Grinch Heart Macarons are the perfect Christmas cookie for gifting or to bring to a Christmas party. They’re naturally gluten free cookies too!
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Grinch Heart Macarons
I’m not going to lie, these Grinch Heart Macarons have been on my Christmas Baking list since I made my Peppermint Macarons 2 years ago. Every year I have big plans for Christmas recipes and every year I kind of drop the ball.
While I have shared Christmas recipes, I haven’t gotten to share all of the ones on my to-do list and every year, I add a couple more. It’s like a Christmas cookie treadmill!
Last year, we made Gluten Free Danish Butter Cookies, Crock Pot Bark with Salted Peanuts, and Ina Garten’s French Chocolate Bark. Not a whole lot and definitely not the cakes, cupcakes, and surplus of cookies I would have liked to share!
But this year, I was determined to finally share these Grinch Heart Macarons. I mean, how could I not, especially after my parents took the girls to see the new Grinch movie?! I decided if I could only manage to share one holiday related recipe this year, this French macaron recipe would be it.
But luckily for you, I have at least one more planned for this year – Triple Chocolate Peppermint Cookies. Hopefully more but I’m being realistic here. But two new cookie recipes are better than none!
So lets talk about these macarons for a minute, I know you’ve probably got some questions. Here we go (said in my very best Mario / Mario Kart voice) 👇
What Sprinkles Did You Use?
I used Cake Mate Valentine Hearts sprinkles, it was mixed colored hearts and I picked out the red ones. By ingredient list, they’re gluten free. However, if you’re concerned about cross contamination during production, it would be best to contact Cake Mate directly.
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What Kind of Food Coloring is Best for French Macarons?
Gel food coloring is the best option when you’re working with meringue based batter like this. While I’ve used a small amount of liquid food coloring in the past, soft gel paste food coloring is really the best to use. For these Grinch Heart Macarons, I used 3 squeezes of AmeriColor “Leaf Green”. I’m a big fan of AmeriColor soft gel paste food coloring because it consistently produces really vibrant colored food and their allergen information” is easy to find and read.
And just in case you were wondering, this isn’t a sponsored post for AmeriColor, I’m just really loving my Nifty-Fifty Kit”!
What’s the Best Filling for these Grinch Heart Macarons?
I used my favorite vanilla buttercream frosting for this French macaron filling. I tinted it with the same green as the shells to match. If you want a lighter filling, you could even try my white chocolate ganache whipped cream! It’s stabilized by the white chocolate so it won’t break down and separate. I recommend using either!
How to Store Macarons
If your house is on the cooler side, you can store these at room temperature in an airtight container for a couple of days (no more than 2). You can also store them in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Bring the macarons to room temperature before serving.
How Long do Macarons Last?
Macarons will last about 3-4 days before they start to lose some of their flavor and texture.
You guys, these Grinch Heart French Macarons are so fun and perfect for Christmas. My kids went seriously nuts for them and that, my friends, is what I call a Christmas win ❤️💚
Enjoy!
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Grinch Heart Macarons
Ingredients
For the Macarons
- 4 large egg whites aged and room temperature (about 130 grams)*
- 170 grams almond meal I used Bob’s Red Mill
- 200 grams powdered sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 70 grams granulated sugar
- green gel paste food coloring
- red heart sprinkles use gluten free sprinkles if needed
For the Vanilla Buttercream
- 1/1 cup 1 stick butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- pinch of fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon heavy cream
- green gel paste food coloring
Instructions
- To Make the Macarons
- Add the egg whites to a large glass or metal bowl and bring to room temperature.
- Add the almond meal, powdered sugar, and salt to a food processor and pulse until it is a fine powder. Set aside.
- Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites and use a whisk attachment on a hand mixer (or stand mixer) and whisk until soft peaks form. While the mixer is running, slowly add the granulated sugar, about 1-2 tablespoons at a time. Continue mixing as you add all of the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.
- Add about 3 drops green food coloring (I probably used 1/2 teaspoon of Americolor gel paste in Leaf) and gently fold into the meringue 3 to 4 times.
- Sift the dry ingredients into the egg whites. Use a spatula to gently fold the dry ingredients into the egg whites. Fold until completely incorporated and the batter runs off the spatula in long ribbons.
- Line 2 baking sheets with silicon baking mats or parchment paper. Add the batter to a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 2A piping tip (round tip with a 1/2 inch diameter) and pipe the batter into 1 1/2 inch circles.
- Once all the rounds are piped, gently lift and drop the baking sheets onto the counter several times to help pop any air bubbles. Carefully place a red heart sprinkle on half of the macarons.
- Let the macaron shells sit uncovered at room temperature for 45-60 minutes to help form a dry shell on the outside.
- When the shells have dried, preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Bake the shells for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven then leave the macarons on the baking pan for 5 minutes. Then carefully slide the silicon mats or parchment paper onto wire racks. Cool completely before carefully removing from the parchment paper or silicon mat. Make the buttercream while the macaron shells are cooling.
- To Make the Buttercream
- Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until smooth.
- Add half of the powdered sugar and a pinch of sea salt and beat on low until the sugar is mostly incorporated. Add the remaining powdered sugar and beat on low until combined. Increase speed to medium and beat for 3 minutes.
- Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl. Add the vanilla extract, whipping cream, and food coloring and beat for an additional minute on low, increasing the speed to medium once the whipping cream is incorporated.
- Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 2A tip. Pipe a small amount of buttercream onto the 12 macaron shells that do not have heart sprinkles, make sure they are completely cooled first. Top each with the macaron shells with the heart sprinkles.
Notes
- Keep the filled macarons refrigerated in an air-tight container up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving. Macarons are best about 24 hours after assembling.
- Place wax paper or parchment paper between layers of macarons if they are stacked.
Recommended Products
Nutrition Information
Disclaimers
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Facts are estimated and aren't always accurate. Please consult a doctor or nutritionist if you have special dietary needs.
Did you make this recipe? Leave a star rating and let me know in the comments! You can also leave a photo/comment on this pin for others to see.
Why should you not use pasteurized egg whites in this recipe? I thought that they would just require a longer whipping time. Is this not the case?
Egg whites from a carton often don’t whip up to form stiff peaks the way egg whites separated from whole eggs would.