Pumpkin Macarons

The macaron shells are bursting with vanilla flavor and have those beautiful vanilla bean specks all over. And the pumpkin spice swiss meringue buttercream is so heavenly, it tastes so similar to pumpkin pie filling. If you only make one of my macaron recipes, I'm begging you, make this one! I promise, you won't regret it. 

For more pumpkin recipes, try Maple Pumpkin Hand Pies, Chocolate Dipped Pumpkin Biscotti, Small Batch Pumpkin Pie Bars with Swiss Meringue, and Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin Bread.

Ingredient Notes

• White Vinegar: To ensure that your meringue remains stable, clean and wipe down all appliances with white vinegar.
• Powdered Sugar: You'll need powdered sugar for the macaron shells.
• Almond Flour: Be sure to use extra fine almond flour to get those super smooth shells!
• Egg Whites: You'll need about 3 egg whites for the shells. Don't worry about bringing them to room temperature because you'll just heat them up over a double boiler to make a swiss meringue! You'll also need 2 more egg whites for the buttercream.
• Granulated Sugar: The sugar is going to be added to the egg whites when making the swiss meringue for both the shells and the buttercream. It will only take a couple minutes for the sugar to dissolve into the egg whites, so whisk frequently and watch carefully!
• Vanilla Paste: Vanilla paste is key to this recipe. It is much more potent than vanilla extract and adds those beautiful specks throughout the shells and the buttercream.
• Unsalted Butter: You'll need 1 ½ sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature, but on the cooler side. 
• Pumpkin Puree: You'll need to start with about 200g of pumpkin puree, then reduce it in a saucepan, which will leave you with about 150g.
• Pumpkin Pie Spice: Add a little pumpkin pie spice to really amp up the pumpkin flavor in the buttercream.

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.

Step by Step Instructions

Here are step by step photos and instructions on how to make this pumpkin macaron recipe! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.

STEP 1: Make the macarons. Sift the dry ingredients in a medium bowl, then heat the egg whites and granulated sugar over a double boiler until the sugar has dissolved. Transfer the egg white mixture to a large bowl and whisk until the meringue reaches soft peaks. Add the vanilla paste and whisk until stiff peaks form. Start the macaronage by folding in ⅓ of the dry ingredients carefully until mostly combined. Fold in the remainder of the dry ingredients until combined, then begin spreading the batter along the sides of the bowl to deflate it slightly until you can draw several figure eights without the batter breaking. Pipe the batter into circles on your baking sheet, rest for 30-40 minutes, then bake for 8-12 minutes.

STEP 2: Make the buttercream. In a double boiler, heat the egg whites, sugar, and salt, whisking frequently until it reaches 160 degrees F or until the mixture does not feel grainy. Transfer the mixture into a bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form, then let the mixture cool on low speed. While the meringue is cooling down on low speed, reduce the pumpkin puree. Add the pumpkin pie spice to the reduced pumpkin. Set aside to cool. Add cubed butter to the meringue one piece at a time, beating slowly until the mixture comes together fully. Once the buttercream has mostly come together, change the whisk attachment to the paddle and keep mixing on low speed until homogenous and smooth. Add the vanilla paste and reduced pumpkin, mixing until fully combined.

Expert Baking Tips

• The flavor of macaron shells develop more by the second day, so I recommend making them the day before and chilling them overnight, then assemble the next day. 
• If you have trouble peeling the macarons off of the parchment once they have cooled, pop them into the freezer for a few minutes and they should come off easily. 
• For the buttercream – DO NOT add the butter to the swiss meringue until it has cooled down to below 85 degrees F. I have made the mistake of adding it too soon, and the meringue ended up melting the butter and turned the whole thing into a soupy mess. If your meringue has reached stiff peaks before it is cool enough, turn the mixer down to low speed and keep it there until it reaches the right temperature.  
• Macarons will last for a few days at room temperature and up to a week in the fridge. I prefer to store them in the fridge not only so they will last longer, but also because I find that they taste even better cold.

My 6 Essential Macaron Rules:

1. Wipe down all bowls and appliances with white vinegar. This will ensure that everything is spotlessly clean and nothing will hinder the stability of the meringue. 
2. Beat the meringue until STIFF peaks form. The best way to test this is to turn the bowl upside down to make sure that the meringue is stable enough and does not move at all. 
3. SIFT SIFT SIFT! You need to sift the powdered sugar and almond flour to get those smooth macaron shells!
4. Mix the batter with a silicone spatula by circling around and straight through the middle. Once all of the dry ingredients are incorporated, deflate the macaron batter by spreading it against the sides of the bowl. This will ensure that the shells do not come out hollow.
5. Test the consistency of the batter frequently by drawing a figure eight with the silicone spatula. You should be able to draw a figure eight a few times in a row without the batter breaking. This is how you know the batter is ready to be piped onto a baking sheet. 
6. Allow the macarons to rest long enough before going into the oven. I would recommend 30-40 minutes of rest time before baking. As they rest, a skin forms on the surface, which is what forces the macarons to bake upwards and grow feet!

All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale. 

If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.

But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!

Happy baking! x