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Apple Crisp Macarons

Servings 45 whole macarons

Ingredients

The Caramel

  • 1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter
  • 3/8 cup light corn syrup
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine table salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

The Apple Filling

  • 5 apples (I like to use 3 small Granny Smith and 2 small Fuji) peeled and cubed
  • 1 tablespoon salted butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

The Oat Crisp

  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 3 tablespoon salted butter divided (you'll use 1 T. for the first part and 2 T. for the second part)
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • shake cinnamon
  • pinch fine table salt

The Apple Buttercream

  • 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 sticks (6 oz total) unsalted butter room temperature
  • 3/4 cup apple filling (the stuff we just made)
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 pinches fine table salt

Instructions

Making the Macaron Shells

  • You can use any plain macaron shells for this recipe. Go here for my favorite shell recipe: https://michellesmacarons.com/french-macaron-recipe/
  • Let the macarons cool completely before filling.

Making the Caramel

  • Add all the ingredients for the caramel, except the vanilla extract, into a saucepan over medium low heat and simmer until the caramel gets to the "soft ball" stage (about 220 degrees Fahrenheit) (watch the video if you need help with this part)
  • Add the vanilla extract and stir until combined
  • Let the caramel cool completely, stirring occasionally while it cools

Making the Apple Filling

  • Put the apples and butter into a pan on medium low heat.
  • Stir a little, then add the cinnamon. Cover with a lid and let cook until they are really soft, stirring occasionally.
  • Once done, mash the apples up a bit with a fork and let cool until it's at room temperature.

Making the Oat Crisp

  • Put the oats and 1 tablespoon of butter in a pan over low heat.
  • Toast these, stirring constantly, until they smell nutty.
  • Remove the oats from the heat.
  • In a separate pan on medium low heat, add 2 tablespoons of butter, brown sugar, and salt. Let it cook, stirring frequently until the brown sugar has melted a bit and it looks smooth.
  • Add the oats we just toasted to the brown sugar/butter mixture, and stir until all the oats are coated.
  • Keep stirring this (I like to use a heatproof spatula so the mixture doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan) until the brown sugar mixture starts to clump up on the oats (watch the video at the beginning of this post to see what it should look like).
  • Remove the oat/brown sugar mixture from the heat and it will start to get crispier as it cools.

Making the Apple Buttercream

  • Put the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and heavy cream in a bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, and whip until it's all combined and fluffy. It will be pretty thick, but that's okay.
  • Then you're going to add 3/4 cup of the COOLED apple mixture. It's very important that's it's cooled or it will melt your buttercream.
  • Whip that until it's combined and the apples are sort of mushed into the buttercream.

Assembling the Macarons

  • Pipe the buttercream around the edge of one of your macaron shells.
  • Put a dollop of the apple mixture in the center and sandwich another macaron shell on top.
  • Drizzle with caramel (if it's thicker, use a piping bag)
  • Sprinkle a hefty amount of the crisp on top. I like to press it on to make sure the crisp really sticks.
  • Once filled, place the macarons in an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, but preferably 24.
  • Let the macarons get to room temperature before enjoying.

Notes

These are pretty messy and can make a mess of your packaging if you are wrapping them individually to sell. I used to only make these in an XL version and I would put them in a box with a piece of parchment paper on the bottom to collect any dripping caramel. 
These are the boxes I used when I made the XL version: https://www.brpboxshop.com/3389.html
Caramel recipe adapted from: Erica's Sweet Tooth