Before going to high school (years and years ago), I didn’t know anything about macarons. Surprisingly, I do remember what went on in my mind the first time I saw them.
At the time I did not know anything about their origin, taste, or ingredients. I thought a macaron was an overrated, kitschy "techno" cookie that only high society wannabe new age brats consumed. But they'd only do it inside public coffee shops, for it would make no sense if nobody saw them taking bites off a too orange (or pink or green) piece of pastry.
Looking back, I guess I was jealous. Even before I knew how wonderful these sweet delicate “cookies” can be. To be honest, I was a very low-budget high-school girl, working part-time most of the time. And paying rent for some lousy room that was usually too small, and moist. So it took me years before I actually got to try my first macaron.
Macaron or macaroon—do you know the difference between these two popular cookie types? Aside from both being delicious and similar in spelling, macarons and macaroons are entirely different cookies.
When I finally did, I discovered heaven on Earth.
It was so good, I thought I had been missing half of all the good life before that moment. After that, I changed my mind. I now love macarons. Talking about the French version, which is quite delicate to make.
Delicate preparation or not, I’m posting my very first try. I didn’t complicate much. Texture-wise, they could turn out better, but taste-wise, they are simply perfect.
And I plan to make more, and I will try making them look more like the real stuff. Plus, I will enjoy every single bite I did not take back high school. In the privacy of my cozy home (still rented) and in the company of my loved ones who can’t stop praising them.
Before you begin making macarons, here are some important notes for this delicate treat:
Prepare eggs 2 days in advance: Separate egg yolks from the whites. Store these in the fridge in two separate airtight containers. You can use the yolks for something else because you're not gonna need them this time. Take the whites out a few hours before making macarons; They need to get to the room temperature.
Apparently, how the macarons turn out, depends on just too many factors. Those can be controlled by who knows who or what. Could even be the moon. But there’s some advice you can find on the internet, so look around if interested. When I find out what works best with this recipe, I'll update.
Good luck and enjoy this pistachio version! In the future, I intend to make other flavors with ingredients even lower in carbs!
Keto Low-Carb Pistachio Macarons
Ingredients
SHELLS
- 2 large egg whites - (2 days old, room temperature)
- 0.5 oz erythritol - (granulated)
- 3 oz almonds - (blanched, ground)
- ½ teaspoon matcha tea powder
- 5 oz erythritol - (powdered)
PISTACHIO TOPPING
- 1.2 oz pistachios - (unsalted, ground)
- ⅛ teaspoon stevia extract - (or a Tbsp. of erythritol)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2.3 oz butter - (unsalted, softened)
Instructions
THE SHELLS
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
- Grind the almonds. Use a food processor, equipped with an s blade. Don’t mix for too long as you might end up with almond butter.
- Add the powdered erythritol and keep processing until you get fine and sweet almond flour.
- Using an electric mixer, start beating the egg whites. When they get bubbly, slowly start adding in granulated erythritol. Keep mixing until the whites are very stiff and shiny.
- Add the matcha powder now. At this point, you can decide to use more matcha than me, or not use it at all. My main purpose with matcha was to get the batter to become slightly green, as I didn’t want to use artificial colors. You can, of course, use anything yo make the macarons green.
- When matcha is well incorporated into the whites, gently fold in ⅓ of the erythritol-almond flour mixture. Then, using a rubber spatula, mix in the rest of the erythritol-almond mix. The mixture should get a honey-like consistency. Mine, for example, was a bit too dense. Apparently, I should have mixed it longer.
- Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag, and make a ½ inch hole at the tip. Pipe 1-inch rounds 1 inch apart on the prepared parchment-lined baking pan. (Never mind my cookie-maker method in the picture. I won’t use the cookie maker for macarons again, as I’d want them to be smooth and look more like normal macarons in the end.)
- Now, let the shells dry for at least 30 minutes. You can leave them out to dry for 1 and a half hours. Even if you forget about them for a bit longer, it shouldn’t do any harm. They should not be sticky to touch before going into the oven.
- Put in the oven and bake for approximately 15 minutes. Don’t bake the shells for longer than 18 minutes, as they might get overbaked, and lose that gentle texture which makes the macarons so special. To figure out if they’re done, try lifting one of the shells off the parchment paper. If it doesn’t stick to the paper, take the batch out of the oven and slide the shells off the baking pan. If they still stick after 17 minutes, return them to the oven for a minute or two, then take them out and let them cool for 5 minutes on the parchment paper taken off the baking pan.
- Take them off the parchment paper, one by one, turning them upside down, so they are ready to be topped. It is easier to tear the parchment paper off at the bottom instead of trying to lift each shell off the parchment paper.
PISTACHIO TOPPING
- Grind the pistachio as finely as possible, together with stevia.
- Using a hand electric mixer, mix the soft butter well.
- Add the fine pistachio mixture and the vanilla extract. Mix well.
ASSEMBLING THE MACARONS
- Take each macaron shell, top it with the pistachio cream, and cover with another shell. Try choosing similar shell sizes.
- Leave the macarons in the fridge for one day for the flavors to combine well, and for the macarons to soften.
- Before serving the macarons, leave them at the room temperature for an hour. Then, let them melt in your mouth!
Nutrition
MORE KETO RECIPES TO TRY!
If you love this low-carb keto recipe, I recommend you also try:
Shawn says
These look delicious. I'm nervous because this will be my first attempt of making French macarons. I've always admired them, but never thought of making them except for now. My question is can Swerve be subbed for Xylitol? I'm not a big fan of matcha, but like you I don't prefer to use artificial flavors. What would you recommend?
Thanks .
Tisa says
Hi, Shawn. I'm very sorry for the late response. Yes, you can use any sweetener you like, including Swerve. As mentioned in the post, these macarons will not come out as delicate as the original French version, but they are satisfying on keto (at least to us, anyway).
I'm sorry, I don't have many ideas for coloring them without using artificial colors or flavors. You can just leave them plain if you don't mind the looks.
Lifesarecipe says
Hey, you might want to talk to whoever is placing your advertising. After the picture of the almond flour mixture was a picture of a hand holding a bunch of icky hair. Kinda grossed me out. Just wanted you to be aware.
Tisa says
Thank you, we'll look int that. Definitely sounds gross!
Tina says
Pistachios have 8 carbs per 1/4 cup, 3g of that is fiber....
Kim says
Your cookies did not look like macarons. Besides them being wrongly shaped & with rough faces, they also had no feet. Were they dried to the touch when you put them to bake? I noticed you did dry them for 30 minutes?
Tisa says
I know this recipe needs new photos in which the cookies weren't made with a cookie maker. But I don't brag about them being professional macarons, so I didn't think anyone would mind this keto version had rough faces. I think I do discuss enough factors that make these delicate cookies turn out better or worse. And I do tell the readers to look around for more professional tips if they want to. Even the feet or no feet can be a result of the level of humidity in the kitchen. Yes, as explained in the instructions, they need to be dried to the touch before baking.
Nonetheless, they were delicious every time we made them, although not professional. I don't think every visitor looks for professional recipes and I don't lead anyone to believe that this is a top-notch professional recipe. I'd never do that with all the respect I have for French desserts.
Jonathan E says
Pistachios are NOT low carb. I'm not sure why people keep thinking that because they are not grain that they qualify as low carb. Pistachios are fruit and contain a lot of sugars. Whats worse is that it is fructose which can only be broken down in the liver. And when you have more than your liver can handle the fructose is stored as fat around the organs. Typically low carb diets have a goal of Ketosis.. if your liver is busy breaking down ketones why would you want to take in sugars that can only be broken down in the liver... it's already busy. You'd be better off taking in glucose sugar because ANY cell can use that for energy.
Lori B. says
Pistachios are a nut, not a fruit. Their carb content is similar to many seeds, nuts, & veggies consumed on keto diets. I hope your nonsense didn't prevent anyone from making this recipe.
Luka says
🙂
Beth says
I use "super fine ground almond flour"...how much would I use instead of grinding my own almonds?
My Sweet Keto says
I would try using the same amount in weight (so 3 oz.). But I can't say how it will turn out. If your almond flour is fat-reduced, the result might be different.
Beth says
It's not "fat-reduced". It's the Bob's Mill Super Fine Ground Almond Flour from Sam's Club. I will weigh it out. Thank you! =)
Kim says
Beth, you should use same amount she said in her recipe.
Serenity M. Simpson says
I'm having trouble with the link included to print. I've been able to print from other documents, so it isn't my printer settings. The link comes out a blank sheet.
My Sweet Keto says
Thank you for the notice - we shall look into this asap!
Victoria Olson says
Hi, why do you have two ingredient entries for erythritol? Thanks!
My Sweet Keto says
Hi,
One is supposed to be granulated and the other powdered. The recipe was adapted from a non-keto version which used granulated and powdered sugar.
MeAgain says
‘Grind’ is the English word you keep substituting with ‘ground’ in your instructions. Ground is the past tense of grind. One will grind the almonds, after that one will have ground them. Just trying to be helpful. Thank you for this recipe.
My Sweet Keto says
Thank you, I do appreciate it.
AKA says
Ground is also used as an adjective to describe something after one grinds it.
themuse says
Thank-you For This Lovely Recipe! You will be celebrated in my home once I make these!
As I'm expat Australian in US please could tell me the weight of the egg whites because I eat local organic pasture raised eggs and the sizes vary. I've read this is important.
My Sweet Keto says
Hi! I use local pasture raised eggs as well. They differ in sizes, but the average size is somewhere between the Americal "medium" and "large," which is a couple of grams above 50.
Making perfect macarons, there's a long list of what's important, and this keto version is not exactly close to what you get in French bakeries. 😉 I've tried my best, though. Still, every batch might be a little different because of the delicate approach macarons require. I do still need to try a little bit less sweet version. The amount of sugar (or erythritol) is something that's always bothered me with macarons.
beeboo says
this has wayyy to much sweetener.
My Sweet Keto says
Well, macarons usually call for high amounts of sugar. I use the same amount of pure erythritol (which is slightly less sweet than sugar) for the shells as the amount of sugar used in classic recipes. They do turn out quite sweet, but it might be that taste gets more sensitive to sweetness on keto regime.
Have you tried making these using a sweeter sweetener? Is so, can you share any suggestions?