8 Sweet Crepe Toppings

Crepes delicately thin with a sweeter finish and smoother texture than a pancake. Crepes can be folded into different designs, and then have their toppings added to them.

Crepes can be served with decadent, creamy, rich toppings like strawberry sauce, cream cheese whipped cream, and chocolate sauce.

Try making your own crepes at home with these alluring crepe toppings!

Hazelnut Sauce with Fresh Strawberries

Hazelnut sauce has a toasted nutty, sweet flavor to it.

When hazelnut sauce is paired with fresh strawberries for crepes it balances out the tart fruit, with the sweet nut sauce.

Hazelnut sauce with fresh strawberries is a refreshing and satisfying topping for your crepes.

Sweet Crepe Toppings

Blueberry Sauce

Blueberry sauce is a sweet, fruit sauce you can put on top of your crepes.

Blueberry sauce is thickened into a syrup like consistency by using cornstarch.

Blueberry sauce is best paired with whipped cream for a creamy and sweet finish to your crepes.

Strawberry Sauce

Strawberry sauce is a beautiful vibrant color to top your crepes with.

Strawberries have a sweet, light flavor to them, therefore they go well as a sauce on top of your crepes.

Add a little bit of whipped cream with the strawberry sauce for a rich and sweet crepe topping.

Whipped Cream

Whipped cream has a softy, pillow texture that melts a little on the freshly cooked warm crepes.

Whipped cream adds a rich, creamy flavor to crepes.

You can add caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, or fruit sauce on top of your crepes along with your whipped cream.

The combination of chilled velvety whipped cream with a sweet sauce makes your crepes irresistible!

Crepe Toppings

Caramel Sauce

Caramel sauce is a sweet, decadent topping you can put on top of your crepes.

Salted caramel sauce is another option, which adds a sweet and salty flavor to crepes.

Chocolate Sauce

Chocolate sauce is a sweet, creamy sauce that will add a sugary finish to your crepes.

You can use chocolate sauce on top of whipped cream for a combination of rich, creamy, and sweet flavors to your crepes.

Cream Cheese Whipped Cream

Cream cheese whipped cream is a tart and rich topping for crepes.

Cream cheese whipped cream has hints of aromatic vanilla notes and tart lemon juice.

Cream cheese whipped cream is a decadent, rich topping for crepes.

Whipped Lemon Ricotta

Whipped lemon ricotta has a tart, pungent, citrus flavor to it. Since the ricotta is whipped, it has a smooth, creamy, velvety texture to it.

Whipped lemon ricotta has a hint of lemon zest, and a little vanilla extract to make your crepes have a delicious refreshing flavor to them.

If you’re wanting a bit of a sweeter finish to your crepes, you can add a little blueberry sauce on top of your crepes as well.

7 Frosting Flavors for Vanilla Cupcakes

Vanilla cupcakes are the most popular cupcakes in the world!

Vanilla cupcakes have a soft crumb on the inside, with a hint of vanilla flavor.

Vanilla cupcakes go well with several different flavors of frosting, including using fruit puree or sparkling wine to flavor your frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Vanilla buttercream frosting is a classic icing for vanilla cupcakes.

Vanilla buttercream is rich and creamy, with an aromatic flavor of vanilla.

It’s a stiff icing, therefore it pipes well on top of of cupcakes for those beautiful rose icing designs.

Vanilla buttercream is made with heavy cream instead of milk to thin it out, therefore it has more of a buttery, velvety flavor.

You can easily color vanilla buttercream frosting using gel food coloring, or liquid food coloring for your themed cupcakes.

Frosting Flavors for Vanilla Cupcakes

Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream cheese frosting is one of the favorite flavors of frosting vanilla cupcakes.

It’s not as sweet as buttercream, and has the memorable cream cheese and vanilla flavor.

Cream cheese frosting needs to have the right consistency to be piped into shapes using a piping tip. Therefore I recommend using this recipe for cupcakes.

It’s a thick icing and it pipes well on top of cupcakes. You can also color it using gel food coloring or liquid food coloring.

Frosting Flavors for Vanilla Cupcakes

Strawberry Buttercream

Strawberry buttercream is one of the most fruity frostings you’ll ever eat!!

To make strawberry buttercream you have to first make strawberry puree. It smells as good as it sounds.

The puree is added to a buttercream base, and it produces a vibrant pink frosting for cupcakes.

Strawberry buttercream has a bit of unique look to it, it has tiny pieces of strawberry mixed throughout the icing.

I recommend using the buttercream within 1-2 days, as the flavor fades over time.

White Chocolate Buttercream

White chocolate buttercream is made by adding melted vanilla chocolate to a buttercream base.

White chocolate is a fairly sweet chocolate, but added to buttercream makes it a delicious and creamy frosting that isn’t too sweet.

White chocolate buttercream is a beautiful crisp white frosting for cupcakes, but you can color if desired using gel food coloring.

Coffee Buttercream Frosting

Coffee buttercream frosting is an incredible flavored icing that goes well with vanilla cupcakes.

It’s one of my favorite frostings because it’s FULL of coffee flavor.

It tastes like you’re eating a latte, giving you a little pick-me-up.

Coffee buttercream icing is made by adding instant coffee (I recommend using freshly brewed espresso) to a buttercream icing base.

Coffee buttercream frosting has a hazel color to the frosting, making it look eye catching against the vanilla cupcakes.

Champagne Buttercream Frosting

Champagne buttercream frosting has a lovely hint of bubbly flavor.

Champagne buttercream frosting can be made using a sweet sparkling wine infused into a vanilla buttercream frosting.

Champagne buttercream frosting is perfect for a wedding shower, NYE party, or birthday party celebration.

Icing Flavors for Vanilla Cupcakes

Chai Spiced Frosting

Chai spiced frosting has the flavor of a chai latte.

Chai spiced frosting is made by infusing chai spice into a vanilla buttercream frosting.

Chai spiced frosting has a birch color to it, and it goes well with vanilla cupcakes.

It’s a unique tea flavored frosting that your guests will love!

How to Serve Macarons

Macarons can be served on a variety of dishes, or even built into a macaron tower if you’re up for the challenge.

Macarons make for a delicious treat in the afternoon or evening served with sweet bubbly beverages.

What temperature to serve macarons at

Macarons are typically stored in the fridge prior to serving, therefore they need to be warmed to room temperature before you’re ready to serve them.

Macarons that have been in the fridge can be placed on a clean plate for 20 minutes to warm them up to room temperature.

Macarons are beautiful cookies that should be served on a clean white plate if possible.

Their colors will pop out from the plate, making them look indulgent.

how to serve macarons

Arrangements for Macarons

Macaron Tower

Macarons can be arranged according to color on a tiered platter. They look beautiful as each color the macarons come out a bit further creating a macaron tower.

Another option is to build your own macaron tower by first getting a foam tree.

The foam tree needs toothpicks stuck into it, and then you can gently push your macarons onto the toothpick.

You can create a variety of looks from a flat macaron tower, to a mix of flat and vertical macarons.

Check out these beautiful macaron towers.

How to Serve Macarons

Macarons on a wooden board

You can use a wooden cutting board, or specialty wooden board to arrange your macarons on.

It’s best to serve your macarons with similar colors or flavors grouped together on a wooden board.

You can put handwritten labels beside each flavor of macaron for your guests to have a good idea about what kind of macaron they are selecting.

How to Serve Macarons on a wooden board

Macarons on a plate

Macarons look eye catching on a white plate because they stand out with their color, shape, and texture.

How to Serve Macarons on a plate

What drinks to serve with macarons

Macarons can be served with a wide variety of beverages, depending on the occasion.

Tea

Macarons go well with a piping hot cup of tea. You can even serve macarons with high tea (afternoon tea).

Hot Chocolate

Hot chocolate is a creamy, chocolatey beverage that goes well with macarons. Macarons that will be served as dessert can be enjoyed with a hot cup of cocoa.

You’ll want to pick complimenting flavors for your macarons to go with your hot chocolate.

Macaron flavors to serve with hot chocolate:

  • other chocolate flavored macarons
  • caramel macarons
  • London fog macarons
  • vanilla macarons
  • s’more macarons
  • cookies and cream macarons
  • cookie dough macarons

Coffee

An afternoon latte served with macarons is a lovely treat to have on a cold afternoon.

If you love iced coffee, macarons go impeccably well with delicious iced coffee. They’re chewy texture melts in your mouth after a cold glass of a specialty iced coffee.

Champagne

There’s nothing quite like champagne and macarons. Having a little chilled bubbly, next to a flavor packed macaron is one of the best combinations.

You can serve champagne with macarons during a:

  • bridal shower
  • wedding shower
  • engagement party
  • NYE party
  • anniversary celebration
  • birthday party

9 Valentine’s Day Macaron Flavor Ideas

Valentine’s day is a day to celebrate the people we love in our life.

Valentine’s day macarons are the perfect gift for your mom, sister, brother, or your significant other.

Valentine macarons flavors are filled with cinnamon, chocolate, and fruit flavors.

Valentine macarons can be made into pink, white, or red colors for a pop of color for your macaron cookies.

valentine's day macaron flavor ideas

You can even make your valentine macarons into heart shapes for an added touch to your beautiful macarons. Find our printable heart shaped template.

Valentine Macaron Flavors

You can decorate your valentine’s day macarons in variety of ways using food coloring, royal icing or chocolate and caramel drizzle.

Cinnamon Roll Macarons

Cinnamon roll macarons are made with cinnamon and nutmeg in their outer shells.

The center filling is made with a cream cheese buttercream icing. To add a little bit more sweetness, there is a caramel sauce filling to the center filling as well.

valentine's day macaron flavor ideas

Dark Chocolate Ganache Macarons

Dark chocolate ganache macarons are rich and full of chocolate creamy flavors.

Dark chocolate ganache is made by adding hot heavy cream to dark chocolate melting wafers. Once the chocolate is fully mixed into the heavy cream, a little bit of butter is added to the ganache. The butter adds a smooth, velvety flavor to the ganache.

The ganache needs to cool prior to using. If you make it before baking your macaron shells, this will give it some time in the fridge to harden up and be ready to pipe into your macaron shells.

chocolate valentine macaron flavor ideas

Champagne Macarons

Champagne macarons are made by adding a hint of champagne into a buttercream base frosting.

Champagne macarons can be decorated with a bit of gold dust to make them shine bright. 

valentine's day macaron flavors

Red Velvet Macarons

Red velvet macarons are made by adding cocoa powder, and vanilla extract to the macaron shell batter. Red velvet is a flavor that has both chocolate and vanilla flavors, making it truly memorable.

The filling of the red velvet macaron is a vanilla cream cheese icing. The cream cheese icing with the chocolate flavored macaron shells makes this flavor of macaron creamy and rich.

valentine's day macaron filling ideas

Raspberry Macarons

Raspberry macarons are made by adding a bit of food coloring to the macaron batter to make them either pink or red.

Raspberry macaron filling is made by adding raspberry jam to a buttercream base filling.

Raspberry jam is much more concentrated in flavor, therefore it flavors buttercream much better than using crushed raspberries.

Valentine Macaron Flavor Ideas

Cherry Macarons

Cherry macarons are made by adding red or pink food coloring to the macaron batter.

Finely chopped cherries are added to a buttercream base frosting for the cherry macaron filling.

Valentine Macaron Flavors

Hot Chocolate Macarons

Hot chocolate macarons are made by adding cocoa powder to macaron batter to create a chocolate macaron shell.

Hot chocolate macarons are filled with a marshmallow chocolate buttercream icing. Hot cocoa is added to a buttercream base to create the chocolate flavor. Marshmallow fluff is added to the buttercream icing for the marshmallow flavor. Marshmallow fluff is a spreadable cream that tastes just like marshmallows.

Hot chocolate macarons are topped with melted chocolate and a few mini marshmallows.

White Chocolate Ganache Macarons

White chocolate ganache macarons are full of sweet, creamy chocolate flavor.

You can make white chocolate ganache macarons by heating heavy cream, and pouring it over white chocolate melting wafers.

Make your chocolate ganache the day before, and let it sit in the fridge overnight, prior to filling your macarons.

Valentine Macaron filling ideas

White Chocolate Rose Macarons

White chocolate rose macarons are made by adding vanilla bean paste to the macaron shell batter.

For a bit of added decoration, you can add dried rose petals to the top of the macaron shells, right after piping them. They will make your macarons looked eye catching with it’s textured look.

The filling is made by adding rose water, and melted white chocolate to a buttercream base frosting.

To decorate the macarons, you can add a little more melted white chocolate and streak it on the top of the macaron shells. You can add a few more dried rose petals or sprinkles that will stick onto the melted white chocolate.

Valentine Macaron Flavors

How to Make Boozy Macarons

Boozy macarons are a fun, edgy party food you can devour at your next get together!

Boozy macarons are made by adding your favorite alcohol flavors to a buttercream filling or chocolate ganache.

Try making your own boozy macaron flavors at home using these mesmerizing filling ideas.

Dark Chocolate Irish Cream Macarons

Dark chocolate Irish cream macarons are made by making the macaron shells plain, with color if desired.

Dark chocolate Irish cream filling is made by adding 2-3 tbsp of Irish cream to dark chocolate ganache.

As soon as the dark chocolate ganache is smooth and mixed together, add the Irish cream.

It will thin out the ganache, but just place it in the fridge for it to firm up prior to piping on your macarons.

Coffee and Bailey’s Macarons

Coffee and Bailey’s macarons are made by adding espresso powder to the macaron batter to flavor the shells with a hint of coffee.

The filling of the macaron is made by adding bailey’s to a dark chocolate ganache.

Champagne Macarons

Champagne macarons are made by adding a hint of champagne into a buttercream base frosting.

Champagne macarons can be decorated with a bit of gold dust to make them shine bright.

Mojito Macarons

Mojito macarons are made using your favorite macaron recipe, and then adding a hint of green food coloring to the macaron batter.

Mojito macarons are filled with 2 different fillings.

The first is a mojito ganache, made by adding rum bakery emulsion flavoring, lime oil, fresh lime juice, chopped up fresh mint leaves to a white chocolate ganache base.

The second filling is a lime center made of sweetened condensed milk, fresh lime juice, and lime zest.

The ganache is piped in a ring around the edge of the macaron shell, while the sweet lime center is piped in the middle of the macaron shell.

Piña Colada Macarons

Piña colada macarons are made by adding a little coconut flour to the macaron batter.

After the macarons have been piped, a sprinkle of shredded coconut is added to the tops of the macaron shells.

The filling of the piña colada macarons is made by adding rum extract, pineapple juice, and coconut cream to a buttercream frosting.

Raspberry Vodka Dark Chocolate Ganache Macaron

Raspberry vodka macarons are made by adding red food coloring to macaron batter.

There are 2 fillings for these raspberry vodka macarons.

One of the fillings is raspberry vodka jelly.

It is made by cooking frozen raspberries with agar agar powder, and then adding a small amount of raspberry vodka.

The mixture is put through a sieve to remove all of the seeds. The jelly sets as it cools.

The next filling is a raspberry vodka dark chocolate ganache.

Raspberry vodka is heated with the heavy cream, and then poured over dark chocolate. One the mixture has come together and is a smooth consistency, it is placed in the fridge until it sets.

Raspberry vodka macarons are assembled by piping a ring of chocolate ganache, and then placing the raspberry vodka jelly in the center.

You can add a little more ganache on top of the jelly, and then sandwich them together to create your boozy macaron.

How to Make Boozy Macarons

Vanilla Rum Macarons

Vanilla rum macarons are made by making plain macaron batter.

Vanilla rum macarons are filled with creamy vanilla rum ganache.

Vanilla rum ganache is made by heating up the heavy cream with a cut vanilla bean and then pouring it over white chocolate to create the base of the ganache.

Add vanilla extract and rum (1-2 tbsp) or rum flavoring (couple of drops).

boozy macaron flavors

Rosé Macarons

Rosé macarons have a light, crisp, hint of wine flavor to them.

Rosé macarons are made by making a plain macaron batter. You can add a bit of pink gel food coloring to the macaron batter if desired.

Rosé Macarons are filled with rosé buttercream filling.

Rosé buttercream filling can be made by mixing together:

  • 1/2 cup butter room temperature
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1-2 tbsp rosé

5 Crackers for Charcuterie Board

Crackers are one of the most important ingredients in making a charcuterie board.

You’ll want to pair your cracker selection with the cheese you’re planning for your charcuterie board (see pairings below).

The classic cracker choices for a charcuterie board are: crostini’s, water biscuits, and artisan crackers.

Crostini’s

Crostini’s are made by thinly slicing a baguette. The baguette slice is brushed with olive oil, and toasted until it has crisped up. Crostini’s are one of the most popular cracker choices for charcuterie boards.

Crostini’s go well with:

  • brie cheese, thinly sliced apple, drizzle of honey, and small amount of fresh ground pepper (recipe)
  • brie, fig jam, prosciutto, and arugula
  • boursin, salami, and walnuts
  • goat cheese, drizzled with maple syrup or honey
Crackers for Charcuterie Board

Water Biscuits

Water biscuits are a crumbly cracker that has a hint of salt flavor. Water biscuits are a fragile cracker, therefore when you bite into it, it makes a bit of a mess.

Water biscuits go well with:

  • sharp cheddar with thinly sliced pickles
  • gruyere cheese with whole grain mustard and pecans

Artisan Crackers

Artisan crackers are a classic cracker for a charcuterie board. You can make your own artisan crackers using your favorite additions – dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, pistachios, dried apricots, etc.

Artisan crackers go well with:

  • brie cheese, almonds, drizzled honey
  • smoked gouda, prosciutto, red pepper jelly
Crackers for Charcuterie Board

Parmesan Herb Crackers

Parmesan herb crackers have a hint of cheese flavor, along with a few poppy seeds and sesame seeds for a full flavored cracker. Parmesan herb crackers pair well with chardonnay wine for your charcuterie dinner.

Parmesan herb crackers go well with:

  • Parmesan cheese, whole grain mustard, and thinly sliced pickles
  • Blue cheese with thinly sliced apples and walnuts

Saltines

Saltines are buttery and crispy crackers with a hint of sea salt flavor.

Saltines go well with:

  • pimento cheese with thinly sliced pickles
  • sharp cheddar with whole grain mustard, and thinly sliced pickles
  • gruyere cheese with red peppy jelly and pecans

Learn which spreads go well with your cheese selection for your charcuterie board.

How to Decorate White and Gold Macarons

White and gold macarons glitter and glisten for wedding cookies, or a NYE party.

White and gold macarons are captivating and eye-catching that use a gold food coloring that actually shimmers in the light. See video here.

How to Decorate White and Gold Macarons

Recipe for White and Gold Macarons

White macarons are simply made using a professional macaron recipe.

White macarons do not need any color added to them.

The gold part of the macarons will be painted on using food coloring.

Recipe for White and Gold Macarons

How to Color White and Gold Macarons

Dust a small bit of gold powdered food coloring onto a plate. A little food coloring goes a long way. Only add a dusting of food coloring.

Gold powdered food coloring is especially difficult to find, and sometimes the coloring isn’t quite right.

In the video below, you can see how this particular gold food coloring actually shimmers when you paint it onto the macarons.

Add a couple of drops of almond extract on top of the gold powdered food coloring.

Use a food safe paint brush to mix them together to create your paint.

If your gold paint starts to dry out, add a couple more drops of almond extract.

You can use a thin tipped food safe paint brush to make delicate designs on your macarons.

You can paint flowers, snowflakes, and even personalized messages.

If you’re wanting to paint 1 of the shells completely gold, use a wide brush so it takes less time to paint the gold on.

How to Color White and Gold Macarons

Occasions to use White and Gold Macarons

  • wedding
  • bridal shower
  • baby shower
  • NYE party
  • Christmas party
  • birthday party

Fillings for White and Gold Macarons

White and gold macarons can be filled with decadent chocolate ganache or vanilla bean buttercream frosting.

If you’re looking for a bit more of a fancy flavor, you can try making champagne macaron filling.

Champagne Macarons

Champagne macarons are made by adding a hint of champagne into a buttercream base frosting.

White Chocolate Ganache Macarons

White chocolate ganache macarons are full of sweet, creamy chocolate flavor.

You can make white chocolate ganache macarons by heating heavy cream, and pouring it over white chocolate melting wafers.

Make your chocolate ganache the day before, and let it sit in the fridge overnight, prior to filling your macarons.

Vanilla Bean Macarons

Vanilla bean macaron shells can be flavored with the contents of a vanilla pod into the macaron batter.

The filling is made by adding vanilla bean paste to cream cheese frosting. You can add in vanilla extract if you’re wanting a stronger vanilla flavor.

white and gold macaron occasions

How to Make Christmas Macarons

Christmas macarons make for a beautiful and unique gift for family and friends.

You can make Christmas tree macarons, snowflake macarons, snowman macarons, or Santa macarons using simple designs.

If you need some ideas on what to fill your Christmas macarons with, check out these Christmas macaron flavor ideas.

See full video.

christmas macaron shape ideas

Templates for Christmas Macarons

You can make Christmas macarons using a template that you create yourself, or free hand the design.

If you’re wanting to make your own Christmas macaron template, you can use one of your cookie cutters, or free hand your own template.

To free hand your own template, use parchment paper and draw your design out using a pencil.

You might need to make a “forward” and “reverse” design if you’re making a Santa hat.

Most designs will only need 1 template.

Templates for Christmas Macarons

To make your own template using a cookie cutter, place the cookie cutter on top of parchment paper.

Trace the outside or inside of the cookie cutter using a pencil, depending on what’s easiest.

You could make multiple tracings of the cookie cutter to make it easier to pipe out the macaron batter.

Place the template parchment paper tracer underneath your Silpat mat or Clean parchment paper that you’re going to pipe your macarons onto.

If you’re planning on free-handing the piping, pick a tip that’s appropriate for your design.

If you’re making a snowman macaron, pick a 1/2″ tip.

If you’re making a Christmas tree macaron, you’ll want a narrower tip like a 1/4″ tip to create the points of the Christmas tree.

You can use your favorite macaron recipe and bake for the exact time in your recipe to make these tree shaped macarons.

How to make Christmas macarons

Snowman Macarons

Snowman macarons use “plain” macaron batter that isn’t colored.

  1. Place plain macaron batter into a piping bag fitted with a 1/2″ tip.
  2. Place Silpat mat or parchment paper onto an aluminum baking pan.
  3. Pipe head first, it should be small ~ 3/4″ – 1″. Pipe a small circle and quickly swipe the piping bag to remove it from the circle.
  4. Pipe the body next in the same way, making it a little bigger than the head.
  5. Pipe the bottom in the same way, and make it slightly larger than the body.
  6. Pipe all of the snowman in this way.
  7. Let dry for 30 minutes.
  8. Bake your macarons for the same amount of time in your recipe.
  9. Let the shells cool to room temperature – about 20 min.
  10. Fill macarons with filling, and sandwich them together to create the snowman macarons.
  11. You’ll only need to draw on one side of the snowman macarons. Draw 2 eyes on the face, and a smile off to the side. Draw 3 buttons down the body to the bottom in the center of the snowman.
  12. Dust a small bit of orange powdered food coloring onto a plate. Add a couple of drops of almond extract on top of the powdered food coloring. Use a food safe paint brush to mix them together to create your paint.
  13. Using a thin tipped food safe paint brush, add the carrot shaped nose to the face of the snowman.
  14. Let the snowman macarons dry for 30 minutes prior to storing in the fridge or freezer.

Christmas Tree Macarons

Color your macaron batter using green powdered food coloring or green gel food coloring.

  1. Place green macaron batter into a piping bag fitted with a 1/4″ tip. You’ll want a narrow tip to create the pointed edges of the tree.
  2. Place Silpat mat or parchment paper onto an aluminum baking pan.
  3. Place tracer underneath Silpat or parchment paper.
  4. Pipe beginning at the top of the tree first, then outline the tree.
  5. Fill in the center of the tree.
  6. Pipe all of the Christmas tree macarons in this way.
  7. Remove tracer from the baking pan.
  8. Let dry for 30 minutes.
  9. Bake your macarons for the same amount of time in your recipe.
  10. Let the shells cool to room temperature – about 20 min.
  11. Fill Christmas tree macarons with filling, and sandwich them together.
  12. Melt a small amount of chocolate – you could use white chocolate, milk chocolate or dark chocolate.
  13. Using a spoon, dip it in the chocolate, get rid of the excess, and add it to the Christmas tree. You’ll want to start a little bit down from the tip, and make the chocolate zig zag on the Christmas tree macaron. There should be 3 lines of chocolate on the Christmas tree macaron.
  14. Add sprinkles to the chocolate.
  15. Let the Christmas tree macarons dry for 30 minutes prior to storing in the fridge or freezer.

Santa Hat Macarons

You’ll need to make 2 different colored macaron batters – one for the face, and one for the hat using red powdered food coloring or red gel food coloring.

In the example below, one macaron batter is “plain” – no color, and one is red.

  1. Place Silpat mat or parchment paper onto an aluminum baking pan.
  2. Place tracer underneath Silpat or parchment paper.
  3. Pipe macarons using the face color as normal – 1/2″ tip, in a circle. Leave a little more room above and below the macaron for the hat. Keep a reserve of the plain macaron batter for the end of the hat.
  4. Place red macaron batter into a piping bag fitted with a 1/4″ tip.
  5. Starting at the edge of the face, pipe along the edge of the macaron on the top of the face. Pipe a small triangle going off to one side. This will create the hat. You’ll need to pipe the hat going to the other side as well to create a sandwich macaron.
  6. At the edge of the triangle, pipe a small circle using the plain colored macaron batter for the pom pom of the hat.
  7. Pipe all of your macarons this way.
  8. Remove tracer from the baking pan.
  9. Let dry for 30 minutes.
  10. Bake your macarons for the same amount of time in your recipe.
  11. Let the shells cool to room temperature – about 20 min.
  12. Fill Santa hat macarons with filling, and sandwich them together.
  13. Draw on the eyes and eye brows using an edible marker.
  14. Melt a small amount of white chocolate.
  15. Use a toothpick to add the nose and mustache, and little on the eyebrows.
  16. Let the Santa hat macarons dry for 30 minutes prior to storing in the fridge or freezer.
How to Make Santa Hat Macarons

Santa Body Macarons

Color your macaron batter using red powdered food coloring or red gel food coloring.

Red macarons need a little more color than you think, it’s best to use at least 1/2 tsp of powdered food coloring, or more red gel food coloring than you normally would.

Red can turn into pink if you don’t have enough coloring, therefore it’s best to use more than you think you need to.

  1. Place Silpat mat or parchment paper onto an aluminum baking pan.
  2. Pipe macarons as normal using a 1/2″ tip, in a circle.
  3. Let dry for 30 minutes.
  4. Bake your macarons for the same amount of time in your recipe.
  5. Let the shells cool to room temperature – about 20 min.
  6. Fill Santa body macarons with filling, and sandwich them together.
  7. Using an edible marker, draw a thick line to create the belt on the macaron in the lower half of the circle.
  8. Melt a small amount of white chocolate.
  9. Use a toothpick to add 2 dots of chocolate to create the buttons on the Santa body macaron. You could draw on the buttons as well if you prefer.
  10. Dust a small bit of gold powdered food coloring onto a plate. Add a couple of drops of almond extract on top of the powdered food coloring. Use a food safe paint brush to mix them together to create your paint.
  11. Using a thin tipped food safe paint brush, paint a square in the middle of the black belt you drew on the macaron earlier. Add a straight line on the side of the square to create the “belt hook”. See photos below.
  12. Let the Santa body macarons dry for 30 minutes prior to storing in the fridge or freezer.
christmas macaron flavors

Snowflake Macarons

Snowflake macarons can be made with plain macaron batter, blue macaron batter, or your favorite colored macaron.

  1. Place Silpat mat or parchment paper onto an aluminum baking pan.
  2. Pipe macarons as normal using a 1/2″ tip, in a circle.
  3. Let macarons dry for 30 minutes.
  4. Bake your macarons for the same amount of time in your recipe.
  5. Let the shells cool to room temperature – about 20 min.
  6. Fill snowflake macarons with filling, and sandwich them together.
  7. Dust a small bit of gold powdered food coloring onto a plate. Add a couple of drops of almond extract on top of the powdered food coloring. Use a food safe paint brush to mix them together to create your paint.
  8. Using a pointed tipped food safe paint brush, draw a line across the macaron. Then draw a line perpendicular to the line you just drew so it should look like a cross. Add a small “v” at the edge of one of the lines. Continue making V shapes along all of the lines until you’ll filled your macaron to the edges with your glittering gold snowflake.
  9. Let the snowflake macarons dry for 30 minutes prior to storing in the fridge or freezer
Snowflake macarons

10 Spreads for Charcuterie Board

Charcuterie boards are not complete without jams, jelly’s, mustards, or chutney.

You’ll want to pair the appropriate spread with your cheese selections, along with any nuts, pickles or olive accompaniments.

Learn which crackers pair best for your charcuterie board.

Sweet spreads are best paired with soft cheeses.

Tart or spicy spreads go well with aged, sharp cheeses as a rule of thumb.

Fig Jam

Fig jam is a sweet spread aromatic spread that isn’t too overpowering with flavor.

  • brie cheese
  • blue cheese
  • camembert
  • goat cheese
  • Havarti cheese

Fig jam with cheese can be served a soft cheese along with walnuts, cashews, dried apricots, or sliced apples or pears to top it off.

Spreads for Charcuterie Board

Whole Grain Mustard

Whole grain mustard is a strong, tangy, medium spiced spread for charcuterie boards. Whole grain mustard is a classic spread for charcuterie boards.

  • Parmesan cheese
  • aged cheddar cheese
  • gouda cheese

Whole grain mustard can be served with salami, aged sharp cheeses, olives, and pickles.

Honey

Honey is a sweet spread for a charcuterie board.

  • brie cheese
  • camembert cheese

Honey with brie can be paired with walnuts, almonds or sliced apples or pears.

Spreads for Charcuterie Board

Red Pepper Jelly

Red pepper jelly is a spicy spread for charcuterie boards.

  • aged cheddar cheese
  • smoked gouda cheese
  • Parmesan cheese
  • goat cheese
  • cream cheese

Red pepper jelly can be served with thinly sliced pickles, salami, prosciutto, olives and your favorite sharp, aged cheese or creamy cheese.

Raspberry Jam

Raspberry jam is has a sweet, powerful flavor as a spread with cheeses.

  • Parmesan cheese
  • Brie cheese
  • cream cheese
  • Havarti cheese

Raspberry jam is unique in that it balances the salty flavor of Parmesan cheese, with the sweetness of the jam pairing.

Raspberry jam also goes well with neutral soft cheeses and can be paired with walnuts or pecans.

Orange Chutney

Orange chutney is a chunky, sweet, citrus flavored spread for charcuterie boards.

  • gouda cheese
  • Parmesan cheese
  • aged cheddar cheese

Orange chutney can be paired with nuts on top of your favorite aged, sharp flavored cheese.

Peach Jam

Peach jam has a sweet, refreshing flavor to it as a spread for cheeses

  • Parmesan cheese
  • gorgonzola cheese
  • goat cheese
  • brie cheese

Peach jam can be paired with sharp or soft cheeses, prosciutto, and topped with with cashews or pecans.

Spreads for Charcuterie Board

Black Current Jam

Black current jam is a sweet spread, and is therefore best paired with a sharp, aged cheese.

  • aged cheddar cheese
  • feta cheese
  • Parmesan cheese
  • blue cheese

Black current jam can be served with a sharp cheese, along with prosciutto or salami.

Cranberry Pepper Jelly

Cranberry pepper jelly has a strong, bitter, and spicy flavor as a spread.

  • goat cheese
  • brie cheese
  • camembert cheese

Cranberry pepper jelly has a strong flavor, therefore it pairs best with soft, milder flavored cheeses. You can serve cranberry peppy jelly with walnuts or almonds.

Onion Jam

Caramelized onion jam is a strong flavored spread for cheeses. Onion jam goes well with aged, sharp cheeses or medium cheeses.

  • Havarti cheese
  • aged cheddar cheese
  • blue cheese

Onion jam can be served with a strong sharp or medium cheeses, along with chorizo or salami.

Chicken Pesto Quesadilla with Cilantro Lime Sauce

Chicken pesto quesadillas are filled with dried cranberries and served with a side of tangy cilantro lime sauce.

The chicken is coated with a southwest rub, and cooked until it’s juicy for your quesadilla.

It’s best to make fresh pesto for your quesadilla, instead of using store bought pesto.

Homemade pesto has much for flavor and earthy notes. Store bought tends to be more bland and very oily.

Serve your chicken pesto quesadilla with a yogurt cilantro lime sauce.

Cilantro lime sauce has a light, refreshing citrus taste to it which goes well with chicken pesto quesadillas.

Chicken Pesto Cranberry Quesadilla

Chicken Pesto Cranberry Quesadilla with Cilantro Lime Sauce

How to make a chicken pesto cranberry quesadilla
Prep Time1 hour
Active Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
Course: Main Course
Keyword: dinner
Yield: 3 quesadillas

Materials

Chicken

  • 2 large chicken breasts
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/3 tsp paprika
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tsp salt

Pesto

  • 2 cups fresh basil leaves
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
  • 1/3 cup walnuts
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/2 cup olive oil extra virgin
  • To taste Salt and Pepper

Quesadilla Fillings

  • 1.5 cups mozzarella grated
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 3 tortillas

Cilantro Lime Sauce

  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt (5%)
  • 1 tbsp lime juice fresh
  • 1 tsp lime zest
  • 1/2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
  • To taste Salt and Pepper
  • 1/3 cup cilantro leaves fresh

Instructions

Cilantro Lime Sauce

  • Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Taste test and adjust as necessary. Chill in the fridge until ready to serve.

Pesto

  • Place basil leaves and walnuts in a food processor. Beat on low speed until walnuts are in small pieces.
  • Add garlic, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.
  • Stream the olive oil through the top of the food processor while beating on low speed.
  • Beat until the olive oil has completely gone through the food processor. Scrape down the sides and beat again until smooth.

Chicken

  • Combine olive oil and spices in a small bowl.
  • Coat chicken in the spices.
  • Cook chicken in a medium frying pan over medium heat.
  • Dice chicken and set aside.

Quesadilla Assembly

  • In a a large frying pan over medium heat place half of the tortilla on the frying pan with the other half draping over the edge of the pan.
  • Sprinkle a layer of mozzarella cheese.
  • Add pieces of chicken, and sprinkle a few dried cranberries.
  • Add spoonful's of pesto around the tortilla. You don't have to full cover the tortilla in pesto, just spoon is an inch or 2 away from the last spoonful.
  • Add another layer of mozzarella cheese.
  • Close the tortilla by folding the draped half of the tortilla over the filled quesadilla. Press the tortilla down into the fillings.
  • Let the quesadilla cook until the bottom cheese has melted, and the bottom tortilla has browned.
  • Flip the quesadilla and cook until the other side has the cheese melted, and the tortilla browned.
  • Serve the tortilla with a side of cilantro lime sauce.
Chicken Pesto Cranberry Quesadilla