The French Macaron. I have always been especially drawn to all things French. The Language, the country and most of all, the cuisine. I remember tasting my first croissant like it was yesterday. Tasting a French pastry made me feel like I was in France, at a pâtisserie. One of those cute ones on a Paris corner with tiny apartments above it with those faux balconies. All of those buttery, flakey layers. Sometimes with chocolate inside. It’s one of those pastries you want to eat extremely slow to savor every second of every bite. One of those specialty treats that you have just often enough to highly anticipate the next encounter.
French Macaron
One of the most highly anticipated delicacies that was on my list to try was a French Macaron. Oh my how I wanted one of those colorful, delicate cookies. I had never tried one, but I knew it would be delicious. I never seen them around though. Only on TV (I use to spend many mornings watching TV5MONDE). I said to myself, I will just figure out how to make them if I can’t find them. By this time I was in my 20’s living an amazingly healthy, nut-free life. One day, I finally encountered them at Whole Foods. It was sitting right in the little showcase next to all of the other fancy looking cakes with those tiny as can be ingredients lists below them. I got as close to the showcase window as I could without putting my nose on it and noticed “almond flour” in the list. Huh? Almond flour? Really?
Nut-Free
I was quite disappointed and had pretty much given up my dream of one day trying a French Macaron. It wasn’t until I saw an episode of Martha Stewart where she made French Macarons with her own homemade almond flour. It hit me. I could just use sunflower seeds!!! Right?? Maybe? I took this renewed spark to taste a French Macaron to the web and researched all of the ways to make French macarons at home. Pretty sure I must have watched at least 50 different tutorials on YouTube before I was confident enough to try it. I just knew that I could make it work. The key is to use raw sunflower seeds. If you have trouble finding them locally, you can get yours here. Click here to get the best baking mat to make perfectly round macarons! I also have a Blueberry Cheesecake Macaron recipe that is also nut-free.
Macaron Recipe: How to make it
Because this is how the French do it, I am working with a scale here. Trying to be very precise. If Martha can do it, so can I.
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- Measure 71g of raw sunflower seeds
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- Measure 117g of powdered sugar
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- Add both ingredients to your food processor
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- Pulse for about 1 minute or until a fine powder
I couldn’t believe I was finally about to try a French macaron. And one that I made myself! I was beyond excited.
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- Push ingredients through a sieve
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- Any bits that don’t go through, put them back into your food processor until fine (see note below)
(Once you pulse the mixture leftover, you will end up with a tablespoon or two that will not go through the sieve. That’s perfectly normal and you can discard)
Color optional
I, of course wanted to make them as fancy as I could and didn’t have any natural food coloring on hand so I added some cocoa power. You can’t go wrong with chocolate. So I am supposed to start with room temperature egg whites, but forgot to take the eggs out of the fridge before starting. I am quite impatient when it comes to cooking at times and I also have a schedule to keep up with so I had to roll with it. While they did whip into stiff peaks, it almost took twice as long. Note to self: use room temperature egg whites.
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- Whisk eggs whites and sugar before mixing
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- Whip in your mixer until stuff peaks form, for about 10 minutes
Folding
This next part was where I worried a bit. Spoiler alert: They came out great!
You have to fold the dry ingredients into the meringue until the mixture flows from the spatula like lava. If you don’t, your cookies will crack.
I have seen many people use a template to trace circles onto a piece of parchment, but my wonderful husband who somehow always hears me even when I don’t think he is listening bought me a macaron kit for a ‘just because’ gift previously so I used that. You can get this kit here Mastrad A45360 Macaron Kit
Even though I had a guide, the circles were still not even. Oh well. 🙂 Because they still looked liked they were supposed to, I wasn’t worried. I am sure it will take a few more tries before I can get the circle consistantly even. If you prefer something without the raised lines, I recommend this mat Silicone Macaron Baking Mat – Set of 2 Half Sheet (Thick & Large 11 5/8″ x 16 1/2″) – Non Stick Silicon Liner for Bake Pans & Rolling – Macaroon/Pastry/Cookie Making – Professional Grade Nonstick
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- Pipe onto a baking sheet
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- Bake.
Finally, time to bake them!
Many recipes tell you to let them sit out for 30 minutes, however Martha said they could go right into the oven. Being the impatient baker that I sometimes am, I put them right in the oven after piping.
And they came out great!
I do think that I will try letting them sit out next time to see what happens.
Filling
By the way, I decided to just fill them with a simple chocolate ganache. Of course, you can certainly use any filling you like. Some people like jam and some prefer a buttercream type filling or a fruit based cream. I don’t think you can go wrong with either. This homemade macaron was so much easier than I thought and came out perfect (at least I thought so) on my very first try. Most of all I can’t wait to try other flavors and colors in the future.
Try my Blueberry Cheesecake Macarons as well!
Blueberry Cheesecake Macarons
Checkout my other Heart Shaped French Macaron Video!
Other Cookie Recipes You Might Enjoy!
Chocolate Chip Brownie Cookies
Ginger Molasses Sandwich Cookies
Blueberry Cheesecake Macarons (Nut-Free)
Easy French Nut-Free Macarons
Ingredients
- 71 grams of raw sunflower seeds 2/3 cup
- 117 gramsconfectioners' sugar 1 cup
- 2 large egg whites room temperature
- 53 grams granulated sugar 1/4 cup
- Jam or other filling
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place sunflower seeds in a food processor along with confectioners sugar. 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 3 minutes until stiff peaks form. This should take between 6-10 minutes.
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If you are adding color, add it now and then whip on high for 30 seconds.
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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.
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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. Wrap in plastic 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!
Awesome idea! I’m so keen to try this 😀
Is it sunflower seeds or kernels that you use? I’m a bit confused between the two atm, so any clarification could be much appreciated 🙂
Also could you link to the chocolate ganache recipe you used please (I get into a bit of trouble trying to find recipes that will give me the right consistency.. sigh)
Thank you! and thank you for posting this!
Hey Ana! Thanks for stopping by. I am using raw sunflower seeds for this recipe. For the chocolate filling I am using a simple ganache recipe. 12 oz chocolate to 1 oz heavy cream. Hope this helps!
Would toasted subfloor seeds work or do they have to be raw?
Hey Beca! I think you run the risk of making a sunflower butter before you get to the point of a sunflower seed flour because of the added oils in roasting. I have been able to find raw sunflower seeds in my local health food store. If you are in the US, I get mine at trade joes. I have also seen them sold online. Good luck! Thanks for stopping by.
How many cookies will this recipe make?
Hey Janelle! I get anywhere from 40-50 individual cookies so I would say at least 20 sandwich macarons. Hope this answers your question. Thanks for stopping by!
Hi! I like this idea as I have so many friends with nut allergies. I know you’ve provided specific measurements for this recipe, but in general do you replace the almond flour with an equal portion of ground sunflower seeds?
Hey Cynthia! Thanks for stopping by! So yes, Sunflower seeds by weight can replace the almond flour 1:1. This recipe is great for those who are nut free. Hope you try it and love it! Keep me posted.
Hi,
I love your recipe
I want to ask some question:
1. How many gram of cocoa powder did you add ????
2. How many gram egg white ( my country’s egg is kinda small)
3. Did the batter had to have the ribbon stage???
Thanks <3
Hi there! Thanks for stopping by. I used a tablespoon of cocoa powder which is about 14 grams. You can definitely double the amount for more of a chocolate flavor. For the egg whites I didn’t weight them but I did use large eggs so you may need 3. Next time I make them I will weigh the whites and let you know what I get. I also folded until I got to the lava stage which is probably right before you get to the ribbon stage. This recipe is very temperamental so you want to be careful not to over fold. I hope you give this recipe a try and have much success! Keep me posted.
mine outside looks the same but inside are empty why this happened 🙁
Hey there! Thanks for visiting and so glad you gave this recipe a try! Hollow shells can be from over whipping your egg whites. Also, everyone’s oven temp can very so it could also be that you need to bake yours at a lower temp. Did you get a chance to try it again?
Hi. I followed the recipe and the result was acceptable as far as shape and texture (batter was a bit lumpy though, I may have allowed too many solids to sift through the sifter), but the taste was really off. I could taste the sunflower seeds and had a really bad aftertaste. Did you experience the same? I got the raw sunflower seeds through amazon (USDA organic raw sunflower seeds by Fodd to Live). I didn’t add cocoa to the batter because I wanted to color them pink… do you think maybe the cocoa camouflages the seed taste?
Thank you!
Hi Clau! Thanks for stopping by. I’m sorry that you didn’t have success with this recipe. I do like to add things like cocoa powder and freeze dried fruit for flavor and it does mask the sunflower flavor a bit. I enjoy the taste of sunflower seeds so I’m ok with that. If you are not big on the flavor of sunflower I would definitely suggest adding other things for color and flavor. To keep them pink, try a raspberry or strawberry fruit powder. You can checkout my blueberry cheesecake macaron recipe for instructions on making your own fruit powder. Good luck! Also, if your batter was lumpy it may either needs to be folded a few more times or sifted again. Most likely it just needed a few more folds. Even 2 and 3 folds can make a huge difference when it comes to the batter here.
Hi. I was wondering if we could add granulated sugar into the egg whites or would it unbalance the recipe? And can i use coffee instead of cocoa?
Hi there! Yes. Granulated sugar is what you want to use with the egg whites. I haven’t tried coffee with this recipe, but it sounds like a great idea! Since you are replacing the cocoa I might would try instant espresso powder or instant coffee or something similar. Coffee and chocolate are great together as well so maybe substitute half of the cocoa powder for coffee. Let me know how that turns out if you try it!
Hi! The macaron tasted great when I made them! The only problem was that the shells were cracked… Does that mean I should wait a bit before putting it in the oven?
Hi there! Thanks for stopping by. I would try letting the shells dry out a little longer as well as a lower oven temp. Sometimes, oven temps can vary so try those two things and you should end up with nice and smooth uncracked shells. So glad you enjoyed the flavor! Good luck with the next batch!
Hey I was wondering do you know why the feet of the macarons are not appearing?
So this could be a few different things. If your egg whites were not whipped until they were stiff enough or the the egg whites were folded on too much. Both could result in no feet on your macarons. Macarons can be fickle. Keep trying! Keep me posted.
Hello! I was thinking of making macaroons for a bake sale at school and all proceeds are donated to United Way. I needed a nut free recipe and oh my gosh you are a life saver :)!! I haven’t tried the recipe but wish me luck!
Violet, that is awesome!!! Good luck! You’ve got this. So glad I can help. Good for you! Such a great cause. Hope you and everyone enjoys them and much success at your bake sale.
Hi again! I ran into a problem, the closest thing I could find was salted unroasted sunflour seeds, what can I do about the excess salt?
Oh bummer! I haven’t tried this before but one thing that comes to mind is possibly rinsing them. Because they aren’t roasted this could work. The only thing is you have to make sure they are completely dry before using them in this recipe. Another option would be to shake them in a fine mesh sieve to see if the excess salt will come off.
Thanks for the advice! I’ll try it out :0!
Any luck?
YOUR RECIPES LOOK DELICIOUS. CANT WAIT TO SEE MORE. THANKS
Thank you Barb!!! I can’t wait to share more with you all. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment.
im so happy finally a nut free macarron!! I bought sunflower seed flour on amazon already made how many cups do I use!