Pecan Macarons

I made these Pecan Macarons for my Christmas cookie box. Just getting around to posting the recipe now. You can check out my Christmas cookie platter here.

Pecan Macarons

There’s no way I could let you go any further without seeing what the inside of this baby looks like.

Pecan Macarons

That Pecan Caramel filling was to.die.for!

This post may contain affiliate links. I earn a commission from qualified purchases. Please read our Privacy policy here.

I had leftovers of it so I used it to make another cookie for my Christmas Cookie box, I made almond tart crust and lined tiny silicone cups (Reese’s candy size/style) and filled them with this caramel before baking. They were called Pecan Pie cookies, because they tasted like pecan pie.

I was considering calling these Pecan Pie Macarons instead of Pecan Macarons, but the latter won in SEO (Search Engine Optimization, which makes the expression “Pecan Macarons” more searchable than “Pecan Pie Macarons”.)

Pecan Macarons

Some of my most popular recipes are French Macaron recipes. Such as my Lemon Macarons, Matcha Macarons, Salted Caramel Macarons, and others. Actually, my recipe for Lemon Macarons is the all-time popular of my website til today.

I have many other macaron recipes, and you can check them out here.

Pecan Macarons

I get lots of people messaging me, or sending me e-mails with questions about macarons and how to make perfect macarons. It feels amazing to actually be helping people to master this tricky little cookie. If you have any questions, ever, do not hesitate to send me a dm on instagram, or an e-mail at [email protected]. I am all about helping out this awesome community of bakers.

Pecan Macarons

If you are new to making macarons, check out my Matcha Macarons post, where I go over some main tips and techniques.  On my Raspberry Macarons post, I talk about Almond Flour, brands, sifting methods, etc. On my Espresso Macarons post, I answer common questions about making macarons. On my Lemon Macarons post, I talk about macaron shelf life and storage. Check them out! And also, there are tones of other resources online that can help you.

Pecan Macarons

Seriously, check out this caramel again. Are you SURE you don’t want to rush to the kitchen right now and make this?

These Pecan Macarons were one of my favorite flavors (I say that about a bunch of them lol, but I mean it!).

Pecan Macarons

As always, thank you for reading my blog. I hope you find something to help you in your baking journey here.

Pecan Macarons
Pecan Macarons

Pecan Macarons

These Pecan Macarons are filled with a caramel pecan sauce, and dark chocolate ganache.
5 from 3 votes
Prep Time 50 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, French
Servings 26 macarons
Calories 120 kcal

Ingredients
  

Macaron Shells
  • 100 grams egg whites
  • 100 grams granulated sugar
  • 105 grams almond flour
  • 105 grams powdered sugar
Pecan Caramel Sauce
  • 1/4 cup ground pecans*
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 tablespoon agave syrup or light corn syrup
  • 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
Dark Chocolate Ganache
  • 4 ounces dark chocolate
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream 70 grams 2.5 oz

Instructions
 

Macaron Shells
  • Before you start, get all of your ingredients ready. Prepare a large piping bag, fitted with a large round tip.
  • Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon mat.
  • Under my parchment, I put a layout with circles that measure about 1 1/2 inches each. That’s how big I like to pipe my macarons.
  • Measure out all of your ingredients.
  • Sift powdered sugar and almond flour together. Set aside.
  • Now you can finally start.
  • Place egg whites and granulated sugar in a heat proof bowl or in a double boiler. Over a pan of simmering water, whisk the whites and sugar until frothy and sugar completely melted. It will take a couple minutes. You can test by touching the mixture between your fingers, and if you feel any sugar granules just keep whisking mixture over the water bath.
  • Make sure the bottom of the bowl isn’t touching the simmering water.
  • Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer. (I use my kitchenAid bowl when doing this, because it makes it easier)
  • With the whisk attachment, whisk mixture on high speed 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.
  • You don’t want to overbeat the mixture at this point, because you don’t want to add too much air to it. Just whisk until stiff peaks have formed.
  • Pour powdered sugar and almond flour into stiff whites.
  • Start folding gently forming a letter J with a spatula. Add the food coloring at this point if you would like to use any.
  • It’s time to stop folding when the batter is glossy and has a thick and flowing consistency. There are several ways to test this.
  • First, I pick up some batter with my spatula and try to draw a figure 8 with the batter that is dripping off the spatula. If you can form several 8 figures without the batter breaking up, that’s one indication that it might be ready.
  • Then, I grab a teaspoon of batter and spoon onto my parchment paper or silicon mat.
  • If the batter stays stiff and doesn’t spread out a bit, I start folding a little bit more, about 3 folds.
  • Test again.
  • Once the batter spreads out a bit and starts to look glossy on the parchment paper, I transfer my mixture to the piping bag.
  • You don’t want your batter to be too runny either. So be careful not to overmix. It’s always best to undermix and test several times until the proper consistency has been achieved.
  • Once you’ve piped as many 1 1/2” circles as you could, bang the trays against the counter a few times each.
  • Let your 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. You’ll know they’re ready when you gently touch the surface of a macaron and it seems dry.
  • Pre-heat the oven to 300°F.
  • Bake one tray at a time.
  • Bake for 6 minutes, rotate tray.
  • Keep baking the trays for a total of 16-20 minutes each.
  • When baked, the macarons will have a deeper color and formed feet.
  • Remove from the oven and bake the other tray.
  • Let the macarons cool down before proceeding with the filling.
Pecan Caramel Sauce
  • Measure heavy cream and set aside. This is because you will need to have it handy for when it’s time to use it.
  • Mix pecans, brown sugar, agave syrup, and butter in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring, for a few minutes, until sugar melts.
  • Once mixture darkens in color and all sugar is melted, you can remove the pan from the heat. Add the measured heavy cream. To the pan, it will bubble up like crazy for a little bit.
  • Bring it back to medium-low heat and bring mixture back to a boil, stirring constantly until all the sugar that crystallized has a chance to re-melt.
  • Then, let the caramel boil for a couple of minutes to get thick.
  • Remove from heat and pour into a heat-proof bowl.
  • After it cools down for a few minutes, add the vanilla.
  • Let mixture cool down. Place a cover on it and refrigerate for a couple of hours. Any leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. This sauce is truly amazing!
Chocolate Ganache
  • Chop dark chocolate very finely. Place it in a bowl.
  • Heat heavy cream in a small pan over medium heat, or in the microwave. No matter what method you choose, be very careful not to boil the heavy cream.
  • Pour hot cream over chopped chocolate. Let it stand for a minute.
  • Start stirring with a spatula until completely melted.
  • Let it come to room temperature. Refrigerate for a bit before using, until it has piping consistency.
  • To achieve the piping consistency for the ganache, you will have to rely a lot on the temperature of the ganache.
  • If it has been in the fridge for a while, and it’s too thick and hard to pipe, insert it in the microwave for a few quick seconds, and stir it again. Test for consistency and keep going until you achieve the desired consistency.
  • To be pipeable, the ganache should be thick, but easy to spread.
  • If it happens that the ganache is too thin, you might want to put it in the fridge for a few minutes so it will harden up.
  • Like I said before, you need to keep testing for the consistency.
To assemble
  • Line a piping bag with a round tip, wilton number 7. Fill it with the chocolate ganache.
  • Once the macarons have cooled down, simply pipe a ring around the edge of a bottom macaron, fill it up with about 1/2 teaspoon of the pecan caramel sauce. Top with another macaron cookie.
  • Macarons are best after they’ve matured in the fridge for a day, or at least a few hours.
Storage
  • These will freeze beautifully for up to a month if well packaged. And they will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Notes

*You will simply need to process about 1/2 cup of pecan nuts in the food processor. I’d recommend to process them until they are quite fine, otherwise they will make your macarons crooked when you fill the sandwiches with the big pieces of nuts in the caramel.
Keyword macarons

Similar Posts

22 Comments

  1. Just wondering if the corn syrup measurement is correct? I made this tonight and felt I needed to add more to help the brown sugar melt. I also added a tad more butter. Nice flavor! Thanks for sharing!

    1. Hello Betsy,
      I didn’t find that I had to add more corn syrup, and as long as you let it simmer enough over medium low heat the brown sugar will end up melting anyway, even with nothing added to it. But I am glad you found an alternative that worked out!! Thank you so much for stopping by and trying my recipe! Wish you a fabulous day!! 🙂

    1. Hello Melody,
      so for how long did you keep cooking it? It may take a few minutes for that to happen. It’s important to cook at a medium-low heat also.
      Hope this helps.
      Thank you

      1. I cooked it on medium low for a while. I wonder if I had melted the sugar by itself first and then added the rest? That’s what I’ve done in other caramel recipes. So weird though, the first time I made your pecan caramel recipe it turned out perfect

        1. was it crystallized before adding the heavy cream? or did it crystallize after, and then never melted back?
          so, adding the other ingredients with the sugar actually helps preventing crystallization.
          Maybe adding a little water would have helped, even as it was crystallized, cause the water would have helped the sugar melt back. The crystallization tends to happen because there’s a lot of sucrose and not enough water (or liquid).
          So, this article is very helpful too in order to understand crystallization https://www.kitchenhealssoul.com/focus-on-crystallization/
          I am sorry it didn’t work out this time!

  2. 5 stars
    I have been practicing macarons for the last few months and I am a self taught baker, then I found your recipes and this is the one! This is the recipe that works for me! I couldn’t be happier! These are so chewy and sweet! My husband wants me to make the smores next!!

    1. pecans have a way higher amount of fat than almonds, so that causes a few things to happen. You won’t be able to grind the pecans to a finely ground powder as you would almonds, so the flour will be lumpier, coarser, and also will feel “wet”. This means that the shells will have lumps in them, the feet won’t be as defined, and it might make the shells even crack or become blotchy because of the high fat content. That being said, you can certainly try, you will need a lot more pecan flour than almond flour because you will have to sift a lot of it to obtain the needed amount to make the shells.

  3. Hi,
    Could you tell me the consistency of the pecan caramel sauce? Could I just use that as the filling or is the ganache need to keep it from oozing out? My niece doesn’t like chocolate and I’d like to make this for her. Thanks!

  4. 5 stars
    This pecan caramel recipe has to be the most delicious filling I’ve ever made! It is several friends’ favorites and I get requests for it all the time. I made it with dark brown sugar the first time because I didn’t have any light, and the flavor was so rich and decadent. I’ve done it both ways and it’s always delicious, but I love the dark version so much that I’m sticking with that. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!

  5. 5 stars
    I made these and they taste amazing. Is it normal for the caramel sauce to harden? Its definitely on the thick side. What would you recommend I do?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.