These festive St. Patrick's Day Macarons have dark green and gold shells and are filled with rainbow buttercream topped with green buttercream shamrocks. This recipe uses the French method for making the macaron shells and is both nut free and gluten free.
My obsession with Nut Free French Macarons continues with this St. Patrick's Day version! After making these Snowflake Macarons and Valentine's Macarons, I knew I wanted to make some for St. Patrick's Day.
I decided to make a batch with dark green shells and also one with gold shells. Here I will show you how to make the green shells. For the gold shells, see my post on Gold Painted Macarons for a step by step tutorial.
I filled both colors of shells with rainbow vanilla buttercream. For some of the macarons, I added green buttercream shamrocks on top.
These were so fun to make. I am storing them in the freezer until St. Patrick's Day!
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Supplies
Other than the ingredients, you will need the following supplies:
- Piping bag holder. optional
- Disposable piping bags
- Medium round piping tip, such as a #12
- Plastic tip coupler, optional
- Macaron mat
- Baking sheet
- Food coloring gel in green, black, red, yellow, and blue (orange and purple optional)
- Large star tip, such as a #6B
- #101 petal tip
Make the Macaron Shells
If you want to make the gold macarons, follow the recipe for Gold Painted Macarons to make the shells and skip ahead to coloring the buttercream.
To make the dark green macaron shells, add some green food coloring gel and a tiny amount of black food coloring gel to the egg whites while they are whipping. Add more green and/or black until your desired color is achieved.
Add the dry ingredients to the meringue and macaronage until just before the figure 8 stage. Transfer the batter to a disposable piping bag fitted with a medium round tip, such as a #12.
Pipe the batter into circles on a macaron mat.
Slam the tray down several times to force air bubbles to the top. Pop them with a toothpick and smooth the batter back over.
Allow the shells to rest for 40 minutes, and then bake at 300°F for 12-15 minutes, rotating the pan half way through.
Allow the shells to cool completely on the mat.
Once the shells are cool, carefully remove them from the mat by pressing up from underneath the mat.
You can store the shells in the refrigerator or freezer until you are ready to add the buttercream.
Color the Buttercream
I used Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream for these, but I also regularly use Easy Vanilla Buttercream for macarons.
Divide the buttercream evenly among 6 bowls.
Color the bowls as follows: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. If you do not have orange gel, add equal parts red and yellow. If you do not have purple get, add equal parts red and blue. Stir completely with small silicone spatulas.
Transfer each color to a disposable piping bag. Squeeze the buttercream toward the tip and snip off an opening of about ½-inch in diameter.
Pipe lines of each color buttercream, in rainbow order, measuring about 8 inches long on a large piece of plastic wrap.
Carefully roll the buttercream together to form a log with no space in the center so all of the colors of buttercream touch. Twist the ends of the plastic wrap.
Fill the Macarons
Snip off one end of the rolled plastic wrap and place the entire log into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip, such as a #6B. Squeeze out some buttercream on a paper towel until all of the colors are coming out of the tip.
Pair up the macaron shells by size.
Pipe a large dollop of buttercream into the center of one shell.
Lift the other shell by the edges and place it on top of the buttercream, twisting slightly as you press down. Repeat with the remaining pairs.
Add the Decoration
You can pipe the shamrocks directly on the macarons or on small piece of waxed paper secured to a flower nail with a dot of buttercream.
To pipe the shamrock, fill a disposable piping bag fitted with a #101 petal tip with green buttercream.
Pipe a stem, then starting with the left side (9 o'clock position), pipe a heart shape by having the wide side of the tip facing out and the narrow end toward the center of the shamrock. Pipe another heart on top (12 o'clock position) and then a third one on the right side (3 o'clock position).
If you pipe on the flower nail, remove the waxed paper to a baking sheet and place in the refrigerator or freezer for at least 20 minutes to harden before removing from the waxed paper and attaching to the macaron shell with a dot of buttercream.
Storage
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.
Cookies can be stored in the freezer for a longer period of time.
Gluten Free Option
This recipe is naturally gluten and nut free. Please check your ingredients packages for possible contaminants.
📖 Recipe
St. Patrick's Day Macarons
Equipment
- 1 Piping bag holder optional
- disposable piping bags
- 1 Plastic tip coupler optional
- 1 medium round piping tip, such as a #12
- 1 macaron mat or parchment paper with circles drawn on
- 1 rimmed baking sheet
- toothpicks
- plastic wrap
- 1 large star tip, such as a #6B
- 1 #101 petal tip
Ingredients
For the Macaron Shells:
- 63 grams oat flour
- 63 grams powdered sugar
- 50 grams egg whites (at room temperature)
- ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 45 grams sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- green and black food coloring gel
For the Filling:
- 2 cups vanilla buttercream (see note)
- Food coloring gel in red, yellow, blue (orange, green, and purple optional)
Instructions
- Prepare a piping bag fitted with a large round tip or with the tip of the bag cut off.
- Secure in a piping bag holder or place in a tall drinking glass with the top of the bag folded over. Set aside.
Prepare the Batter:
- Sift together the oat flour and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.63 grams oat flour, 63 grams powdered sugar
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed. Once the egg white are foamy, add the cream of tartar. Then, slowly add the granulated sugar, one spoonful at a time.50 grams egg whites, ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar, 45 grams sugar
- Add the vanilla and food coloring and continue to beat until the meringue has formed stiff peaks. For a dark green shell, add green food gel and a tiny amount of black on a toothpick.½ teaspoon vanilla, green and black 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 until just before the figure 8 stage. It is better to slightly undermix than to overmix.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared piping bag.
- 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 at room temperature for 40 minutes to dry. 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.
- To remove the shells, push up from underneath the mat to loosen them. Properly baked shells will pop off easily and have a smooth, shiny bottom.
Prepare the Buttercream:
- Divide the buttercream equally among 6 bowls. Color the portions red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Use both red and yellow gel to make orange, yellow and blue gel to make green, and red and blue gel to make purple.
- Fill each of 6 disposable piping bags with a single color of buttercream. Snip off the tip of each bag to create a ½-inch diameter opening and push the buttercream down to the opening of the bag, making sure to get rid of air pockets.
- Place a large rectangle of plastic wrap on a clean, flat surface. Pipe an 8-inch line of each color buttercream in rainbow order.
- Carefully roll the plastic wrap into a log so the colors form a circle with no space in the middle. Twist both ends of the plastic wrap to secure.
- Cut off one end of the plastic wrap close to the buttercream, and place the log inside a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
- Press the buttercream evenly on all sides of the bag until it comes out the tip and pipe some onto a paper towel to make sure all the colors are exiting the tip.
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.
- Place one shell flat side up and pipe a mound of buttercream into the center.
- Carefully hold the matching shell by the edges and sandwich the macaron, twisting gently as you press down. Repeat with the remaining pairs.
Storage:
- 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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