These textured matcha Christmas tree macarons are filled with dark chocolate ganache and they are so festive for the holiday!

Matcha Macaron Shells

Adopted from Pies & Tacos Blog – Swiss method.

Note: You do not have to get exactly 95g of egg whites. You can calculate the ratio as 1:05. For example: if you only get 100g of egg whites out of 3 eggs, multiple it by 1.05 to get to 105g on dry ingredients (almond flour and powdered sugar). Remember to use a scale to weight all the ingredients.

Yield about 40-44 shells

• 95g egg whites (from 3 fresh eggs)
• 95g white granulated sugar
• 100g almond flour
• 100g powdered sugar
• 3g matcha powder from Tezumi Tea (Use 10% off discount code “SUGARTREATSBYCK2024” on your order)
• 3g egg white powder (optional) from Judee’s from Scratch

Steps

1. Before you start, wipe all the tools and bowls with white vinegar or lemon juice to make sure there is no oil on them and get all of the ingredients ready. Prepare a large piping bag, fitted with a large round tip. I used piping tip 102 & 4B to pipe the Christmas tree. If preferred, for the back of the macaron shells, you could use round 12. 1A can be used to. It depends on what your preference. Set aside.
2. Line two baking sheets with silicone mat or parchment paper. If you are using a template, you can put them underneath the mat or parchment paper now.
3. Measure out all of the ingredients using a scale.
4. In one large bowl, sift the powdered sugar, almond flour, and matcha powder together. Whisk them until combine. Set it aside.
5. In another bowl, whisk the sugar and the egg white powder (if using). Using a double boiler method, place the bowl over a pot with water. Make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Add the egg whites to the sugar and whisk the mixture until frothy. Use your finger to touch the mixture and you should not be feeling any sugar in it, which means the sugar is completely melted and ready for next step.
6. Transfer the sugar mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer. With the whisk attachment, start whisking mixture on low for about 30 seconds, then gradually start increasing speed to medium-low (KitchenAid speed 4). Whisk on medium for one to two minutes, until the mixture is white and starting to become fluffy. Raise the speed medium-high (KitchenAid speed 6) and whisk for a few minutes (could be up to 10 to 12 minutes) until stiff peaks are formed. Once they get glossy and you start seeing streaks formed by the whisk, it might be time to stop.
7. Stiff peaks is the meringue shooting straight up. Then it is ready.
8. Pour the sifted powdered sugar, almond flour, and matcha powder into the stiff meringue.
9. Use a spatula and start folding gently. ** STOP FOLDING when the dry ingredients are just combined into the meringue.** The key to create the textured shells is not to fold the batter at all (undermixed). You could split half of the batter into another bowl. One bowl can be created the textured shells. The other bowl you can proceed as normal to create the back of the macarons shell if preferred.
10. Transfer the batter to the piping bag. I use tip 102 to create these Christmas tree shells.
11. Pipe the batter upwards on the baking sheet to create the Christmas tree look. You can add sprinkles on them at this point. I used Foliay sprinkles here. Use “CK15” promo code to receive 15% off on your purchase.
12. I rest them for two hours to make sure they are dried and ready to bake. (I really do not want any of them being cracked!)
13. Fold the second bowl of batter if you have the second bowl.
14. When ready, place the piping bag directly 90 degrees over the center of each macaron template.
15. When piping is done, I would recommend tapping the bottom of the tray instead of banging the tray against the counter. Banging the tray against the counter is too loud and it really is scaring my kids. It still works but I no longer do the banging. This step is to get rid of air bubbles in the batter.
16. Use a toothpick to pop any air bubbles in the surface of the shells.
17. Pre-heat the oven to 310 degrees. You would need oven thermometer to know how hot your oven is. This is very important when baking macarons. What I have found out is the display of the oven is not accurate and it could be few degrees off, either hotter or under. Therefore, you would need to adjust the temperature and/or baking time. My oven is without a fan.
18. If you are using a template, do not forget to remove it, which you can take it out in this step.
19. Rest the (normal round) shells about 20-40 minutes, depending on how humid where you live. It could take up to an hour for the top of the shell to dry. When you gently touch the surface of a macaron and the batter does not stick to your finger, it is ready to bake.
20. You could only bake one tray at a time and put the tray in the middle rack. I rotate the tray half way and I use airbake tray. The advantage of using airbake tray is if there is hot spot in your oven, the macaron shells are baked evenly and the airbake tray also can keep them from burning.
21. Bake for 15-18 minutes if using regular baking sheets. Bake for 16-19 minutes on airbake tray.
22. To make sure the macarons are done baking, when you try to move a macaron, it should not feel jiggly. If the macaron is still jiggly, bake for additional 2 minutes and test again. When done, remove from the oven and bake the second tray.
23. Move them to cooling rack. Let the macarons cool down completely before peeling off from the mat or parchment paper.

Dark Chocolate Ganache

• 150g dark chocolate chips
• 100g heavy cream

Steps

1. Place the dark chocolate in a glass or stainless steel bowl.
2. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan until it almost comes to a boil.
3. Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate, and let it sit for 1 minute.
4. Next, stir the chocolate and hot heavy cream together until the chocolate has melted entirely.
5. Set it aside until it cools to room temperature. It will thicken as it cools down. If making ahead you can place it in the fridge and then re-heat it gently in the microwave before using, for about 5 second intervals, and stirring in between, until the ganache isn’t super hard anymore. Careful not to over heat it, because if the ganache gets too runny, it needs to go back in the fridge or sit for a while at room temperature to get thicker. And also, if you re-heat the chocolate too much, it will separate and become grainy.

Assemble

1. Place the ganache in a piping bag. Pipe the ganache on top of the bottom shell. Top with another macaron shell.
2. Mature the macarons in the fridge for 24-48 hours before serving. When ready to serve, take the macarons out from the fridge and let them come to room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes. Enjoy!

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