Pumpkin French Macarons
Celebrate fall with these pumpkin French macarons. Easy to follow step-by-step photo tutorial is included.
I wish you were here with me last weekend, enjoying these delicious fall treats. They are packed with pumpkin flavor inside and out. It’s truly hard to resist not to grab one after another.
I’ve made my fair share of French macarons in the past with lots of trials and errors. And these pumpkin French macarons turned out the best of the best, flavor-wise and texture-wise. It’s true that you get better with more practice. My mother-in-law said that these pumpkin macarons are her favorite from all the other flavors I’ve made so far. I’m on the fence though; my lemon French macarons were pretty darn good.
If you have ever made French macarons before, you know how finicky they can be. So I’m very careful playing with flavors, it just might not turn out good. I really wanted to make pumpkin macarons for Halloween though. Different thoughts kept my brain busy on this subject for quite a while. How to incorporate pumpkin puree to the delicate macaron batter? Should I just add pumpkin spice for the batter and make pumpkin buttercream with pumpkin puree? What if they won’t be pumpkin-y enough? Blah, blah, blah… I had to table the idea, because I just didn’t have the courage to experiment. UNTIL, I came across this amazing, flavor-packed baking emulsion! Generous people over at LorAnn Oils and Flavors sent me a free sample of their Pumpkin Spice baking emulsion, butterscotch and chocolate hazelnut oils. When I got the package, I knew exactly what I was going to make. Pumpkin French macarons, of course!
My macarons turned out amazing. I used only ¼ teaspoon of emulsion and it was just perfect. When I was mixing the batter, it smelled like pumpkin pie, and I barely resisted the urge to eat the raw batter. Simply divine! The flavor didn’t get lost during baking either. I couldn’t ask more, perfectly pumpkin-y flavor throughout the cookies. Plus, I made pumpkin buttercream with real pumpkin puree. Boy, was it good!
As always, step-by-step photos are here. You can also watch the video on how to fold the batter on this post.
Don’t be intimidated by French macarons. If you follow all the directions as stated, you will have a success. I’ve heard from my readers that they had successful first attempts following my directions on lemon French macaron post.
You can do it!
Good luck!
Pumpkin French Macarons
Yield: About 25 filled macarons
Cook Time:20 min
Total Time:2 hours (includes resting and cooling time)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup (100gr) almond flour
- 3/4 cup (100gr) powdered sugar
- 2 large egg whites (about 70gr)
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ cup (50gr) sugar
- ¼ teaspoon pumpkin spice bakery emulsion
- Orange gel food coloring, optional
- 3 tablespoons (40gr) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (130gr) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon heavy cream
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions:
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In medium bowl, sift together almond flour and powdered sugar twice. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl with whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar and salt, and continue to beat. Slowly add sugar one tablespoon at a time. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until hard peaks form. Add pumpkin spice bakery emulsion and orange gel food coloring. Beat on medium speed for one more minute, or until the color is evenly distributed.
- Sift the almond flour/powdered sugar mixture over the whipped egg whites. Gently fold the mixture running the spatula clockwise from the bottom, up around the sides and cut the batter in half, as shown in this video . The batter will look very thick at first, but it will get thinner as you fold. Be careful not to over mix it though. Every so often test the batter to see if it reached the right consistency. To test the batter, drop a small amount of the batter and count to ten. If the edges of the ribbon are dissolved within ten seconds, then the batter is ready. I repeat, do NOT mix again. If you still see edges, fold the batter couple more times and test again. This step is so crucial, so please make sure to test often to ensure not to over, or under mix the batter.
- Transfer the batter into a pastry bag with a round tip. (I used Wilton A1 tip).
- Pipe out 1.5-inch rounds about an inch apart on prepared baking sheets.
- Tap the baking sheets firmly on the counter a few times to get rid of any air bubbles. If you don’t release the air bubbles, they will expand during baking and crack the beautiful macarons shells.
- Let the macarons rest and dry for 15-30 minutes. On a humid day, it might take an hour or so. To see if it’s ready to be baked, lightly touch it. If the batter doesn’t stick to your finger, then it’s ready. Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
- Bake the macarons one sheet at a time for 18-20 minutes. To check the doneness, remove one macaron. If the bottom does not stick, they are done.
- Transfer to wire rack to cool for 15 minutes, and then remove from the baking sheets.
- While macarons are drying, prepare the pumpkin buttercream. In a mixing bowl with whisk attachment, beat the butter until fluffy. Add powdered sugar, heavy cream, pumpkin puree, salt and cinnamon. Beat until well combined.
- Transfer the buttercream into a pastry bag and fill the macarons.
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I’ve never eaten a macaron, but as a tremendous fan of LorAnn Oils I knew I’d try them one day after seeing the pictures on their site. Well, that day has come. I happen to have some Pumpkin flavoring. It’s not the Pumpkin Spice Bakery Emulsion but I’m hoping it’ll suffice for my first effort.
The video link doesn’t display for me so I’m going to “wing” it on the folding. But my bigger question is whether you can elaborate on the heavy cream in the frosting ingredients. Stores in my area seem to carry plenty of heavy *whipping* cream but heavy cream is a bit trickier to find. Will they be interchangeable for the filling? or am I going to be disappointed?
Thanks!
Hi, Marge! Yes, heavy whipping cream will work just fine. Here is the link to the video (hope it works for you.) Enjoy!
My son loves macarons, and I am scared to try, but after looking at these pumkin ones, I’m going to do it. Now I really have a dumb question, I have looked for almond flour, and not seen at our local stores or is this something I make grinding almonds up?
I usually buy a ready almond flour, but you can certainly grind yourself. I’ve never done it myself, so I won’t be able to offer any advice. Also, I’m sure you can buy it online too. Here is the one I use.
Sangat membantu saya untuk terus berkreasi…saya bisa melihat dunia tanpa harus terbang dengan merasakan makanannya serasa saya dikota itu terima kasih
Thank you!
I never get macarons right, but these look amazing!
Hope you didn’t give up on this precious little treats, Tianna! Keep perfecting it. 🙂
Shinee,
These look delicious! I love any thing pumpkin I am counting down the days until I can pull out all of my pumpkin decorations! These will be a great way to kick off fall! We would love if you stopped by and shared these at our Dream. Create. Inspire. Link! Party that is going on right now. I hope we’ll see you there!
Cat
Thanks, Cat!
I adore the color of these cookies! They are absolutely enticing! Such beautiful shots! Thank you for this recipe! The Step by step looks so fun! 😀
Thanks so much!!
Hello from Totally Terrific Tuesday Link Party! These Pumpkin French Macarons are FABULOUS! I have yet to tackle french macarons, but it is on my bake bucket list. Love these! Pinned!
Thanks, Sarah!
These look delightful! Perfect for fall. Thank you for sharing!
<3
Yes, perfect fall treat! Thanks, Hannah!
These are just stunning!! Pure perfection, I wish I wasn’t allergic to nuts, so I could make them!
I know there are some nut-free macaron recipes out there. Hope you find a good one to try, Annie.
These are gorgeous, and completely perfect for fall – my favourite!
Yes, indeed! Thanks!
WOW! These look AH-MAZING! Great job! 🙂 (visiting via Show + Tell Link Party)
Thank you, Angeline!
I will be making these with my daughter. We keep trying to get macaroons correct but it takes time. Practice Practice Practice!!
Totally agree, Quinn! Have fun baking the macarons! Thanks for stopping by!
This looks awesome. Have to pin it. Where could I buy pumpkin spice bakery emulsion?
Hi, Iryna! You can buy it on lorannoils.com. I’ve also seen them in cake decorating isle in Walmart.
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These are beautiful in presentation and I’m attempting to make these tonight just in time for Thanksgiving! 🙂 I’ve looked all over for the Pumpkin Spice Emulsion but no luck. I bought a pumpkin pie spice which I found as a substitute but I’m not sure how much to put. What do you recommend?
Carrie, how exciting! I would suggest to add no more than 1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. When it comes to macaron flavors, filling is the most important anyway. Have fun! 🙂
I tried it last night and it was a fail..
1. I think I over mixed and it was a bit runny. Does the viscosity thin out the more you mix?
2. When I let the shells sit to dry after piping them, they just wouldn’t dry.
3. Does the oven tray height matter? Mine burned at 5 mins into baking.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated! I’m determined to master the macaron!
Oh no, Carrie! That’s ok though, I had so many failed macarons last few weeks while developing chocolate macarons. These macarons are finicky business! 🙂 I’m glad you’re not giving up.
1. YES! When the batter gets thinner as you mix, you need to pay even more attention to the consistency. They do get runny real fast. Just couple extra fold make a huge difference.
2. It’s probably due to humidity. Was is it raining/snowing where you’re? If it’s humid, it takes longer to dry. Macarons don’t like rain and snow. Maybe you could place a fan next to the macarons, not too close, but just to create a little air circulation and get rid of humidity.
3. I usually bake my macarons in the middle tray. It sounds like your oven temperature was too high. Do you have an electronic thermometer to check your oven temperature? It should not be more than 325°F.
Without knowing how exactly your macarons came out, I can’t offer any other tips. I hope my answers help. 🙂
This definitely helps.
I’ve looked at other videos so I can see when to stop folding the batter and get familiar of what it should look like so I’ll try that again. Also, I didn’t add the sugar into the egg whites when they were beating because there was already the sugar in the dry mix (almond flour and powdered sugar sifted).
I’m located in Northern California so not too much humidity but since its winter, it rains a tad so there’s a bit of moisture in the air. I left them out for over an hour and they were the same gooey consistency as when I piped them. I think the batter overall was no good.
I set my oven to 300°F as listed in the recipe.
Ooooh, that small amount of sugar for egg whites makes all the difference, Carrie! Sugar creates sturdy, fluffy meringue. I would not omit that. Last summer, I was making my lemon macarons with my friend and I was so distracted that I forgot to put sugar in my egg whites. It looked so weak and not right, but I just proceeded making macarons not realizing that I forgot to put sugar. And the macarons didn’t turn out well. I’d also check your oven temp just to make sure. Some people’s oven can vary up to 50°F, which pretty big deal when it comes to macarons. 300°F is perfect.
They look beautiful! Do you happen to have the weights for your measurements? Also during the video I had a hard time seeing/understanding what I should be looking for. Could you please explain what you mean by “if the edges of the ribbon are dissolved within ten seconds, then the batter is ready.” What exactly do you mean be the edges being dissolved? I’m getting ready to try these so I really appreciate your help. Thanks!
Hi, Christy! Yep, I just updated the recipe with weight info. So, when you drop a little bit of batter, it should dissolve into the rest of the batter within 10 second. If you go to the video and fast forward to 40-41sec, the batter stays thick without melting into the rest of the batter. After a few more folds, the batter gets thinner, at 50sec of the video you can see how the dropped batter melts into the rest of the batter, creating smooth surface. I hope it makes sense. Let me know if you have any more questions.
sorry i have another question… Can i use this butter cream on another cupcake , (the butter cream was really good :). would it make a difference ?
thanks 🙂
Absolutely. As long as you love that buttercream, it should be fine. 🙂 Have fun!
hi I was wondering if there is any overnight refrigerating time or do you think i could keep it over night in the fridge ?
thanks
Hi, Ella. Do you mean how to store the macarons? If so, yes, you can assemble the macarons and store in the fridge in air tight container.
These are unreal! So beautiful and perfect.
Thank you, Shikha!
These are so gorgeous! Your photos are just awesome!!
Thank you so much, Ang! 🙂
Absolutely gorgeous! I tried making these once, but they just weren’t right. You have inspired me to try again! Thanks!!
Thank you, Teri! Definitely give it another try. It’s totally worth it!
I have a rookie question. What is “pumpkin spice bakery emulsion”?
Heidi, it’s an pumpkin spice flavored emulsion used in baking. I saw them in the baking isle in Walmart. You can also check out LorAnn’s website for more details.
These look gorgeous! fantastic photos and creative recipe. I’ve never thought about making pumpkin macarons 🙂
Thank you, Thea! Pumpkin is my #1 flavor this time of year. 🙂
Shinee – these French macarons are perfection – I don’t think you could get them to look any more beautiful than they already do! I’ve still never tried my hand at macarons, even though they’re one of my favorite desserts to eat. I promise to add this to my to-do list! Pinning:)
Thanks so much, Sarah, for your kind compliment! You have to make this. They are so good, and so much cheaper. 🙂
Wow! Your pictures are stunning! I love how the macarons turned out 🙂
Thanks so much, Kacey! This is my proudest work so far in the macaron baking experience! 🙂