Creative Ways to Make Macarons Without Almond Flour

Macarons are among the well-loved cookies known for its crunchy yet sweet taste.

Its chewy texture which can be filled with any sorts of frosting is one of the many reasons why people will go crazy after giving it a bite.

If you are a baker, creating sweet and lovely macarons should be on top of your bucket list. Accordingly, preparing a macaron batter requires a precise formula and expertise.

Most of the pastry chefs would suggest that you should learn the basic recipe of macaron first to get the best result.

However, some people don’t just love having too many nuts with these macarons. Perhaps, they love to eat this sweet pastry the smoothest it can be.

In this case, you need to learn baking macarons without almond flour to get rid of the nutty feeling. Do you think that’s possible?

I bet you read it right! There are various nut-free recipes for macarons that you can follow. I can show you some of the tips on how you can possibly do such a recipe.

Baking Macarons Using Almond Flour Substitute

There are lots of options for almond flour alternatives should you wish to try nut-free macarons recipes.

While most of you love to eat these treats with such a nutty feeling, some find themselves allergic. Hence, they want to get rid of this ingredient as much as possible.

How do you substitute almond flour in a macaron recipe? Here are the surprising secrets to follow.

Pumpkin Seeds

These seeds are among the best replacement of almond flour when doing nut-free macaron recipe.

It would be best if you had a good food processor to help you grind these seeds until it gets fine before adding it to the mixture.

You need to follow the right measurement of using pumpkin seeds in making macarons without almond flour.

Following a specific ratio of the ingredients will also help you achieve the best result.

Steps to Doing Macaron with Pumpkin Seeds

If you find pumpkin seeds as an unusual alternative to almond flour, the steps below will show you how to do it.

1. Always preheat the oven to 300 degrees to prepare it for baking.
2. Make your baking pans ready and make sure to line it with parchment paper.
3. Grind the pumpkin seeds using a food processor. You can also add the sugar, malt powder, and cocoa to it to be mixed well altogether.
4. Make sure to sift the mixture before setting it aside.
5. In another mixer, combine other ingredients like egg whites, salt, sugar, and vanilla. Make sure to whip them together for about 3 to 5 minutes.
6. Set it aside and whip it again with increased speed for another 3 minutes.
7. Combine all the dry ingredients using a spatula. Mix it with consistency until you achieve that perfect batter.
8. Transfer the batter into the piping container and into the parchment paper that is lined in the pan.
9. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until you can remove the macarons out from the parchment paper altogether.
10. Make sure to let the delicacies cool first before removing all of them from the baking tray.
11. Store the macarons in the fridge before serving.

There you have it. These are the steps to follow to bake macarons without almond flour but with good pumpkin seeds alternative!

Sunflower Seeds

When you can’t make use of almond flour in your macaron recipe, sunflower seeds are another better substitute.

Just like the pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds will give your macarons another level of taste when used instead of almond flour.

Here are the steps to follow.

1. Preheat the oven at the desired temperature – usually at 350 degrees.
2. Place your sunflower seeds together with the sugar in a food processor. Prepare it for grinding and mixing.
3. Place the combined seed and sugar into the sieve.
4. Process the solid bits again in the food processor. Repeat the procedure until everything gets fine.
5. In a separate container, whisk the egg whites and sugar first by hand mixing.
6. Then, on medium speed, whip the egg whites and sugar mixture and speed it up every 3 minutes.
7. Prepare the dry ingredients in a separate container and using a spatula, fold in the mix.
8. Pipe small macaron circles on the parchment paper that is lined within the baking tray.
9. Bake them for 12 minutes or longer depending on the oven capacity.
10. Let it cool. Place in a fridge overnight before serving and consuming.

Common Problems in Baking Macarons and How to Fix It

While you want your macarons to be nut-free, there are also inevitable mistakes that you need to avoid in order to make sure that you’ll achieve the most satisfactory result at the end of this baking process.

Here are the typical troubles that bakers face with baking macarons.

Hard and Chewy Macaroons

This is one of the most common problems faced by pastry chefs when doing macarons recipes. Most often, the desserts tend to become hard to chew due to over baking.

Another factor that affects the smoothness of this pastry is the temperature of the oven.

Therefore, to avoid such a problem, make sure to follow the desired temperature when baking these goodies.

Macarons Rise Too Quickly

Another problem faced when doing macarons recipe is that it rises too quickly. This happens to the macarons when the temperature is too high.

To fix this concern, you can turn down the temperature of the oven at some point. But do remember to increase the baking time to make sure that your macarons still cook perfectly.

Hollow Macarons Shells

Hollow macarons are often caused by poor preparation of ingredients. Therefore, make sure to bit and whip the eggs well until it reaches its perfect form.

Further, make sure to follow the proper folding techniques of the dry ingredients. If you do it correctly, you are likely to address the issue of macarons having hollow shells.

Lumpy Macarons

When the batter is not mixed perfectly, there is a tendency for the macarons to become lumpy and grumpy.

Therefore, to avoid such a problem, make sure that the wet and dry ingredients are properly combined and folded.

For those ingredients which need to be processed, make sure to throw them in the food processor as many times as possible to ensure that every ingredient becomes fine and well-processed.

Further, always discard those large bits which are hard to sift. This will be one of the reasons for macarons to be lumpy after baking.

Final Thoughts

Baking macarons is such a tricky recipe. It needs a bit of your time and a lot of consistency. Even expert pastry chefs find it hard to do macaron recipes correctly.

You will face several challenges, including too chewy macarons, macaron shells that are cracked, and the final results being lumpy.

However, once you achieve that perfect macarons recipe, you will feel contentment by creating such a heavenly delight.

While most people don’t want their macarons to be a lot nutty, you can always go for macarons without almond flour.

It would help if you simply looked for almond flour substitutes like the ones mentioned above.

You can do a quick search with Google, and you will find that there are plenty of nut-free recipes to follow for baking macarons.

You will find step by step guides in perfecting this amazing dessert even without the use of almond flour.

At first, it may need you to do some trial and error, but along the way, creating this heavenly delight will be a walk in the park.

There you go! Start baking this well-loved pastry now! I hope doing macarons without almond flour is now possible for you with all these tips and techniques I gave you.