Trick or treat - Vegan Halloween Macaroons
Just in time for trick or treat, our favorite pin-up model from Germany Rina Bambina whipped up some rockin' Vegan Halloween Macaroons
One year ago, I decided to become a vegan. Although a lot of thing s changed for me, I never regretted my decision. Moreover, I have to admit that I didn't even have any serious trouble craving for non-vegan food so far. There is a vast range of alternative products on the market today, and there are many more to come. I m always jumping for joy when I find a new vegan product in the supermarket (which must be a funny scene for the other costumers). I also like to experiment with different things in order to find proper replacements for animal products in my diet.
When it comes to baking, things change a lot when you are a vegan. Butter, eggs and milk are listed in almost every recipe. But I learned to substitute the animal products with other in gredients like bananas or soymeal. It's that easy! You will even find chickpeas on my shopping list, before I start baking. I never tried baking Macaroons, although I'm a big fan of the traditional French delicacy. I even bought a macaroon baking mat some months ago, which then got dusty in my kitchen closet.
But, since Halloween is around the corner,I wanted to bake a special treat. I found a great vegan macaroon recipe by Morsels and Moonshine, where every step was explained very well. So, let's do this!
Let's start with the dough for the Macaroon shells:
This is what you need for the dough:
- 1 cup almond flour
- 3/4 cup liquid from chickpeas (you can save the chickpeas for another use)
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar - 1 tsp. of your favorite flavor - I excluded this ingredient, because I wanted to get a pure taste.
Food coloring - since I wanted to create a Halloween candy, I wanted the shells to be orange like little pumpkins
How to do it:
1. Combine the almond flour and the powdered sugar in a food processor and pulse for one or two minutes. Pulsing is important, because otherwise, the mixture will get too clumpy when the food processor gets too hot. Once the ingredients are well combined, pass the mixture through a sieve (throw away the larger chunks) and set it aside in a bowl.
2. Bring the chickpea liquid to a boil. Then, reduce the heat and let it reduce to about 1/3 cup. This will take about 10 minutes. Be prepared that the liquid will smell a little strange (some say that it smells like cat food) but in the end, you won't even notice that there are chickpeas in the macaroons.
3. When the liquid is reduced, transfer it to a bowl and whisk it for two minutes (I used a hand blender on medium-high level). The liquid should get white and foamy.
4. Add the sugar and whisk again for 5 minutes on high level.
1. Now you can add any flavor and/ or the food color. I had to add three packages of four grams to get a nice orange color. Whisk again for one minute.
2. Carefully fold in the mixture of almond meal and powdered sugar. Do this in three steps: Put one third of the mixture in and fold it, repeat with the remaining two thirds
3. Now it is time to form the shells. I used an icing bag with a straight cut cap. I ended up with 48 small shells on my (greased) macaroon baking mar. I had some dough left over, so I placed some larger blogs on the additional baking sheet. Make sure to leave some space between them, since the dough will spread. To release the bubbles from the dough, smack the baking tray on the counter three times.
4. Let the shells rest for one hour so they can dry out a little. In the meantime, you can prepare the cream for the filling.
5. Prepare the oven to 205 F and bake he shells for about 20 minutes.
6. Turn the oven off but let the shells sit there for another 15 minutes.
7. Open the oven door and let the shells cool for another 15 minutes. (I know, it is a waiting game bit it will be worth it)
Now, you can remove the shells from the oven and once cooled, spread the cream on them.
This is what you need for the cream filling:
- 2 T. organic shortening (I used vegetable margarine and I suggest that you melt it before mixing)
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- almond milk as needed
How to do it:
1. Mix the first four ingredients using a spatula. Then, add the almond milk, one tablespoon at a time until the cream reaches a fudgy consistence. I used about five table
2. Fill the cream in an icing bag and spread it generously on one half of the shells. Carefully squeeze the other half on top to create a "sandwich". This works particularly well when you rotate the shells gently while squeezing.
And voilà: a fluffy, sugary Halloween treat, that is sooooooo tasty and above all vegan!
A few words on my baking outfit: The girls from Pretty Attitude sent me their Cream Skull Dress which is perfect for a Bohemian Halloween night. You have to look twice to notice the elegant spider web lace pattern. I never wore a piece of clothing with bell sleeves and I really liked to play around with these. They give the dress an unique look and a touch of vintage romance. My highlight is the skull cutout on the back. This is the kind of subtle horror I like.
Happy Halloween!!!
All pictures by Julian Clemens.