Orange Creamsicle Macarons

Learn how to make the best orange creamsicle macarons! They're filled with an orange creamsicle buttercream that will take you straight back to your childhood!

📝 Ingredients

• 70 g superfine almond flour - blanched (1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp)
• 63 g powdered sugar (1/2 cup)
• 55 g aged egg whites, room temperature - about 2 large eggs
• pinch cream of tartar - optional
• 55 g granulated sugar (1/4 cup + 1 tsp)
• orange gel food coloring
• 56 g unsalted butter, room temperature (1/4 cup)
• 4 g artificial vanilla extract (1 tsp)
• 3 g orange emulsion or orange extract (1/2 tsp)
• 2 g fine salt (1/4 tsp)
• 125 g powdered sugar (1 cup)
• 10 g heavy whipping cream, room temperature (2 tsp)
• Kitchen scale
• Stand Mixer or Electric Mixer
• Large, flat baking sheets
• Silpat Mats (or parchment paper)
• 1 Large Piping Bag (18-inch)
• Small Round Piping Tip - like a Wilton 10
• Scribe or toothpick

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- Orange Creamsicle Macarons ---
2. 2Line two flat baking sheets with silicone mats and set aside.
3. 3Sift 70g superfine almond flour and 63g powdered sugar into a large bowl and set aside.
4. 4Pour 55g of aged egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk and mix on a medium speed until the surface of the egg whites is covered in small bubbles. Add in a pinch of cream of tartar and continue to mix until your reach the soft peak stage.
5. 5Add 55g of granulated sugar into the eggs and mix on a medium speed for 30 seconds then increase the mixing speed to a medium-high speed. Keep mixing until stiff, glossy peaks form.
6. 6Start folding the dry ingredients into the meringue. Once the dry ingredients begin to incorporate into the meringue, scoop out about 1/4 cup of the mixture into a small bowl and set aside.
7. 7Add orange gel food coloring into the batter and continue to fold until thick ribbons of batter flow off your spatula when it's lifted. I like to perform the figure-8 test to check my consistency! This is when you lift your spatula and see if you can draw a figure 8 with the batter running off your spatula in one consistent stream. You should be able to draw a couple figure 8s once your macaron batter is the right consistency.
8. 8Pour the orange macaron batter into a large piping bag fit with a small round piping tip.
9. 9Gently fold the uncolored batter with a mini rubber spatula until it is the right consistency as well. Place the uncolored batter into a small piping bag and snip the end of the bag to make a 1/2 cm opening.
10. 10Pipe small creamsicle shaped shells onto a silicon mat, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Use the printed circles on your mat as a guide, and square off the bottom corners of each macaron with a scribe to give them that iconic popsicle shape.
11. 11Pipe a thin line of white macaron batter at the base of each shell.
12. 12Bang the pans firmly on the counter a few times to release air bubbles, then pop any remaining air bubbles that come to the surface with a toothpick.
13. 13Let the macarons rest for 30 minutes, or until they develop a skin. The macarons should look matte once the skin has formed.
14. 14As the macarons rest, preheat your oven to 315 F.
15. 15Bake one tray of macarons at a time on the middle rack of your oven for 13-16 minutes and rotate your pan halfway through. Cover the tops of the macarons with foil as you rotate the pans to prevent browning.
16. 16Remove from oven and let the macarons cool on the pan (about 15 minutes), then gently remove them from the silpat mat.
17. 17--- Orange Creamsicle Buttercream Frosting ---
18. 18Beat 56g of room-temperature butter on a medium speed for 1-2 minutes with an electric mixer until it becomes lighter in color and smooth.
19. 19Mix in 4g artificial vanilla extract, 3g of orange emulsion and 2g salt on a low speed.
20. 20Slowly mix in 120g of powdered sugar and 10g heavy cream on a low speed.
21. 21Continue to mix on low for a couple minutes until the ingredients are fully incorporated and the desired consistency is reached.
22. 22If the frosting is too thick, add in additional heavy cream or milk (1 tsp at a time). If the frosting is too thin, add in more powdered sugar (1 Tbsp at a time).
23. 23Place in a small piping bag with a round tip or snip a 1 cm opening at the bottom of the bag.
24. 24--- Assembling These Orange Creamsicle Macarons ---
25. 25Pipe a dollop of orange creamsicle buttercream or frosting of your choice around one macaron shell, then press a trimmed, 2-inch popsicle stick on top of the buttercream. Gently press a second shell on top of the frosting to create a sandwich.
26. 26Place the finished macarons in an airtight container and chill in the fridge overnight, then let them warm to room temperature and enjoy!