The first time I tried macarons was at the Macaron Café in Midtown, Manhattan. I had seen many photos of them prior to that and always wondered if they were as tasty as they were pretty. And were they ever. Those macarons melted in my mouth and made my eyes close with pleasure. Even today, whenever I am in the area, I indulge and buy a box of six.
Since preparing healthier alternatives to old favourites is what I love, I decided it was time to conquer the macarons. And what better time to do it than the winter holidays? They are sweet, colourful, and overall cheerful – a wonderful treat and a nice gift.
For the flavours, I went with seasonal fruits like persimmon and pomegranate and two powders I had on hand – matcha and blueberry. Each created a beautiful colour, no artificial dye required.
We decorated our tree yesterday. It’s a beauty and fills the home with the smell of pine. Paloma was thrilled when she came home from day care and found the tree all lit up in our living room. She couldn’t stop singing this song, which is a traditional Russian jingle about the New Year’s tree.
The macarons were a success, everyone in the family enjoyed them with a hot cup of tea or two. The persimmon kind were voted the popular favourite.
This blog will soon turn ONE, sometime in January. We’d like to thank all of Golubka’s dear readers for the overwhelming support and wonderful feedback each one of you has given, either by commenting or simply stopping by and reading. Every one of your visits and comments is greatly appreciated. Thank you so very much!!!
Happy holidays! Stay happy and healthy!
Persimmon Macarons
1/2 cup fresh persimmon puree
1 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup raw agave syrup
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
In a blender, blend 2-3 ripe persimmons to the consistency of a smooth puree. Take 1/2 cup of it, reserving the rest for later use in macaron cream. In a food processor, combine the puree with the rest of the ingredients until thoroughly mixed. Spread evenly on Teflex-lined dehydrator trays. Using a cookie cutter or shot glass, cut circular shapes out of the “dough”. Reform the dough that remains from the circles and cut out again. If the dough is too moist and sticky to cut, place the tray in the freezer for 10 minutes or dehydrate for 30 minutes prior to cutting. Dehydrate at 115F for around 8 hours or more, until dry on the outside and moist and chewy on the inside.
Pomegranate Macarons
1/2 cup fresh pomegranate puree
1 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup raw agave syrup
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
To make pomegranate puree, combine 1 cup of dried black mission figs (soaked for 2-3 hours) with 2 cups of fresh pomegranate juice in a high-speed blender to reach a smooth consistency. Take 1/2 cup, reserving the rest for later use in pomegranate cream. In a food processor, combine the puree with the rest of the ingredients until mixed thoroughly. Spread evenly on Teflex-lined dehydrator trays. Using a cookie cutter or shot glass, cut circular shapes out of the “dough”. Reform the dough that remains from the circles and cut out again. If the dough is too moist and sticky to cut, place the tray in the freezer for 10 minutes or dehydrate for 30 minutes prior to cutting. Dehydrate at 115F for around 8 hours or more, until dry on the outside and moist and chewy on the inside.
Matcha Macarons
1 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 tablespoon matcha powder
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/4 cup raw agave syrup
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
Combine all the ingredients in a food processor until mixed thoroughly. Spread evenly on Teflex-lined dehydrator trays. Using a small cup or shot glass, cut circular shapes out of the “dough”. Reform the dough that remains from the circles and cut out again. The dough may be a little crumbly for the task, but it will stick together nicely after dehydration. Dehydrate at 115F for around 8 hours or less, until dry on the outside and moist and chewy on the inside.
Blueberry Macarons
1 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
5 teaspoon blueberry powder OR 1/2 cup fresh blueberry puree
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/4 cup raw agave syrup
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
Combine all the ingredients in a food processor until mixed thoroughly. Spread evenly on Teflex-lined dehydrator trays. Using a small cup or shot glass, cut circular shapes out of the “dough”. Reform the dough that remains from the circles and cut out again. If using the blueberry powder, the dough may be a little crumbly for the task, but it will stick together nicely after dehydration. Dehydrate at 115F for around 8 hours or less, until dry on the outside and moist and chewy on the inside.
Macaron Cream
We used Artisana coconut butter for the base of the cream. Place the butter jar into warm water to soften the butter up. In separate bowls, mix the butter with the reserved persimmon, and pomegranate purees, matcha, and blueberry powder to achieve desired colors. Add raw agave syrup or other preferred sweetener to taste.
Jennifer and Jaclyn @ sketch-free vegan says
beautiful beautiful beau-ti-ful! this is the first raw macaron recipe I’ve seen so far on the world wide web.
Ina Todoran says
These are simply AMAZING!!! Really have to try them! Congratulations!
Jennifurla says
This is perfection! Happy Holidays to you and your great family!
Silani Wahlgren says
Beautiful colours! I was wondering, if you cut the circles out, what you do with the part that is left over from the circle cutting? Do you continue to dehydrate it and use it for sprinkles? Do you re-form it and cut more?
Kasi Bern says
GOLUBKA…. I am awarding you the OSCAR for outstanding RAW FOOD preparation.Thank you for sharing all you fabulous creations♥ HAPPY HOLIDAYS ~ !!! and continued success in raw your raw food preparations :)
Pour Porter says
Mmmm… I love earl grey tea with cookies, in fact I’m drinking some right now with a small plate of mandel kakor!
Nadia says
yet another perfect recipe!
I want to thank you for the amazing treats you are sharing with us in the past year and wish you a happy merry Christmas and lots of love in the new one!
Deeba PAB says
Gosh these are AMAZING! Just so stunning! Happy Holidays to you and your family!
Sue says
Those look absolutely scrumptious!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, Anya, and your entire family.
Anonymous says
Amazing raw macaroons.never seen anything like this and just can’t stop looking at the macaroon pics. Happy Holidays:)
Golubka says
Thanks so much everyone! Have a happy holiday!
Silani, thank you. We reform and cut more, I’ll add that to the recipe.
Gary says
These are interesting cookies. They look devine . Taste good as well I suspect. They are not Macarons. I have examined them from many criteria and can find none that come close to being a macaron.Not even the shape. Where is the rounded shape.Where are the feet.
These are imitation Ice Box Cookies if anything.
Skylar says
great pictures! I love the colors and the flavors sound delicious!
bitt says
so pretty! I love the ideas for colors. i think that commenter above me is not familiar with french macaroons, which it seems you are going for here. they sound tasty.
Norka says
Blessed and holy Christmas from Hungary!
Annick Guenette says
hhhh!!! AMAZING! Thanks a lot! great job.. wonderful! I’m loving it!
dragonmamma says
Wow, these are beautiful, but I’m thinking that it might take me a couple of weeks to get around to making all four varieties (which I would want for the gorgeous color combinations.) Do you know if the two components (the cut circles and the creme filling) would freeze well?
Golubka says
Gary, thanks! They’re definitely not the traditional kind.
Bitt, thanks so much!
Norka, merry Christmas!
Annick, thank you!
Dragonmamma, thank you. We’ve never frozen them, but they should be fine to freeze.
greenandjuicy says
So beautiful, as always. What camera do you use? Your photos are just stunning.
Hope you had a wonderful Christmas :)
Anonymous says
Why not to use the almonds – just like in real macarons?
Happy Chef says
Way to bring out the holiday sumptuous spirit. These are stunning in appearance and no doubt in taste as well! Your daughter and tree look beautiful, what a warm and wonderful home you must have. Great photos and originality in your recipes. Happy Holidays and a healthy New Year!
Anna says
Спасибо, знаю теперь, чем порадовать себя на Новый год !
Sweet Faery says
This is a brilliant idea! Thank you, and have nice holidays!
Sécotine says
once again, beautiful pictures and beautiful recipe ! Thanks for sharing and happy holidays to you and all your family. May 2011 realizes all your dreams !
Golubka says
greenandjuicy: Thank you! We use a Canon 50d with a 50mm f1.4 lens.
Anon: Good idea. But it would be much harder to get such vibrant colours with almonds. They would probably need to be blanched. But I think it’s possible!
Happy Chef: Thanks so much for your wonderful comment, happy New Year.
Sweet Faery: Thank you & happy holidays!
Анна: Спасибо вам! С наступающим!
Secotine: Thank you and Happy New Year!
Elena Bensonoff says
Thank you for another great recipe! I love it. I also made it using raspberries. I love you creativity. Happy Holidays to you and your family. Lena…..
Jaclyn says
Gorgeous. I am going to try this recipe on the dehydrator I got for X-mas!
Is coconut butter the same as coconut oil?
Thanks!
Golubka says
Elena: Thank you! Let’s get together soon. Happy New Year!
Jaclyn: No, they are a little different. Coconut oil is what the title suggests, while coconut butter is a blend of coconut meat and coconut oil, basically all of coconut’s contents!
Tanvi@Sinfully Spicy says
So So stunning..the amount of sugar that goes inside was keeping me away from trying macarons..and here I have your natural recipe..Thanks a ton!
selene @veganlicious says
this is the most amazing blog ever! wow! everything is absolutely gorgeous.
neojohns says
Many folks wonder what Matcha Green Tea tastes like. It is an often misunderstood, highly complex, alluring flavor. Chlorophyll together with amino acids supply Matcha with its distinctive rich taste. It has an initial astringent, vegetal taste which then gives way to a lingering sweetness. When Matcha is whisked with water in the traditional style of Japan, it is actually a very full-bodied green tea. The high intensity of your first Matcha experience can be compared to the first time you red wine or dark chocolate. When Matcha is used as in ingredient in baking, cooking, or beverages, the taste will become more subtle. It can add the unique flavor, (and generally the color), of green tea to a variety of creations such as ice cream, cupcakes, smoothies, a latte, or various different sauces.
Nicole says
I have been experimenting with traditional (almond) macarons using natural colorings such as beets and blueberries. Although I love the ones you buy in the store, all that artificial coloring and flavoring really turns me off. Great ideas for some natural alternatives.
XingyMingy says
Oh wow. Those macaroons. I am lost for words.
Veronique says
Hello from France and still in tome to wish you a Happy Year 2015.
Just LOVE your site and your creativity.
I was wondering how long can you keep those macaroons and would you keep them in a metal box.
Thank you very much for your answer.
alicia welch says
Hey
amazing recipe! how long do these macaroons last for ? they dont need to be refridgerated? have you noticed if the coconut butter frosting changes colour? if so how do you stop it – without using any artificial additives? thankss!!