Pistachio Macarons

Pistachio Macarons are delicate and chewy french cookies filled with a pistachio white chocolate ganache filling and a drizzle of extra white chocolate on top with chopped pistachios. These green macarons are crisp on the outside, chewy inside, and literally melt in your mouth.

These pistachio cookies are perfect for any occasion, from afternoon tea to special events, they will impress your guests with their delicious flavor and elegant appearance. Plus, they are a lot easier to make from scratch than you think!

Why You'll Love these Pistachio Macarons

• Delicate and chewy. Pistachio macarons are have a delicate and crispy outer shell with a chewy interior, and are filled with a creamy pistachio white chocolate ganache filling.
• Triple the pistachio flavor. These pistachio cookies have triple the pistachio flavor - pistachio extract in the macarons shells, pistachio paste in the ganache filling, and chopped pistachios on top.
• Easy to make from scratch. If you have never made macarons before, you would be surprised to find out that it is a lot easier than you think. You'll just need a handful of simple ingredients and to follow a few easy steps before assembling these pistachio flavored green macarons.

Ingredient Notes

To make this delicious Pistachio Macaroons, you will need the following ingredients (full measurements in recipe card below):

• almond flour - you need to use super fine almond flour for macarons. You can actually make your own almond flour at home if you want by finely grinding blanched almonds until you have a grainy powder.
• confectioners' sugar - use your preferred powdered sugar or sugar substitute like powdered cane sugar, coconut sugar, date sugar, stevia, or Swerve.
• egg whites - you can bring these up to room temperature faster by placing the whole egg in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes before cracking and separating them.
• super fine white sugar
• green gel food coloring - if you don't want green macarons, you can use whatever color you like. Just make sure to use powdered or gel food colouring as liquid coloring will change the consistency of your macarons.
• pistachio extract - I used this pistachio extract but most brands should work as long as they aren't oil based. 
• heavy cream - for the ganache filling.
• white chocolate - use a high quality chocolate as it will make the bulk of the ganache filling. You will also need white chocolate for drizzling on top.
• pistachio paste - you can also use pistachio cream or pistachio spread. This will give the ganache filling a pistachio flavor too.
• pistachios - chopped pistachios to sprinkle on top.

Baking Tools

To make macarons, you will need the following baking tools and equipment

• measuring cups and spoons or a kitchen scale
• mixing bowl
• piping bag and large ½ inch round tip
• silicone baking mat (or parchment paper)
• large half sheet baking pan
• wire cooling rack

How to Make the Best Pistachio Macarons

1. Prep. Prepare a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat (or if you have enough, prepare 2 baking sheets).
2. Combine dry ingredients. Using a fine mesh sieve over a large mixing bowl on a scale, sift almond flour until you reach 140 grams. Discard any large pieces of almond flour. Repeat with the confectioners' sugar. Whisk together the almond flour and confectioners' sugar until very well-combined. Set aside.

3. Beat egg whites and sugar. Add egg whites to the bowl of your stand mixer. Using a whip attachment, beat the mixture, starting on low. Once soft peaks have been formed (about 2 minutes), add the sugar and increase the speed to medium. Once medium peaks are achieved, increase the speed to high. Beat on high until stiff peaks have formed, about 2 minutes.

4. Color. Add in the green food colouring and pistachio extract and beat until just combined.

5. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, and place a sieve over top. Pour the dry mixture into the sieve, then sift the dry ingredients into the meringue.

6. Fold. Use a rubber spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the meringue. Be careful not to overmix and over-deflate the meringue.
   • The mixture is ready to be piped when it ribbons off your spatula. The batter, when lifted with a spatula, should keep flowing off the spatula in ribbon shapes nonstop, without drizzling off too quickly. If it is coming off in large V shaped chunks it needs to be folded more.
   • Another test is the figure 8 test: If you can lift some batter up and use it to draw several figure 8's without the stream breaking, it is ready!

7. Pipe macaron shells. Add batter to a piping bag with a medium to large sized round tip (I recommend a large ½-inch top). Pipe 1 to 1 ½-inch small circles of batter onto the prepared baking sheet. Make sure the piping bag is held straight up and perpendicular to the baking sheet.
8. Tap. After you've piped all the macarons, gently tap the baking sheet multiple times against the counter to remove any air bubbles from the macarons. If some air bubbles still remain, use a tooth pick to gently poke them out.
9. Rest. Preheat oven to 300°F. While the oven is preheating, allow the macarons to sit and form a "skin". This "skin" should form anywhere from 8 minutes to an hour. You know the macarons are ready to be baked when you can touch them lightly without having the batter stick to your finger. Keep checking them periodically to see if they have formed a skin.

10. Bake. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Check at 15 minutes, and if they are not ready then keep checking every minute. The macarons are ready when the tops are firm and do not move around their base at all. Allow the macarons to cool completely before attempting to remove them from the silicone mat.

How to Make Pistachio White Chocolate Ganache Filling

1. Prep chocolate. Add the chopped white chocolate and pistachio paste (or cream or spread) into a heat-proof bowl and set aside.
2. Heat heavy cream. In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream over medium heat. Bring to a simmer.
3. Combine. Pour the cream over the white chocolate mixture and lightly stir. Let it to sit for 2 minutes to allow the chocolate to melt. Whisk the ganache until it comes together and is smooth. 
4. Set. Cover with plastic cling wrap and let it cool to just warmer than room temperature before using (about 1 hour). You can cool it faster in the fridge, but keep a close eye on it by checking it regularly and stirring intermittently to prevent the ganache from cooling too fast and hardening too much.

Decorating the Macaron Tops

1. Melt chocolate. Melt the white chocolate in a double broiler or in the microwave.

2. Decorate. Drizzle the tops of half of the macarons with the melted white chocolate, then sprinkle with chopped pistachios. Set aside to harden.
3. Chill. Set aside in the fridge to harden.

Assembling Macarons

1. Place the cooled ganache into a piping bag fitted with a large ½ inch round tip.
2. Pipe the ganache onto the bottom half of the macaron shells (undecorated half).
3. Top each bottom half with the decorated macaron tops.
4. Place into the fridge overnight to mature and meld together.

How to Serve

Just because these cute pistachio macarons are eye-catching on their own, doesn't mean you shouldn't serve them in a beautiful way. Some ways that you can display them are:

• Use a platter or cake stand. A cake stand gives these macarons some elevation that helps them to stand out rather than getting lost in the shuffle.
• Make a macaron tower. Stack them up on top of each other or mount to a sturdy base using royal chocolate or melted chocolate as a beautiful way to display macarons
• Place them in single-serve boxes. If you are planning to gift them as a thoughtful party favor to takeaway, place these nutty macarons in festive gift boxes or wrap individually.
• Serve with a warm drink. Serve with a hot drink such as White Hot Chocolate, Matcha Latte, coffee, or tea.

Storing and Freezing Instructions

How to Store

Store pistachio macarons in a sealed ziploc bag or airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. You can store them longer in the fridge - up to 6 weeks. Gently transfer the macarons into an airtight container in a single layer, being careful not to crack the delicate shells.

How to Freeze

Allow pistachio macarons to sit at room temperature for 24 hours before freezing in a single layer on a parchment paper lined sheet pan until solid (about 1-2 hours). Once completely frozen, carefully stack them in an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. To serve, allow them to thaw overnight in the fridge.

You can also store unassembled macaron shells in this same way. Allow the shells to thaw in the fridge overnight before coating the tops, making the ganache, and assembling.

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