Mini macaroons recipe

Children will love these oh-so-cute mini macaroons, and so will adults! These charming little sugary treats are great for any celebration but they’re especially popular in kids' parties. This quick recipe is great if you’re baking for a party, as one batch makes 34, and you’ll be done in less than 20 minutes.

To make macaroons with this simple recipe, you’ll only need four ingredients. You’ll also need to make butter cream for the filling, or you can innovate with a delicious chocolate variation. To make the mini-macaroons colourful, we recommend getting three food colours. If you would make your mini macaroons in more colours and really liven up a special celebration, then you can also buy different colours.

Love making macaroons? We've got loads more lovely macaroon recipes right here.

Ingredients

• 150g (5½ oz) ground almonds
• 250g (9oz) sifted icing sugar
• Seeds of 2 split vanilla pods
• 2 large egg whites

For the colouring:

• Red, green and yellow food colour

For the butter cream:

• 140g (5oz) butter, softened
• 280g (10oz) icing sugar, sifted
• 1-2tbsp milk
• 2 drops vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F, gas mark 2). Line several baking trays with baking paper.
2. Put the almonds, icing sugar and vanilla into a bowl. Whisk the egg whites until firm and fold in. If adding colour, divide the mix into three and add 1-2 drops food colour to each.
3. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag and pipe little mounds about 2.5cm/1in in diameter on to the trays, spaced well apart. Leave to stand for a couple of minutes until the tops dry, then bake in the oven for 20-25 mins. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
4. Beat the butter in a large bowl until soft. Add half the icing sugar and beat until smooth. Then add the remaining icing sugar with 1tbsp milk and the vanilla extract. Beat until creamy. Add extra icing sugar to thicken or a little extra milk to make runnier, if needed.
5. Sandwich the macaroons together with a little vanilla butter cream.