluten contaminants.
📖 Recipe

Nut Free Winter Snowflake Macarons
Equipment
- 2 macarons mats
- 2 half sheet pans
- 1 small binder clip
- Round tip like #12
- disposable piping bags
- Piping bag holders
- Blue food coloring gel, such as AmeriColor
- Decorative star tip like #6B
- Food safe paintbrushes
- Small round tip like Wilton #5
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
- blue food coloring gel
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:
- Gold edible glitter
- White sanding sugar
- White sugar pearls
Instructions
- Prepare two rimmed baking sheets with macaron mats or parchment paper with 1-inch circles drawn underneath.
- Prepare a piping bag with a large round tip, like a #12. 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. Place a small binder clip on the bag above the piping tip so the batter does not flow through the tip when filling the bag later.
Make the Macaron Shells
- 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. With the mixer still running, add the granulated sugar one spoonful at a time.
- Add the vanilla and blue food coloring and continue to beat the whites until the meringue has formed stiff peaks.
- Fold ⅓ of the flour/powdered sugar mixture into the meringue. Then, add the rest of the dry ingredients 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. See note below on "macaronage."
- Transfer the batter to the prepared piping bag. Remove the binder clip, if using, to allow the batter to flow into the tip.
- Pipe 1-inch circles of batter onto the first macaron mat.
- Slam the tray down on a flat surface several times to cause air bubbles to rise to the surface. Use a toothpick or scribe tool to pop any large bubbles and smooth the batter over the hole.
- Repeat this process with the second tray. You will not fill the entire second tray.
- 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.
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%.
- 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.
Fill and Decorate the Macarons
- Tap a small amount of gold edible glitter onto each shell. Use a food grade paint brush or your index finger to evenly distribute the glitter over the surface of the shells.
- Pair up the macaron shells by size to ensure the bottom and top of each macaron are similar in size.
- Fit a piping tip such as a #6B large open star tip into a piping bag. Add the buttercream to the bag. Pipe a mound of buttercream into the center of the bottom shell. Holding the top shell by the edges, place it on top of the filling and carefully press together. You can press straight down, or twist when you press down to change the direction of the pattern the buttercream will make.
- Immediately sprinkle the buttercream with the white sanding sugar so it sticks. Shake off the excess.
- Repeat with the remaining pairs until all of the macarons are filled.
- To add a buttercream snowflake on top, transfer some buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip, like a #5. If you prefer a thinner snowflake, you can use a #3 or #4. Carefully pipe a snowflake pattern on the top side of some of the macarons. Immediately after piping the buttercream, sprinkle it with white sanding sugar and place a white sugar pearl in the center.
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