These Apple Pie Macarons are a classic French dessert made by making a vanilla macaron shell, gorgeous buttercream, and a dollop of apple pie filling in each. It is the perfect macaron for the holiday season.
Love apples? Enjoy the best ever classic delicious Bavarian Apple Torte and Baked Apple Cider Donuts, just to name a couple of our best recipes.
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What are in Apple Pie Macarons?
Ingredients that, for the most part, are easily found in most grocery stores. Almond flour is now the most common gluten-free flour used in baking, so you should be able to find that quickly.
Is vanilla extract the same as vanilla bean paste*? Yes, and you can substitute them for each other. The only difference is that the bean paste is slightly thicker, so be careful with recipes like this one as it may alter the outcome. *affiliate link
Ingredients
Vanilla Macarons:
Almond flour
Powdered sugar
Salt
Egg whites, at room temperature
Granulated sugar
Vanilla extract
Vanilla bean paste
For this amazing macaron recipe, you want a gorgeous vanilla buttercream and apple pie filling.
Vanilla Buttercream:
Unsalted butter, at room temperature
Powdered sugar
Salt
Vanilla extract
Milk, plus more if needed
Other:
Apple pie filling, mashed a bit with a fork (store-bought or homemade is fine)
White candy melting wafers
Crushed cinnamon graham crackers
How To Make Macarons
For the Vanilla Macarons:
Sift together the almond flour, powdered sugar, and salt through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding the pieces left in the sieve.
Add the egg whites to a large bowl. Use a handheld electric mixer to beat until frothy. While still beating, add the granulated sugar a little at a time. Continue beating the egg whites and beat until stiff peaks form.
Beat the vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste into the egg whites.
Use a rubber spatula to gently fold 1/3 of the almond flour mixture at a time into the egg whites. Be careful not to over-mix.
Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat liners. Fit a piping bag with a round tip, and transfer the batter to the piping bag. Pipe the batter into 3/4-inch circles about 1 inch apart.
Tap the trays firmly against the countertop a few times to release any air bubbles.
Let the piped cookies sit at room temperature until they form a skin and feel dry on top, about 30 to 60 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 300F.
Bake the trays one at a time until the macarons develop a puffed “foot” on the bottom and are lightly golden around the outside, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Let the French macarons cool completely before removing them from the baking tray.
For the Vanilla Buttercream:
Beat together all ingredients in a large bowl until light and fluffy, adding enough milk to achieve the right consistency.
Mashup the apple pie filling with a fork.
To Assemble the Macarons:
Match up similarly sized and shaped macarons into pairs.
Have a piping bag fitted with a star tip, and transfer the buttercream to the piping bag. Pipe a ring of buttercream on the bottom cookie of each cookie pair. Place 1/2 teaspoon of apple filling in the center of each buttercream ring. Place the matched cookie on top to form sandwiches.
To Decorate the Macarons:
Place the macarons on a wire rack on top of a parchment-lined baking tray.
Melt the white candy melting wafers in a microwave or double boiler. Stir until smooth. Transfer the melted candy to a zip-top plastic bag and snip off one corner. Drizzle the melted candy decoratively on top of each macaron. Before the candy drizzle sets, sprinkle a tiny bit of crushed cinnamon graham crackers on each.
Let the candy set before serving.
NOTES
It’s helpful to add the almond flour and powdered sugar to a food processor and pulse several times before sifting.
Knowing when the batter is finished being mixed is a real art and can be tricky! A lot of people say it should flow like lava. A good test is to see if the batter falls off the spatula in ribbons to make a figure 8 shape.
A Silpat macaron mat is helpful to get the same size cookies.
Store the macarons stacked between wax paper in the fridge for up to 1 week.
What is the Difference Between a Macaron and Macaroon?
The only thing similar between a macaron and a macaroon is their names. Macarons are French cookies, and macaroons can be traced back to Italy.
These cookies differ in appearance greatly due to their ingredients. Macarons are made with almond flour, and macaroons are made with shredded coconut. Macaroons also do have egg whites and sugar, but their appearance is little mounds of coconut. They are not sandwiched like macarons but are usually dipped in chocolate. They have a chewy interior and a rough and bumpy surface from the coconut.
Why are Macarons so Expensive?
Why are macarons more expensive than the average cookie? Number one, they are labor-intensive compared to other cookies. Also, the ingredients needed are more expensive too. Almond flour, in comparison to other flours, is several times more expensive.
Macarons also do need some expertise to make them perfect. My husband Ken took an afternoon class to try and master these gorgeous little cookies. With practice and patience, your macarons can look this divine too!
Pin it HERE!!
Pin it HERE!!
Apple Pie Macarons
Ingredients
Vanilla Macarons:
- 128 g almond flour
- 128 g powdered sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 100 g egg whites at room temperature
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Vanilla Buttercream:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tablespoons milk plus more if needed
Other:
- 1/2 cup apple pie filling mashed a bit with a fork (store-bought or homemade is fine)
- 1/4 cup white candy melting wafers
- 2 tablespoons crushed cinnamon graham crackers
Instructions
For the Vanilla Macarons:
- Sift together the almond flour, powdered sugar, and salt through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding the pieces left in the sieve.
- Add the egg whites to a large bowl. Use a handheld electric mixer to beat until frothy. While still beating, add the granulated sugar a little at a time. Continue beating until the egg whites reach stiff peaks.
- Beat the vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste into the egg whites.
- Use a rubber spatula to gently fold 1/3 of the almond flour mixture at a time into the egg whites. Be careful not to over-mix.
- Line 2 large baking trays with parchment paper or Silpat liners. Fit a piping bag with a round tip, and transfer the batter to the piping bag. Pipe the batter into 3/4-inch circles about 1 inch apart.
- Tap the trays firmly against the countertop a few times to release any air bubbles.
- Let the piped cookies sit at room temperature until they form a skin and feel dry on top, about 30 to 60 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 300F.
- Bake the trays one at a time until the macarons develop a puffed “foot” on the bottom and are light golden around the outside, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool completely before removing them from the baking tray.
For the Vanilla Buttercream:
- Beat together all ingredients in a large bowl until light and fluffy, adding enough milk to achieve the right consistency.
To Assemble the Macarons:
- Match up similarly sized and shaped macarons into pairs.
- Fit a piping bag with a star tip, and transfer the buttercream to the piping bag. Pipe a ring of buttercream on the bottom cookie of each cookie pair. Place 1/2 teaspoon of apple filling in the center of each buttercream ring. Place the matched cookie on top to form sandwiches.
To Decorate the Macarons:
- Place the macarons on a wire rack on top of a parchment-lined baking tray.
- Melt the white candy melting wafers in a microwave or double boiler. Stir until smooth. Transfer the melted candy to a zip-top plastic bag and snip off one corner. Drizzle the melted candy decoratively on top of each macaron. Before the candy drizzle sets, sprinkle a tiny bit of crushed cinnamon graham crackers on each.
- Let the candy set before serving.
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