Apple Pie Macarons
These Apple Pie Macarons are a real treat for fall. This delicate French pastry is more challenging than regular cookies, but we provide you with step-by-step instructions to make the job easier and fun!
Servings: 40 macarons
Calories: 103kcal
Equipment
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.
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.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 103kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 24mg | Sugar: 14g