Funfetti Macarons

Before you start, get all of the ingredients ready. Prepare two piping bags, fitted with a round tip, I used a 1/4” diameter tip. Set aside.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mat.

Measure out all of the ingredients.

Sift the powdered sugar and almond flour. Set it aside.

Whisk the sugar and the egg white powder (if using) in a bowl, and place it over a pan with barely simmering water.

Add the egg whites to the sugar and whisk the mixture until frothy and the sugar is completely melted. It will take a couple of minutes. You can test by touching the mixture between your fingers, and if you feel any sugar granules just keep whisking the mixture over the water bath.

Make sure the bottom of the bowl isn’t touching the simmering water because you don’t want the whites to cook.

Also, don’t overheat the sugar syrup, this may cause issues down the line, such as wrinkly macarons.

Transfer the syrup to the bowl of a stand mixer.With the whisk attachment, start whisking the syrup on low for about 30 seconds, then gradually start increasing speed to medium. Whisk on medium for one to two minutes, until the mixture is white and starting to become fluffy. Raise the speed to medium-high and whisk for a few minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Best way to check this is to keep your eye on the whites. Once they get glossy and you start seeing streaks formed by the whisk, it might be time to stop.

Whip until stiff peaks have formed. When you pull your whisk up, the peak should be stiff and shooting straight up, with possibly a slight bend at the top, but not bending down to the side.

Pour the sifted powdered sugar and almond flour into the stiff meringue.

Start folding gently forming a letter J with a spatula.

Fold the dry ingredients with the meringue just until you see no more dry ingredients in the meringue.As soon as you see no more dry ingredients in the meringue, stop stirring. Divide the batter between two different bowls.

Work with one bowl at a time, leaving the other one covered meanwhile.To the first batter I didn’t add any food coloring, so just stir until the perfect consistency is achieved. The batter should be flowing slowly and effortlessly off the spatula, you should be able to pick up some batter with the spatula and draw several figure 8s with the batter that’s flowing, without having the batter break up. And even after the batter breaks up, it should still continue to flow off the spatula slowly.

There’s another test you can do. I call it the Teaspoon test.Grab a teaspoon of batter and spoon onto the parchment paper or silicon mat. Wait a minute to see how it behaves.If the batter stays stiff, forming a point and doesn’t spread out, fold a little bit more, about 3 folds.

Test again.

Once the batter spreads out a bit and starts to look glossy and smooth on top, on the parchment paper, it’s ready.

You don’t want your batter to be too runny either. So be careful not to over mix. It’s always best to under mix and test several times until the proper consistency has been achieved.

Once the first batter achieves the perfect consistency, transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a round tip. Secure the top with a tie, so the batter doesn’t scape while piping, and to keep the batter from drying out while you work with the remaining batter. Set the piping bag aside.

Now, it’s time to work with the second batter. I colored the second batter blue. After adding food coloring, stir until the perfect consistency is achieved, like I’ve explained above.

Transfer the blue batter to a piping bag fitted with a round tip. And secure the top with a tie.

Now begin piping. Position the piping bag over the center of the circle template, and start applying gentle pressure to release the batter. Then pull the bag up twisting slightly at the top.

Once you’ve piped as many circles as you could, bang the trays against the counter. Use a toothpick to pop any air bubbles on the surface of the shells.

Then pour some sprinkles on the macarons while their surface is still wet, so they will stick.

Repeat until you are done piping both the blue and the white batters.

Let the trays sit for a while so the shells will dry out a little bit. I usually leave about 20-40 minutes, depending on how humid the day is, how much food coloring you have added, and on the consistency of the batter. You’ll know the macarons are ready to be baked. When you gently touch the surface of a macaron and it seems dry, and doesn’t stick to your finger.

Pre-heat the oven to 300ºF.Bake one tray at a time.Bake for 5 minutes, rotate the tray in the oven to bake evenly on all sides. And then continue baking.I bake each tray for about 15 to 20 minutes.

When baked, the macarons will have a deeper color and formed feet. If you try to move a macaron, it shouldn’t feel jiggly. If the macaron is still jiggly, keep baking.

Remove from the oven and bake the other tray.

Let the macarons cool down before proceeding with the filling.

Beat the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. With the mixer off, add the powdered sugar.

Mix on low to incorporate the powdered sugar with the cream cheese and butter.

Raise the speed to medium high and beat the mixture for one minute, then add the birthday cake extract (or vanilla and almond extracts) and mix to combine. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip.

Beat the butter with a mixer for 30 seconds.

Add the sugar and beat the mixture for another 30 seconds.

Add the flour, milk, and birthday cake extract (or vanilla and almond extracts) to the bowl and beat just until incorporated. It should be a thick and smooth dough, such as cookie dough. If the dough is too soft and sticky, add 1 teaspoon of flour at a time to make it thicker, and if the dough is too dry, add a few drops of milk or water to help it come together. Add the sprinkles and mix to combine.

You can make this with all-purpose flour instead of almond flour, just make sure to heat-treat it first, place it in the microwave for one minute, then let it cool down completely before making the recipe.

Pipe a ring of frosting around the edges of the bottom macaron shells.

Then place a bit of Edible Funfetti Cookie Dough in the center.

Top with another shell. Let the macarons sit in the fridge overnight before serving.

Store the macarons in the fridge for up to 4-5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.