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–+ servings

Pumpkin Spice Macaron Recipe

Pumpkin spice macarons with spicy buttercream.
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Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 14 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 14 minutes
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine French
Servings 60
Calories 125 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 no. 10 round piping tip
  • 1 16-inch pastry bag
  • silicone mats or parchment paper
  • small pastry bag
  • 1 medium-sized star or round tip

Ingredients
  

Cookie Shells
  • 2 ¾ cups (275 g) almond flour
  • 2 cups + 1 tablespoon (250 g) powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (for less intense taste, use 1 teaspoon, for more intense 1 tablespoon)
  • 6 large egg whites, room temperature
  • ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 cup + 1 tablespoon (210 g) granulated sugar
  • orange gel food coloring (optional)
  • ½ large egg white, room temperature
Filling
  • 3 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 pinch granulated salt
  • 1 tablespoon cream (or milk)

Instructions
 

Cookie Shells
  • Place nonstick silicone baking mats or parchment paper sheets on several baking sheets. This recipe makes 100+ cookie shells, so you need several baking sheets. (See notes below.)
  • Weight the almond flour and powdered sugar with a food scale.
  • Place the almond flour, powdered sugar, and pumpkin pie spice into a food processor. Process on high speed until the mixture is fine.
  • Sift the flour mixture into a large bowl, discarding any large almond pieces, if necessary. Set this sifted mixture aside.
  • Using a mixing bowl and the whisk attachment, beat 6 egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat to dissolve it. Then add 1/3 of the granulated sugar and beat for a minute until the sugar dissolves. Add half of the remaining sugar and beat for an additional minute. Then add the rest of the sugar and beat until firm, glossy peaks form, a couple of minutes or more.
  • Add a little orange food coloring (if using). Beat on medium speed to mix. Add more coloring if desired to reach the desired orange color. Beat between each addition. Do not overbeat.
  • Gently fold the dry ingredients into the beaten egg whites. Fold with round circles around the bowl, scraping the bowl's bottom. Mix well in a folding motion. The batter will be thick.
  • Use a whisk or fork to beat the 1/2 egg white until frothy. Stir this egg into the batter to soften and moisten it.
  • Set up a pastry bag with a round tip. Then place it in a tall cup and fold the bag sides over the cup sides. (This will hold the pastry bag while you fill it with batter.) Add about half of the batter to the bag.
  • Pipe the batter onto a macaron mat. Hold the bag perpendicular to the mat and squeeze out a circle of batter about 1 to 1 1/4 inches in diameter. Space the cookie shells far enough apart so they can spread later.
  • As soon as the pan is full of cookies, tap the baking sheet firmly on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles. This will spread out the batter a little. Do not wait too long to tap the baking sheet to prevent a skin from forming on the cookies before you are ready. Repeat until all the macarons are piped onto baking sheets.
  • Let the macarons dry out for 60 minutes to form a skin on top. Test by touching. If no batter sticks to your finger, they are ready to bake. If not, let them sit a little longer and test again.
  • Preheat the oven to 300°F. Bake the macarons for 14-15 minutes on the middle rack. Keep a check and do not let them brown, or they will lose their color and overcook.
  • Cool completely to prevent sticking. Then carefully remove the cookie shells from the mat.
Filling
  • In a mixing bowl with the whisk attachment, beat the butter until fluffy.
  • Add powdered sugar, cream, pumpkin spice, salt, and vanilla extract and beat until well combined. If the frosting is too stiff, add more milk. If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar.
  • Place the tip and frosting into a pastry bag; then pipe the frosting onto the inside of half of the cookie shells. Then top with an unfrosted cookie to make a sandwich. Macarons have a short shelf life and should be eaten within a few days. Freeze them in an airtight container to keep them fresh for months.

Notes

How to Make Uniform-Sized Cookie Shells

  1. One way to keep the macaron shells the same size is to use a macaron mat with indentations. They come with round indents and other shapes like hearts. When you use an indentation mat, keep the batter within the indentations for perfectly round circles. Click here to link to a macaron mat.
  2. Use a silicone mat with printed macaron circles on it. Make sure you check the dimensions of any mat you want to purchase. Some are for professional ovens and do not fit some home ovens. Click here to link to one.
  3. Draw circles on parchment paper by tracing around a 1-inch to 1-1/4-inch round object (such as a small vase or toddler cup). Trace circles (spaced apart) with a pencil or pen. Then turn the parchment paper over and place it on a baking sheet to keep the pencil markings (on the underside) away from the macarons. You will be able to see the circles through the paper. 
  4. Make a lot of macarons. It takes practice to make freehanded uniform circles, but soon you will find it easy to make same-sized shells.

Recipe Yield

The number of macarons this recipe makes depends on the size of the macarons you make. If the shells are approximately 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches, the recipe will make around 50 to 60 finished cookies or 100 to 120 single shells.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 125kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 3gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.03gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.2gTrans Fat: 0.02gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 11mgPotassium: 9mgFiber: 1gSugar: 15gVitamin A: 21IUVitamin C: 0.02mgCalcium: 24mgIron: 0.4mg
Keyword Best Pumpkin Spice Macaron Recipe, French Macaron, French Macarons, Macaron Recipe, Macarons, Pumpkin Spice, Pumpkin Spice Recipe
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