You are going to love these Christmas Macarons that are made to look like your favorite snack cake, the classic Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes! These perfect French macarons are filled with vanilla buttercream that is flavored with crumbled Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes, and festively decorated with white chocolate, red icing, and green sprinkles. Use my step-by-step tutorial to get the perfect Christmas Macarons.
The most impressive Christmas cookie is here! These beautiful Christmas macarons will add cheer and color to your Christmas trays this year. And I’m not going to lie to you, baking perfect macarons requires time, patience, and attention to detail but once you take your first bite you are going to fall in love!
These macarons are chewy, tender, and taste amazing! Follow my tutorial here to learn how to make beautiful macarons with full smooth shells, smooth tops, and perfect feet.
You should also check out my Peppermint Chocolate Macarons, Coffee Macarons, and Teal Macarons!
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Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Impressive Results: Macarons are so expensive! But why spend $$$ if you can make them yourself?
- Christmas Themed: I think that these are the cutest Christmas macarons that I’ve ever seen! They’re vanilla flavored and are decorated to look like Little Debbie’s Christmas Tree cakes that we all love.
- Easy Step-by-Step Instructions: I’ve perfected my macaron game, and I will share all of my tips and tricks with you so that you can make beautiful macarons too.
Key Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make plain macaron shells using the French meringue method:
Complete list of ingredients with quantities and instructions is located in the recipe card below
- Almond Flour: For making the perfect macarons, it is important that you use FINE almond flour, and that you sift it very well after measuring. Measure your flour and sugars by weight rather than volume for the best results. My favorite brands for fine almond flour are Blue Diamond, and Bob’s Red Mill.
- Egg Whites: Ensure that your egg whites are at room temperature before mixing, you should also measure them out by grams rather than the number of eggs to use.
- Powdered sugar: Also called confectioner’s sugar. Make sure it is fresh and there are no dried lumps in your powdered sugar.
- Granulated Sugar: All macaron recipes use both white sugar and powdered sugar. The white granulated sugar is added to the egg whites, while the powdered sugar is mixed with the almond flour. Caster sugar also works here.
- Cream of Tartar: This helps to stabilize the egg white mixture.
How To Make Christmas Macarons
A stand mixer makes macaron making a lot easier, but you can make this recipe using a handheld mixer if that’s what you have.
To Make the Shells:
- Sift Flour and Powdered Sugar: Measure the almond flour and powdered sugar (by weight, please!) and sift them into a bowl. Set aside.
- Beat Egg Whites: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine room temperature egg whites and cream of tartar and whisk until frothy (1-2 minutes). Gradually add in the granulated sugar (1 tablespoon at a time) and mix until stiff peaks form (7-9 minutes). The meringue should stick straight up when you remove the whisk.
- Fold: Sift half of the almond flour and powdered sugar into the meringue and fold by going around the bowl and straight through the center of the meringue. Continue folding until there are no dry spots remaining. Sift in the remaining almond and powdered sugar mixture and fold until you get a “lava-like” consistency (about 60 folds, this is not accurate but a good starting point). You should be able to pick up your spatula and draw a figure 8 with the batter without it breaking off. The batter should also disappear back into the bulk after about 15-20 seconds. Be careful not to overmix the batter or you will lose air bubbles from the egg whites.
- Pipe: Prepare a piping bag with a large round tip. Use a large mug or glass to hold the piping bag while you fill with the macaron batter. Add a silicon mat or parchment paper to a baking sheet. Holding the piping bag straight up, pipe about 1 ½” circles of batter.
- Tap: Next, tap the baking sheet 5 times against the counter to remove any air bubbles. Use a toothpick to pop any air bubbles that come to the surface.
- REST: This step is very important. Allow the shells to set for about 20-40 minutes or until a “skin” forms on the outside (it might take longer depending on your environment). You should be able to touch the top of the shells without batter coming off on your finger. The macaron shells are ready to bake, when they are no longer tacky.
- Bake: Preheat the oven to 300°F/150°C while the macarons are drying. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until you can touch the top of the shell and it does not move around on the “feet”. You may need to rotate the pan midway if you know that your oven has cold spots. Otherwise, do not open the oven until 13 minutes have gone by. The macarons are done when they have puffed up and no longer stick to the silicone pan or parchment paper.
- Cool: Remove the macaron shells from the oven and allow them to cool COMPLETELY before trying to remove them from the pan.
To Make the Buttercream:
- While the macarons are cooling, prepare the buttercream by adding the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer and cream until nice and smooth. Add in powdered sugar one cup at a time and fully incorporate.
- Pour in heavy whipping cream and slowly increase speed to high and whip for 2-3 minutes until you get a whipped consistency. Add in the crumbled Christmas tree cakes last and mix on high speed until combined and smooth.
- Add to a piping bag with a large round piping tip, I used Wilton #1A.
- Flip over half of the shells and pipe a small amount of buttercream on each shell and top with the remaining shells.
For the Topping:
- Dip the top of one of the shells into white chocolate and sprinkle with green sprinkles. Repeat with half of the shells.
- Use a small piping tip and pipe red lines of buttercream or Royal icing on top of the white chocolate. Use a cake as a reference.
- Maturing: Place in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours to “mature” this will give you the best results. Bring the macarons to room temperature and serve!
Macaron Making Tips
Avoid Grease and Oil. This is very important! One speck of egg yolk, cooking oil, or even oils from your skin can disrupt the whipping of the eggs. Be very certain that your hands, tools, and bowls are washed well, and avoid using plastic mixing bowls to make these Christmas Macarons.
Don’t Make Macarons on Humid Days. Too much humidity in the air will make it difficult to get really perfect macarons. You will find that the drying time is longer on a humid day than on a dry day as well.
Measure by Weight. For perfect macarons, the ingredients should be measured by weight using a kitchen scale.
Optional: Age the Egg Whites. I do find that aging the egg whites helps to ensure better results overall, as it reduces the amount of water in the eggs. It’s not totally necessary though, so you can age the eggs, or not. To age egg whites, simply measure them out, cover them with plastic wrap, and place them in the fridge for at least a day. Allow the egg whites to come to room temperature before mixing.
Be Sure to Let them Rest: The step of letting the piped macarons rest before baking them is very important. This allows the tops to dry, which will make them smooth after baking. I usually set mine under my oven hood to help with drying. Don’t put the meringues in the oven until they are dry to the touch and no longer sticky (but also be careful not to dry them for too long!).
Check the oven temperature: You can’t always trust that your oven is the temperature it says it is. For me, my oven often takes much longer than the preheating time to actually get up to temp. An oven thermometer will take all the guesswork out of that.
Don’t Open the Oven: This is true of any type of meringue. Opening the oven can cause forceful airflow and a change in temperature that can mess up everything! You can start checking the progress of your meringues by gently opening the oven after 15 minutes.
FAQs
Macarons are a bite-sized, meringue-based sandwich cookies that originated in France. Macarons have an almond flour and meringue base, whereas macaroons have a shredded coconut and meringue base. Macarons are also baked as individual cookies and then filled with a buttercream or jam filling. Macaroons’ bottoms are often dipped in melted chocolate.
It is easier to crack and separate eggs when they’re cold, but they incorporate better in batters at room temperature. So I suggest separating the egg whites from yolks when they’re cold, then let the egg whites sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before you whip them into meringue.
Macarons, filled or unfilled, will stay fresh at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the fridge for 7 days, or in the freezer for up to two months. Be sure that they are stored in an airtight container.
I hope that these macarons turn out perfect every time you make them! If you try this recipe, make sure to share your experience with me in the comments box below. I love hearing from you!
Christmas Tree Cake Macarons
Ingredients
For the Shells:
- 70 grams almond flour
- 63 grams powdered sugar
- 55 grams egg whites at room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar optional
- 55 grams granulated sugar
For the Filling/Topping:
- 1 stick unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 1½-2 Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes crumbled
- ½ cup white chocolate melted
- Green sprinkles
- Red buttercream frosting or Royal icing
Instructions
- Measure the almond flour and powdered sugar (by weight, please!) and sift them into a bowl. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine room temperature egg whites and cream of tartar and whisk until frothy (1-2 minutes). Gradually add in the granulated sugar (1 tablespoon at a time) and mix until stiff peaks form (7-9 minutes). The meringue should stick straight up when you remove the whisk.
- Sift half of the almond flour and powdered sugar into the meringue and fold by going around the bowl and straight through the center of the meringue. Continue folding until there are no dry spots remaining. Sift in the remaining almond and powdered sugar mixture and fold until you get a “lava-like” consistency (about 60 folds, this is not accurate but a good starting point). You should be able to pick up your spatula and draw a figure 8 with the batter without it breaking off. The batter should also disappear back into the bulk after about 15-20 seconds. Be careful not to overmix the batter or you will lose air bubbles from the egg whites.
- Prepare a piping bag with a large round tip. Use a large mug or glass to hold the piping bag while you fill with the macaron batter. Add a silicone mat or parchment paper to a baking sheet. Holding the piping bag straight up, pipe about 1 ½” circles of batter.
- Next, tap the baking sheet 5 times against the counter to remove any air bubbles. Use a toothpick to pop any air bubbles that come to the surface.
- This step is very important. Allow the shells to set for about 20-40 minutes or until a “skin” forms on the outside (it might take longer depending on your environment). You should be able to touch the top of the shells without batter coming off on your finger. The macaron shells are ready to bake, when they are no longer tacky.
- Preheat the oven to 300°F/150°C while the macarons are drying. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until you can touch the top of the shell and it does not move around on the “feet”. You may need to rotate the pan midway if you know that your oven has cold spots. Otherwise, do not open the oven until 13 minutes have gone by. The macarons are done when they have puffed up and no longer stick to the silicone pan or parchment paper.
- Remove the macaron shells from the oven and allow them to cool COMPLETELY before trying to remove them from the pan.
To Make the Buttercream:
- While the macarons are cooling, prepare the buttercream by adding the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer and cream until nice and smooth.
- Add in powdered sugar one cup at a time and fully incorporate.
- Pour in heavy whipping cream and slowly increase speed to high and whip for 2-3 minutes until you get a whipped consistency.
- Add in the crumbled Christmas tree cakes last and mix on high speed until combined and smooth.
- Add to a piping bag with a large round piping tip, I used Wilton #1A.
- Flip over half of the shells and pipe a small amount of buttercream on each shell and top with the remaining shells.
For the Topping:
- Dip the top of one of the shells into white chocolate and sprinkle with green sprinkles. Repeat with half of the shells.
- Use a small piping tip and pipe red lines of buttercream or royal icing on top of the white chocolate. Use a cake as a reference.
- Place in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours to “mature” this will give you the best results. Bring the macarons to room temperature and serve.
Notes
- Avoid Grease and Oil at all costs. One speck of egg yolk, cooking oil, or even oils from your skin can disrupt the whipping of the eggs. Be very certain that your hands, tools, and bowls are washed well, and avoid using plastic mixing bowls. Carefully separate your eggs to be sure that you’ve removed the yolks cleanly.
- Don’t Make Macarons if It’s Raining. Humidity in the air will make it difficult to get really perfect macarons.
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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