Lina & Sofia Macarons are delicious, there is no doubt about it and it may be terrifying to try to make them yourself but when is a better time to try so than during your christmas baking? I added macarons to my baking list this christmas and my friends and family love them. There is really not much to it once you have the shells done, so I got some christmas fillings for your christmas macarons.
I don’t have a shell recipe of my own but when I first made macarons myself I used this recipe. It worked really well for me and still does. There is a video if you like watching how something is done rather than read through the recipe. And, it really isn’t that hard once you understand what you are doing.
NOTE: I seperated my dough in half and “coloured” one half with just a little bit of cocoa powder to make it brown. This step should not change the texture of your shell dough very much but it will lenghten the baking time by one or two minutes.
1. Eggnog Filling
The eggnog filling is based on a really basic swiss meringue buttercream. I chose this kind of buttercream as a base because it isn’t as heavy as american buttercream and really not that hard to make. I have done it a few times and it works every time. Also it is really easy to flavour and make it pop.
The following recipe can fill about 15 macarons, if not a little more, but it is so delicious you could just eat the rest up with a spoon on its own (we sure did).
Ingredients
- 2 egg white
- 133g granulated sugar
- 133g unsalted butter
- pinch of salt
- 4 tablespoons eggnog
Instructions
- Place the egg whites, sugar and salt in a heat proof bowl and fill a small pot with some water to create a double boiler.
- Mix the content of the bowl together and place it on the pot once the water in there is simmering.
- Mix constantly until the sugar has dissloved completley and tehre are no grains left. It will be completely white when it is done. Take off the heat.
- Using an electric mixer, start whisking the meringue until it has cooled off (and stiff peaks form1).
- Once your meringue has reached room temperature, add in the butter in small amounts and incooperate one piece at a time.
- Lastly mix in the eggnog.2
- Refrigerate the cream for about 15 minutes before filling your shells with it.
1 If you don’t get stiff peaks, don’t worry, put the meringue in the refrigerator for 5 – 10 minutes and then try again. If you still don’t get stiff peaks, just make sure you have whisked the mixture long enough, it will most likely be fine anyways and it will still be delicious and have a good consistency.
2 If you want a stronger eggnog taste, add a bit more eggnog but make sure to not add too much or the buttercream might become too liquid and soft. I found that four tablespoons was the perfect amount, you can taste the eggnog but it is not too strong.
2. Spekulatius Filling
The base for this filling is a dark chocolate ganache, so really no rocket sience. You can also make a milk chocolate ganache if you prefer it or use a gingerbread spice (I originally intended to do that but I like Spekulatius better).
If you don’t know what Spekulatius is: It is made of a spiced short pastry and an essential in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands during christmas time. It is also known as speculoos (in Belgium). The original origin of these cookies is not really clarified but everyone agrees it is delicious.
Ingredients
- 100g dark chocolate (chopped)
- 130g heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons of spekulatius spice
Spekulatius spice can be swapped with gingerbread spice as well.
Instructions
- Heat the heavy cream in a small pot until it almost starts to cook. Take off the heat.
- Put in the chopped chocolate and let sit for one and a half minutes.
- Stir until the chocolate has completely melted and add the spice.
- Let cool completely before filling the macarons.
We hope you like the recipes as much as us and have as much fun making them as we did. We hope our attempt of trying to incorporate macarons into the most wonderful time of the year was successful for you as well and you and your loved ones love the little unique treats.
“Christmas is like candy; it slowly melts in your mouth sweetening every taste bud, making you wish it could last forever.”
Richelle E. Goodrich
Check out Plan Baking for more yummy recipes or Bonus Plan for more christmas themed posts.
We would be over the moon if you leave us a comment with your thoughts about our christmas macarons and share your creations with us on Instagram. If you have any questions we would also be happy to answer them here or on Instagram. Share this recipe with your baking friends so you can take on the challenge of baking macarons together.
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