Halloween is maybe my least favourite holiday. In all 28 years of my life, I think I can count the number of times I’ve dressed up on one hand. It just isn’t my thing. You know what is my thing though? Macarons. This week my things are mummy macarons.
We’re having a halloween potluck at work and I’m bringing a sweet treat (obviously). I’ve never made anything specifically for Halloween for this blog before, but I figured if it’s for work, why not go all out?
I didn’t want to make a cake, or cupcakes, or cookies, so naturally, in my mind, the only thing left was macarons. I’ve made pumpkin spice macarons before, but I wouldn’t say they scream halloween. Spiders freak me out, so there wasn’t going to be any spider business happening in my kitchen and while I work with 45 doctors, something bloody just didn’t seem quite right.
That basically left witches or mummies and I went with mummies because I think they’re more fun and these mummy macarons were born.
Can you believe I haven’t published a vanilla bean macaron recipe before today? It seems almost sacrilegious, especially given the number of macarons recipes I have published. With mummies being wrapped in white bandages, it made sense to do a vanilla bean shell and buttercream.
We’re doing the traditional French method for the shells. I know I’ve flipped back and forth between this and the Italian method over the last couple of years, but after a lot of trial and error, I’ve found that the French method works best for the ovens I use.
I usually caution against adding liquid to the meringue, but in this case we’re adding vanilla bean paste. It’s kind of gel-like in a way similar to gel food colouring so for our purposes it actually works quite well.
To make these little guys look like mummies, once the shells are cool we’re going to drizzle on some white chocolate bandages, and top half of the shells with candy eyeballs. While that is setting, whip up your buttercream. Pipe the buttercream onto half of your shells, then sandwich together with another shell. Each macaron should have one shells with eyes and one without.
Keep these for yourself, no sharing with trick or treaters. Or, be like me and bring them to work so you don’t find yourself consuming too much sugar before Halloween even gets here.
Happy Halloween!
Vanilla Bean Mummy Macarons
Ingredients
- Macaron Shells:
- 275g almond flour
- 250g powdered sugar
- 210g egg whites
- 210g sugar
- 2 tsp. vanilla bean paste
- Melted white chocolate, for drizzling
- Small candy eyeballs
- Vanilla Bean Buttercream:
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 tsp. vanilla bean paste
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp. heavy whipping cream
Directions
- Step 1 Shells:
- Step 2 To start, put the almond flour and powdered sugar in a food processor and blend thoroughly. Sift into a bowl to ensure there are no lumps.
- Step 3 In the bowl of a stand mixer (make sure it’s clean and dry), beat the egg whites until foamy. Slowly add the sugar, about 2 tbsp at a time, beating on a medium speed. Once the sugar has dissolved, add the vanilla bean paste and increase speed to medium high and beat until a thick glossy meringue forms. The mixture should form stiff peaks and you should be able to tip the bowl over your head with none of the mixture coming out.
- Step 4 With a large, flat rubber spatula, gently fold 1/3 of almond flour/powdered sugar mixture into egg whites until combined. Repeat until all of the almond mixture has been added. Fold to combine until you see no streaks of almond flour in the batter. The batter should be pretty fluid, a lot of people describe as a lava-like consistency. It should run smoothly off the spatula when you pull it out. This part comes with practice. Once you know the consistency, you’ll just be able to feel when it’s ready.
- Step 5 Pipe the batter into circles onto parchment or silicone lined baking sheets. Bang the tray a few times on a table to remove air bubbles and allow to sit for about 30 minutes before baking. To see if they’re ready for baking, touch your finger to them. If you get batter on your finger, they need to rest longer.
- Step 6 While resting, preheat your oven to 300°F with a rack placed in the lower third of the oven. Bake, one sheet at a time, for 15-18 minutes (this depends on your oven, my old one was fine at 15 minutes, this one needs 17-18). The shells should cool completely before you remove them from the parchment/silicone.
- Step 7 Once shells are cool, drizzle with white chocolate and attach one pair of eyes to half of the shells.
- Step 8 Vanilla Bean Buttercream:
- Step 9 Beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, waiting until fully incorporated before adding the next cup. Add vanilla bean paste, vanilla extract, and heavy whipping cream. Beat for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Step 10 Assembly:
- Step 11 Pipe buttercream on one half of each macaron pair. Sandwich together, you should have one shell with eyes and one without. Keep refrigerated until ready to eat.
