Adorable pumpkin macarons with pumpkin buttercream filling – a quick video tutorial, FREE template and lots of tips are included!!
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Well, now that summer is officially coming to an end (kind of sad, but kind of excited for fall baking!), I think it’s safe to start with all things pumpkin now. Are you as excited as I am? I hope so!
I created this pumpkin macaron recipe exactly 3 years ago. It was a huge hit around here. My mother-in-law loved this flavor the most out of all the macs I’ve made so far.
When I was developing this recipe back then, I remember brainstorming ideas on how to infuse the macarons with pumpkin flavor. As you know, macarons are quite finicky, and the thought of adding pumpkin puree into the delicate batter just didn’t sit right with me. Should I add pumpkin spice in the batter and make pumpkin buttercream with pumpkin puree instead? What if they won’t be pumpkin-y enough? Blah, blah, blah… Different thoughts came and went…
How to add pumpkin flavor to macarons:
I was clueless until I came across this magic little bottle of pumpkin spice baking emulsion! It’s like concentrated pumpkin pie in a bottle, perfect for my delicate macaron batter that hates excess moisture. Yeah, this’s powerful stuff, and a little bit goes a long way.
Note that this emulsion is water-based, which means it’s safe to add to the meringue!
Now, tell me how ADORABLE are these little pumpkins?? And those little chocolate chips complete the look perfectly, right?!!! I have to admit I was pretty proud of myself. 🙂
My main goal for re-sharing this old recipe is to show you the whole process. That’s why I made this quick video. And I hope this inspires you to get in the kitchen and bake some macarons.
FREE macaron template
Pumpkin Macarons
Ingredients
For macaron shells:
- 1 cup (100g) almond flour
- 3/4 cup (100g) powdered sugar
- 2 large egg whites 70-75g
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup (50g) sugar
- ¼ teaspoon pumpkin spice bakery emulsion
- Orange gel food coloring optional
For pumpkin buttercream:
- 3 tablespoons (40g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (130g) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon heavy cream
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- 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. (Watch this meringue video for more information.)
- 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 12 round tip here).
- Pipe the macarons in pumpkin shape on prepared baking sheets. (Watch the video above for visuals guide.)
- 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 15minutes, 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.
Tips & Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on September 17th, 2014.
I’m 13 and thought these were SOOOO cute. I’ve been building up my baking skills for a while, so I thought I would give it a try. I immediately went out and bought all the ingredients. Of course I suck at following directions, so I messed it up the first time! (Instead of beating the egg whites until they were foamy, I beat them till they formed peaks!) I went to my grandma, who is a baking legend in my family, and asked for help. We aced it the first time and the macaron shells were delicious! Now I’m working on the filling, and I hope they turn out good! This recipe works so well! Keep up the good work and I can’t wait to see your future recipes!
Hi, Brenna! I’m SO impressed for your desire to challenge yourself, ability to realize your mistakes and asking for help! You’re set for big success in your future! And I’m so happy your macarons turned out and you loved them. If you’ve got pictures, please do send them my way via this form. Thank you for your feedback.
How did you make the pumpkin shape? I don’t see a “pumpkin” macaron video. When I click the link it takes me to a lemon macaron recipe and then that video link takes me to a funfetti macaron.
Hi, MaryAnn! Weird there is a video embedded in this post at the very top. But here’s FB video that you can watch how I make these pumpkin macs. Hope it helps.
Hey Shinee, I’m only 11 years old and I used your french lemon macaroon recipe for Easter and my family simply loved them. So now I’m back trying another one of your scrump-diddly-dumpsious recipes.
Aww, thank you so much, Nina!! I’m so impressed with your baking skills at such a young age! Hope you’ll enjoy these pumpkin macarons.
I made these for my blog this weekend and they are soo darn cute! Great recipe. I didn’t have the pumpkin emulsion so I used 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice instead. And I love pumpkin and cream cheese together so I made the filling a cream cheese buttercream. Thanks so much for the inspiration Shinee! <3
Sophie, thank you so much for your feedback! I loved your adorable macarons, they turned out perfect!
These pumpkin macaroons look amazing!!
Thanks, Jocelyn!
Know the feeling… bittersweet! But super excited for fall baking and these Pumpkin Macarons look super cute, the perfect pair to my caramel latté!
Thanks, Silvia! Mmm, caramel latté sounds amazing! Send me a cup… 😉
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. 🙂