The flavor and color combinations when it comes to macarons are nearly limitless. Blueberry Cheesecake Macarons have amazing flavor and beautiful color thanks to my newly discovered secret ingredient. Freeze dried fruit! I have been playing around with ways to color macarons for a while and so far, freeze dried fruit are the tastiest and most natural way to do it. Blueberry Cheesecake Macarons are my new favorite Macarons and may even become yours too!
For detailed instructions on how to make a macaron, check out how to make Easy Nut-Free French Macarons.
How To Make Blueberry Cheesecake Macarons.
In a food processor, pulse the sunflower seeds, powdered sugar and about 1/3 cup freeze dried blueberries for one minute. Sift and then repulse what didn’t go through for another minute. Sift again and you should be left with 1-2 tablespoons of bits that will not go through. Discard.
Whip egg whites and granulated sugar into stiff peaks, starting at medium speed and increasing every 2 minutes. It will take anywhere from 6-10 minutes total. It’s best to start with room temperature egg whites.
Fold your dry mixture into your egg white and sugar mixture until the consistency flows from your spatula like lava.
Add to a piping bag and pipe onto a macaron mat, silat or parchment paper. Allow to dry for about 30 minutes or until you can touch the piped rounds without the batter sticking to your finger.
Bake for 10 minutes in a 300 degree oven, allow to cool completely and then fill! Enjoy 🙂
I chose to fill mine with a blueberry cream cheese buttercream.
These would also be fantastic with a blueberry preserve.
I definitely want to try more flavors using freeze fried fruit.
Which flavor/color combination do you think I should try next?
Easy (Nut-Free) Blueberry Cheesecake French Macarons
Delicate and delicious strawberry sandwhich cookies with a sweet scream cheese filling.
Ingredients
- 71 grams of raw sunflower seeds 2/3 cup
- 117 grams confectioners' sugar 1 cup
- 1/3 cup freeze dried blueberries
- 2 large egg whites room temperature
- 53 grams granulated sugar 1/4 cup
Jam or cream cheese filling below:
- 1/2 cup butter
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3-4 cups confectioners sugar depending on how sweet you want it.
- 3 TBS blueberrie powder from freeze dried blueberries
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place sunflower seeds in a food processor along with confectioners sugar and freeze dried blueberries. Process until combined, about 1 minute.
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Pass seed/sugar mixture through a sieve. Transfer bits that didn’t go through the sieve back to the food processor; sift again, pressing down on clumps. Repeat until less than 2 tablespoons of solids are left.
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Whisk egg whites and granulated sugar by hand to combine first. Then whip on medium speed and increase the speed every 2 minutes until stiff peaks form. This should take between 6-10 minutes.
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Add dry ingredients and fold in with a spatula. Repeat just until batter flows like lava.
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Pipe small circles onto parchment paper or on a macaron sheet. Tap sheets firmly against counter 2 or 3 times to release air bubbles. Allow to dry for 30 minutes.
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Bake until risen and just set, 10-12 minutes. Let cool. Pipe or spread filling on flat sides of half of cookies; top with remaining half. store in airtight container and refrigerate.
Recipe Notes
It’s best to refrigerate overnight. I like to let them come back to room temp before eating. I have also eaten them after assembly and they are great then as well!