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Home » Recipes » Appetizers » Splatter Painted French Macarons

Splatter Painted French Macarons

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Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

Use edible food paint to make these colorful splatter-painted French Macarons! Plus, a step by step recipe for plain french macaron shells.

Splatter Painted French Macarons DIY with Plain Macaron Shells Recipe

Painting macarons, or sugar cookies or cakes, for that matter is so easy! All you need is some high-quality food coloring gel, a food-safe paintbrush, and a bit of vodka or almond extract.

I probably should have inserted some sort of joke here about drinking vodka to reduce the stress of making macarons, but it’s actually for your paint! It’s the perfect solvent for your gel food coloring. It evaporates when it dries and leaves no taste or unwanted color behind.Splatter Painted French Macarons DIY with Plain Macaron Shells RecipeSplatter Painted French Macarons DIY with Plain Macaron Shells Recipe

Decorating Plain Macarons

You don’t need to make your own macarons to paint them though. You can start with store-bought macarons – I won’t tell! They are also a great way to disguise a less-than-perfect batch of macarons like the ones in these photos. My poor shells don’t have much in the way of feet for this batch, but a little paint makes them awesome!

For a more comprehensive guide to working with food paint, check out this post. It also has some ideas for other things to do with food paint!
Splatter Painted French Macarons DIY with Plain Macaron Shells Recipe

This is really too much excitement for one post, so I’m going to leave you with the recipe we used for the plain macaron shells from Annie’s Eats. I also shared recipes for the strawberry buttercream and blackberry ganache fillings in this post.

Thanks so much for reading A Side of Sweet! For more Sweet in your life, you can find me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Bloglovin’, or Twitter, or subscribe to receive a weekly email with new posts (see sidebar).

Splatter Painted French Macarons DIY with Plain Macaron Shells Recipe

Print

Splatter Painted French Macarons

Splatter Painted French Macarons DIY with Plain Macaron Shells Recipe
Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

Use edible food paint to make these adorable splatter-painted French Macarons! Plus, a recipe for plain french macaron shells. Note, this recipe calls for a kitchen scale. Since the batter is very delicate, it’s important to measure everything precisely – even the egg whites!

  • Author: Kelly Egan - A Side of Sweet
  • Prep Time: 1 hour
  • Cook Time: 9 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 9 minutes
  • Yield: 24 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: French

Ingredients

Scale
  • 212 grams almond flour
  • 212 grams confectioners’ sugar
  • 82 and 90 grams egg whites, divided (tip – one egg white is about 40 grams)
  • 236 grams granulated sugar, plus a pinch
  • 158 grams water

Special Equipment:

  • Kitchen Scale
  • Candy Thermometer
  • Piping Bags
  • Extra Large Round Piping Tip
  • Parchment Paper

To paint the macarons:

  • Gel Food Coloring (the best and brightest colors on the market)
  • Almond extract or vodka
  • Food Safe Paintbrushes

Instructions

Mixing dry ingredients:

  1. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Tip: for more uniform circles, use a cookie cutter or other circular object about the size of a 50 cent piece to trace out circles on the back side of the paper. You can also find printable templates free online.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the almond flour and confectioners’ sugar. To ensure it is lump free, sift the mixture through a medium-mesh sieve.
  3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in 82 grams of the egg whites.
  4. Use a spatula to blend the egg whites into the dry ingredients until evenly combined with a paste-like consistency.

Mixing wet ingredients:

  1. In a small saucepan on medium-high heat, heat the sugar and water. Stir continuously until the temperature is around 200° Fahrenheit on a candy thermometer.
  2. Keeping the sugar water mixture on the heat, combine the 90-gram portion of egg whites with a pinch of sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium-low speed until foamy soft peaks form. Heat the sugar water mixture to 248° Fahrenheit. If soft peaks happen before the syrup reaches 248° Fahrenheit temperature, reduce the speed to low to keep the whites moving.
  3. Once the syrup reaches 248° Fahrenheit (it may take a while, but it will get there!), immediately remove from heat. Increase the mixer speed to medium and pour the syrup down the side of the bowl in a slow drizzle until fully incorporated.
  4. Increase the mixer speed to high and whip the meringue until stiff, glossy peaks form about 8 minutes.

Folding dry+wet ingredients together:

  1. Use a spatula to gently fold one-third of the meringue mixture into the almond mixture. In three more additions, gently fold in the remaining meringue. You may not need all of the meringue, so gradually at it in. The perfect consistency will be smooth and run off the spatula in thick ribbons (photo here).

Piping the macaron shells:

  1. Add the batter to a pastry bag fitted with an extra large round piping tip. Hold the bag perpendicular to the baking sheet about 1/2-inch above the surface of the pan. Steadily pipe rounds about 11/4- to 1 1/2-inches in diameter into the circles you traced.
  2. Hit the sheets on a counter 4-5 times in order to reduce bubbles. This creates quite a lot of noise but it is worth it not to have holes in your macarons. Set the sheets aside to settle for about 20 mins until a film begins to form around the outside.

Baking the macaron shells:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit and place a rack in the middle of the oven. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 325° Fahrenheit. Bake for 9-12 minutes, until the tops are smooth and set and “feet” have formed around the bottom. This was one of the first batches of macarons we made and unfortunately, they weren’t perfect. Feet are very challenging to get. I read a few articles and there are a myriad of reasons why you can’t get feet: your batter is too dry, too wet, didn’t allow them to rest enough, the oven was too hot, too cold etc. The good news is, they’ll still taste delicious! So my advice is to be grateful for the feet you do get and keep on trying.
  2. Let the shells cool for 5-10 minutes on the baking sheet and then peel away from the parchment. They should come away easily using your hands and fully intact. Transfer to a cooling rack.
  3. Once shells are cooled, fill them with your favorite filling. We used salted caramel, strawberry
  4. and blackberry fillings.

Painting your macarons:

  1. Protect your surface with a garbage bag or large sheet of paper. Wear old clothes you don’t mind getting stained. Doing this outside is ideal.
  2. To make your ‘paint’, mix a pea-sized amount of gel coloring with about a teaspoon of vodka or extract. The liquid should evaporate and not affect the final flavor of your macarons. Careful, as this will stain your hands and could stain the bowls used.
  3. “Splatter” the paint on your macarons by dabbing your brush in the gel coloring mixture, holding the brush between your thumb and middle finger and tapping the brush with your second finger. You can vary the vigor of your taps to create differently sized splatters.

Notes

Originally from Thomas Keller’s Bouchon cookbook, found via Annie’s Eats with notes by me!

Keywords: how to make French macarons, decorating French macarons, easy macaron decorating idea

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Splatter Painted French Macarons DIY with Plain Macaron Shells Recipe

Need more color in your life? Check out these colorful DIY cake platters made from thrift store finds!

Splatter Painted French Macarons DIY with Plain Macaron Shells Recipe

Ideas for decorating french macaroons Colorful DIY Cake Platters - perfect for a dessert table or party!

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Splatter Painted French Macarons DIY with Plain Macaron Shells Recipe

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March 5, 2017  •  Filed Under: Appetizers, Cookies, Desserts, Gluten Free Recipes, Party Recipe Ideas, Recipes, Snacks 35 Comments

Comments

  1. Catherine of MyPowerPose says

    June 1, 2015 at 7:33 am

    Totally amazing! Thank you for showing that such fine food art can be accessible at home…love how you started out with the partnerships. : )

    XO,

    Catherine

    Reply
    • Kelly @A Side of Sweet says

      June 25, 2015 at 2:30 pm

      Hey catherine – thanks for calling them fine art! That’s so sweet!

      Reply
  2. Ashley @ A Lady Goes West says

    June 1, 2015 at 4:06 pm

    Well this is just awesome! LOVE what you’ve done with these sweet bites. How are you Kelly? I miss you! Going to any SF blog events in the near future? Happy Monday!! 🙂

    Reply
    • Kelly @A Side of Sweet says

      June 25, 2015 at 2:29 pm

      Hey Ashley! I hope our paths cross soon! We need some quality catch up time!

      Reply
  3. Mira L says

    June 1, 2015 at 8:17 pm

    Such a cool and creative idea! I rarely make macarons, but would love to try these!

    Reply
    • Kelly @A Side of Sweet says

      June 25, 2015 at 2:29 pm

      I’m so impressed that you even rarely make them! 🙂

      Reply
  4. Christina @ Embracing Simple says

    June 2, 2015 at 9:33 am

    Those are so cute! What a fun idea!!

    Reply
    • Kelly @A Side of Sweet says

      June 25, 2015 at 2:29 pm

      And really it’s as much as you make it – easy with store bought macarons or a whole day project if you make your own!

      Reply
  5. Sarah @ Snixy Kitchen says

    June 3, 2015 at 12:46 am

    Love the splatter paint on these macarons – they’re a work of art!

    Reply
    • Kelly @A Side of Sweet says

      June 25, 2015 at 2:28 pm

      Yay! Thanks so much Sarah!

      Reply
  6. Shoes and Sashimi says

    June 3, 2015 at 4:47 pm

    So cool, love this! Happy to have come across your blog today 😀

    From one Bay Girl to another,
    http://www.shoesandsashimi.com

    Reply
    • Kelly @A Side of Sweet says

      June 25, 2015 at 2:28 pm

      Awesome! Thanks for stopping by! I’ll definitely check out your blog too!

      Reply
  7. tina roberge says

    June 6, 2015 at 3:20 pm

    These are absolutely beautiful!

    Reply
  8. Florian @ContentednessCooking says

    June 7, 2015 at 8:33 am

    Wow these look so colorful and vibrant, Kelly! So beautiful and gorgeous!

    Reply
    • Kelly @A Side of Sweet says

      June 25, 2015 at 2:26 pm

      Thanks so much Florian! The splatter painting is so fun to do too!

      Reply
  9. Lorelai @ Life With Lorelai says

    June 7, 2015 at 12:16 pm

    YUM’d! This looks delicious. A definite must try! Please come share your blog posts over at the Home Matters Linky Party! We’d love to have you for a visit. The Door is OPEN. http://lifewithlorelai.com/2015/06/04/home-matters-linky-party-40/ 🙂

    ~Lorelai
    Life With Lorelai

    Reply
    • Kelly @A Side of Sweet says

      June 25, 2015 at 2:26 pm

      Awesome, will definitely check it out Lorelai!

      Reply
  10. Carla (@charliesue) says

    June 8, 2015 at 9:24 am

    My LORD, these are so FUN! I love what you did with these little macarons!!

    Reply
    • Kelly @A Side of Sweet says

      June 25, 2015 at 2:19 pm

      They were so fun to make too! Splatter painting is the best!

      Reply
  11. Kari M says

    June 8, 2015 at 12:15 pm

    Found this from FBC on Facebook – they look great!

    Reply
  12. Eimy Figueroa says

    June 14, 2015 at 11:35 am

    Love them! They came out great. <3

    Reply
    • Kelly @A Side of Sweet says

      June 25, 2015 at 2:18 pm

      Thanks so much Eimy! It was a fun collab!

      Reply
  13. ashortblonde says

    June 17, 2015 at 10:11 am

    The day I realized Macarons were gluten-free was a pretty great day. haha. Now to attempt making them myself!

    Reply
    • Kelly @A Side of Sweet says

      June 25, 2015 at 2:18 pm

      Haha, awesome! It’s fun to attempt but this DIY is also great with store bought macarons too! 🙂

      Reply
  14. Laura Dembowski says

    June 26, 2015 at 12:15 pm

    OMG! These are gorgeous! An edible work of art.

    Reply
    • Kelly @A Side of Sweet says

      July 14, 2015 at 6:45 pm

      Thanks so much Laura! 🙂

      Reply
  15. Ariel Pingault says

    July 13, 2015 at 6:14 pm

    I love watching different artists from all walks of life come together to make something spectacular! I love how you tied the inspiration from the video into this recipe! They look like killer macaroons. And hell yeah for a first run being successful! I want to try and make them this weekend so wish me luck. 🙂 Thanks for sharing this post!

    Reply
    • Kelly @A Side of Sweet says

      July 14, 2015 at 6:46 pm

      Hi Ariel – I hope you do get a chance to try them! They are such a project, but it’s so rewarding when you are done. It’s also really fun to do them with a friend. Let me know how they turn out!

      Reply
  16. Kathryn @ The Scratch Artist says

    September 18, 2015 at 5:56 am

    I just saw these on food gawker and I just had to come see your beautiful creation up close. What a great idea! They are beautiful, fun, and look delicious. Great work.

    Reply
    • Kelly Egan says

      September 18, 2015 at 8:02 am

      Hi Kathryn – Yay! Thanks so much for stopping by. I appreciate the nice feedback.

      Reply
    • Kelly @A Side of Sweet says

      September 18, 2015 at 8:03 am

      Yay! Thanks so much for stopping by Kathryn! I really appreciate the positive feedback!

      Reply
  17. Mariana says

    March 8, 2017 at 12:54 am

    I feel I have recently mastered making good macaroons. Can’t wait to try this, it looks beautiful!

    Reply
    • Kelly - A Side of Sweet says

      March 8, 2017 at 2:13 am

      That’s amazing! Good for you! This batch was one of my first attempts. I still feel like I end up throwing 1/3 away but my success rate is improving!

      Reply
  18. HerBraveTaste says

    January 7, 2018 at 8:22 pm

    I was looking for a macaron recipe and stumbled across this, so glad I did! 🙂 They are so cute and look so delicious!

    Reply
    • Kelly Egan - A Side of Sweet says

      January 8, 2018 at 8:05 am

      Awesome! I hope you get a chance to make them. Thanks for stopping by!

      ★★★★★

      Reply

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Welcome!

San Francisco Food, Fashion, Travel Blogger

Hi! I’m Kelly. I live in San Francisco with my husband, Pat, and our puppy, Maddie. Here you’ll find recipes, DIYs, style, travel & a glimpse into our adventures. To learn a little more about me, Click Here.

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