Until recently, I never fully connected the dots that macarons, made with almond flour, still contain nuts. (I know...duh.) And going one dot further, this means that our fellow foodies with nut allergies have never had the pleasure of eating a macaron (*gasp!*). Here to fix this problem with a surprise ingredient is Stella from BraveTart.
Pumpkin seeds. That is Stella's secret to a nut-free macaron. She already debunked the myth that only almonds could be used to make these cookies, so why not get rid of nuts altogether?
Stella has you toast the seeds first and then grind them in a food processor with the powdered sugar to make a flour. With that little substitute, the rest of the macaron-making endeavor is business as usual.
I'm so glad to have this recipe in my back pocket. In one fell swoop, this recipe covers almost all the possible food allergies: nut-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, lactose free. It would be great for a bake sale or holiday dessert buffet. Or just to give your friend with the food allergies a special treat all their own.
• Get the Recipe: Nut-Free Macarons from BraveTart
Related: Brittle to Bibingka: 20 Gluten-Free Treats for the Holidays
(Image: Rosco Weber of Sideshow Photo via Bravetart)
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I've read a lot of people have success with coconut flour for nut/gluten free macs.
Whaaaaaaaat? How is that possible?! I have a nut allergy and eat macaroons all the time!
Crazy lady, I think there may be some confusion here: when you say "macaroons", are you thinking of the coconut based cookie/candy that looks kind of like a mound of shredded coconut, bound together by a slightly sweet, sticky syrup, and then baked? Or are you thinking of macarons, which are spelled differently, and are pictured in the post above (they look like sandwich cookies).
MacarOOns are a traditional American (I think?) candy and are indeed typically nut-free, whereas macarOns are a French pastries that are traditionally made with almond flour. Funny they have such similar names, because these two treats are completely different.
CrazyLady, coconuts are considered a tree nut, so the overlap between people with almond allergies and coconut is pretty large. Like my boyfriend, who could not resist my macarons, even when he broke out in hives.
And, sadly he's also allergic to pumpkin so this recipe is of no use to me.
BUT-
We've been making sunflower seed flour for macarons. We've been pretty successfully.
I've always wanted to try macarons, they're so cute! I'll still have to special order the seeds online since the ones in our grocery store are labled may contain peanuts and tree nuts. Thanks for the sunflower seed suggestion LacyBones, those might be easier for me to find.
I am writing to let you know about an exciting new nut free macaron recipe. It contains no nuts or seeds of any kind and still has a beautiful shell and foot.