Gingerbread men macarons recipe

Vegan, gluten-free, wheat-free

With only a month until Christmas, I want to share with you some of the cutest (and delicious) vegan macarons.

These macarons are adorable and taste scrumptious. They are a chocolate macaron with a gingerbread filling, topped with homemade, 3 ingredient royal icing.

Vegan macarons are surprisingly easy to make if you follow the right instructions! You can make some fluffy macarons which rise, yay!

These are a festive treat you won’t want to miss baking! Even Santa will want to tuck in! 

Preparation- 2-3 hours

Baking time- 15 minutes

Makes- Approximately 20

Level- Medium

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Ingredients for the macarons

-250g of chickpea brine (About 2 cans)

-40g of caster sugar (I use golden caster sugar)

-195g of icing sugar

-5g of cacao powder

-100g of ground almonds

Ingredients for the filling

-55g of dairy-free butter (I use Tomor)

-220g of icing sugar

-1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger

-1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

-1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

-1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Ingredients for the royal icing

-3 ounce of chickpea brine

-1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

-500g of icing sugar

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To make the macaron shells

Step 1- Place the chickpea brine into a small saucepan and place on the hob over a medium heat.

Simmer until it reduces to about 1/3 of the original brine (About 110g)

Once reduced, set aside to cool.

Step 2- Place the chickpea brine into a mixing bowl and whizz up on high until fluffy.

I use a stand mixer with a balloon whisk attachment but you can use a hand mixer.

This will take around 5 minutes.

Step 3- Add in the caster sugar and whizz up on high until thick and glossy.

Step 4- In a bowl, sift together the icing sugar, cacao powder, and ground almonds until all of the lumps are gone.

Step 5- Fold in the ground almonds, icing sugar and cacao powder to the ‘meringue’ mix.

I like to use a rubber spatula.

Watch this video to learn how to fold in the mixture. This step is crucial!!!

Step 6- Line a baking tray with grease proof paper.

Step 7- Transfer the mixture into a piping bag and pipe gingerbread men on the lined tray, then swirl the tip off to one side. 

Repeat for all of the batter, making sure to space out the macarons.

Step 8- Tap the tray firmly against the counter 2 or 3 times to release any air bubbles.

ALLOW THE MACARONS TO SIT AT ROOM TEMPERATURE FOR 2-3 HOURS, until you can touch them and your fingers have no batter on it.

Step 9- After 2-3 hours, place the macarons into the oven at 160 degrees c and bake for 15 minutes.

Step 10- Once baked, turn off the oven and open the oven door leaving them to sit in the cooling oven for around 15 minutes.

Step 11- Allow them to cool fully before filling.

To make the filling

Step 1- In a bowl or stand mixer, cream the butter on high then add in the icing sugar, spices and vanilla.

If the filling is too thick, add a splash of dairy-free milk.

Step 2- Transfer the filling into a piping bag.

Step 3- Once the macarons have cooled, add a swirl of filling to one macaron shell and press another ontop to create a sandwich.

Repeat for all of the macarons.

To make the royal icing

Step 1- In a large bowl or stand mixer, add in the chickpea brine and whisk on high until frothy.

This usually takes around 5 minutes.

I use a stand mixer with a balloon whisk attachment but you can use a hand mixer.

Step 2- Add in the vanilla extract and icing sugar and whisk together until it holds a stiff peak.

Step 3- Transfer into a piping bag and pipe onto the gingerbread men.

Serve fresh or store in a sealed container in the fridge, the buttercream & royal icing will firm up at room temperature. 

Best eaten within a few days!

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Holly Jade