Pistachio Macarons

I feel like pistachios are pretty underrated, because they are so good, but not talked about as much as almonds, walnuts, pecans, and peanuts. While I do appreciate these more common nut varieties, there's something about these flavorful, green tree nuts that I can't get enough of.

For this pistachio macaron recipe, I decided to incorporate the pistachios into both the ganache and the shell. Of course, you could use a standard vanilla macarons shell and they would still be delicious.

🥘 Ingredients

Pistachio White Chocolate Ganache (above, right)

• White Chocolate - You can use chopped white chocolate baking bars or white chocolate chips.
• Heavy Cream - This will be heated in the microwave to create your ganache.
• Pistachios - Adding crushed pistachios to your ganache adds texture and a great pistachio flavor. Of course, you could leave these out and have just a simple white chocolate ganache if you wanted.
• Salt (optional) - Use a pinch of salt to offset the sweetness of the ganache, to taste as needed.

Pistachio Macaron Shells (above, left)

• Confectioners' Sugar - Powdered sugar, icing sugar, or confectioners' sugar is one of the primary ingredients in macarons.
• Almond Flour - My preferred brands are King Arthur, Anthony's, and Bob's Red Mill, but you can use your preferred brand or generic brands too.
• Pistachio Flour - You can order pistachio flour online, or buy some in a specialty store. I make my DIY pistachio flour using pistachios and my food processor (*see note).
• Egg Whites - Age your egg whites in the fridge for 24 hours to help make a sturdier meringue. *Save your egg yolks for some delicious cinnamon roll bread pudding.
• Cream of Tartar - I always use cream of tartar when making meringue to help stabilize the egg whites.
• Sugar - Regular granulated sugar will be mixed into the meringue.
• Vanilla - Pure vanilla extract has the best flavor and tastes delicious with the pistachios.
• Green Gel Food Coloring (optional) - If you want your shells to be green in color, use some green gel food coloring. If not, they will have a natural beige color.

Topping

• I like to top these macarons with a drizzle of melted white chocolate and a sprinkle of more crushed pistachios, but this is completely optional.

👩🏻‍🍳 How To Make The Best Pistachio Macarons

Make sure to read through all of the directions before getting started! You will need a kitchen scale, mixing bowls, a stand mixer, some baking sheets, a silicone spatula, and your piping bags or storage bags.

This recipe will make 26 assembled macarons.

Make the Ganache

Step 1: Microwave. Place 226 grams of white chocolate and 120 grams of heavy cream into a microwave-safe bowl (photo 1). Heat for 1 minute.

Step 2: Rest. Remove the bowl from the microwave and leave it undisturbed for 5 minutes.

Step 3: Stir. Add 1 tablespoon of crushed pistachios (photo 2) and stir until combined (photo 3).

Step 4: Chill. Transfer the ganache to the fridge to set for at least 2 hours, or until firm.

Make the Macaron Batter

Step 5: Add. Into the bowl of your food processor, add 200 grams of confectioners sugar, 95 grams of almond flour, and 15 grams of pistachio flour (photo 4).

Step 6: Blend. Pulse the mixture a few times until you have a really fine powder.

Step 7: Sift. Use a fine mesh sieve to sift the flour mixture into a large bowl (photo 5), using a spoon or rubber spatula to break up large chunks. If you have any larger almond chunks remaining that can't pass through the sieve (no more than a tablespoon), you can toss them out. Set the bowl aside.

Step 8: Beat. Place 100 grams of egg whites into the bowl (photo 6) of your stand mixer and beat using the whisk attachment at medium speed until foamy.

Step 9: Add. Add ¼ teaspoon of cream of tartar (photo 7) and beat again at medium speed until soft peaks have formed.

Step 10: Mix in the sugar. Very slowly, add 60 grams of sugar in small increments (photo 8), giving the mixer about 5 seconds between each addition to fully incorporate it.

Step 11: Continue mixing. Once the sugar has all been added, add ¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract (photo 9) and the optional green gel food coloring and beat until stiff peaks have formed (photo 10 - this could take several minutes).

Step 12: Transfer. After you have reached stiff peaks, use a silicone spatula to transfer ⅓ of your meringue into your flour mixture (photo 11).

Step 13: Begin folding. Use a slow, folding motion to gently incorporate the meringue into the dry ingredients.

Step 14: Repeat. Once fully incorporated, repeat this process two more times with the remaining meringue (photo 12).

Step 15: Macaronage. After all the meringue has been added, continue folding the mixture by making a J shape through the batter, rotating the bowl 90°, and repeating. Continue slowly folding until the batter moves similarly to lava and falls off your spatula in a ribbon just long enough to form a figure 8 (photo 13).

Pipe & Rest

Step 16: Prepare. Prepare your baking sheet(s) with parchment paper or a silicone mat (with or without a macaron template) and place a large open piping tip into a piping bag (like a Wilton #12 (medium/large) or Ateco #10 (medium)).

Step 17: Pipe. Transfer the macaron batter to the piping bag. Place your tip about ¼-inch above the baking sheet at a 90° angle (in the center of the circle, if using a template) and firmly squeeze until the batter fills the inner circle of the template. Stop squeezing and make a quick C shape to break off the batter.

Step 18: Remove air bubbles. Pipe the rest of your macarons (photo 14) and then lift the baking sheet about 5 inches above the counter. Firmly bang it on the counter 8-10 times to bring any air bubbles to the surface.

Step 19: Pop. Use a toothpick to pop any lingering air bubbles.

Step 20: Rest. Leave the macarons to rest for 30-60 minutes, or until they are no longer tacky when touched.

Bake

Step 21: Preheat. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 300°F (150°C/Gas Mark 2).

Step 22: Bake. After the macarons have rested, bake one sheet at a time for 15-18 minutes, or until they don't move on their feet when nudged slightly.

Step 23: Cool. Remove them from the oven (photo 15) and let them cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before moving them.

Assemble

Step 24: Match. Match up your macaron shells so that the ones closest in size make a pair. Then, flip one over.

Step 25: Decorate. If desired, decorate the top shell with a little melted white chocolate and a sprinkle of pistachios (photo 16).

Step 26: Transfer. Once your ganache is firm, transfer it to a piping bag with a large round tip or the tip cut off.

Step 27: Fill. Onto the bottom shell, piped the pistachio white chocolate ganache. Then, add a sprinkle of crushed pistachios (photo 17).

Step 28: Assemble. Place the top shell on top and gently press together to form the completed sandwich.

Step 29: Chill. For best results, place your macarons into a sealed container in the refrigerator to bloom for 24 hours. Let them come to room temperature before serving.

🧈 Alternative Buttercream Fillings

Opt for a pistachio buttercream filling instead of the white chocolate ganache, if desired. For a simple buttercream, use ½ cup butter, 2 cups confectioners' sugar, 1-2 tablespoons heavy cream, 1 tablespoon crushed pistachios or pistachio paste, 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt to taste. *See my vanilla buttercream frosting recipe and reduce to half the recipe.

For a pistachio pudding buttercream filling, use ½ cup butter, a 3.4-ounce package of dry pistachio pudding mix, 3 cups of confectioners' sugar, 4-5 tablespoons heavy cream, and a pinch of salt to taste.

For either, cream the butter for 1-2 minutes until light and smooth. Alternate adding the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients gradually, then mix until smooth and your desired piping consistency is reached.

See all of my buttercream frosting recipes for more filling flavors, or all of my macaron flavors too.

💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Notes

• Make your own pistachio flour. You can find pistachio flour online, or make your own! To make pistachio flour, place ½ cup of dry roasted pistachios into a food processor and pulse until fine. Do not over-process them, though, or the nuts will begin to release oils and become a pistachio paste. Sift the mixture to get your pistachio flour (you only need about 2 tablespoons) and save the bigger chunks for your white ganache and topping. 
• Use the right pistachios. Make sure you are using dry-roasted pistachios and not ones that were roasted with any type of oil. Look for packaging that says 'dry-roasted' or check the ingredient list to see if any oils are listed. 
• Whip the ganache. White chocolate ganache is known for taking longer to set than other chocolate varieties. If after 2 hours in the fridge, your ganache is still runny, take it out and beat it at high speed with a hand mixer for 30 seconds to 1 minute to thicken it up for piping. 
• Make the ganache in advance. I recommend making your ganache the night before, just to make sure it has plenty of time to firm up. 
• Use firm ganache. You don't want to pipe runny ganache, as it will melt out of the macarons. The consistency should be similar to peanut butter. 
• Try food coloring. These macarons will have a natural beige color, but you can add some green food coloring if you like. Make sure to use gel coloring to avoid adding too much moisture. 

🥡 Storing

Unfilled macaron shells can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Keep your macarons stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Freezing

You can also freeze macarons. Let them bloom in the fridge for 24 hours before transferring them to the freezer and freezing for up to 3 months. 

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