Vegan Matcha Macarons Recipe (ft. Flying Bird Botanicals)

One of our favorite ingredients to bake with is matcha! Not only does it add a sweet and rich umami flavor to whatever you're making, but it also looks lovely when presented.

Our Golden Coconut Chai Matcha Tea from Flying Bird Botanicals is matcha-forward, but also includes beloved ingredients like turmeric, orange peel, and ashwagandha. Plus, we love that this tea powder is USDA Certified Organic, comes in a beautifully-designed reusable or recyclable tin, and is hand-crafted in Washington. Not only is it delicious mixed with hot water, but it also makes for a refreshing iced matcha latte, or when baking macarons. Check out our recipe below.

 Vegan Coconut Matcha Macarons

Ingredients

Macaron Cookies

• 3/4 c of organic coconut sugar (or white can sugar)
• 1/2 c of aquafava (we use the liquid from canned chickpeas!)
• 2 tsp of cornstarch 
• 1/2 tbsp matcha powder
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/8 tsp salt 

Buttercream Filling

• 1/2 c of vegan butter, room temperature
• 1 c powdered sugar 
• 1 1/2 tsp matcha powder

Instructions

Macaron Cookies

1. Turn the oven on to 225 degrees Fahrenheit, and prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper or reusable silicone baking sheets (like these). 
2. Place the coconut sugar and aquafava in a microwave safe bowl and warm for 30 seconds, whisking every 10 seconds. If the mixture starts bubbling, remove from the microwave. 
3. In a stand-up mixer with a flat beater attachment, pour in the aquafava-sugar mixture and mix on medium-high. Slowly add the cornstarch, matcha powder, vanilla extract, cream of tarter, and salt.
4. Mix for 9-15 minutes, checking after 9 minutes for stiffness. When you tilt the mixer head up from the bowl, the meringue should be stiff (i.e., should not drip off of the flat beater attachment). Take care not to overmix as this will cause your meringue mixture to split and be unusable. 
5. Pipe into a piping bag, or into a compostable zipping bag (like these). Cut a small hole in the bottom corner. 
6. On both baking sheets, pipe the meringue into flat circular discs.
7. Place into the oven for 1 hour to bake.
8. Once the hour is up, turn off the oven heat and leave the macaron discs in the cooling oven for an additional hour. This will prevent the discs from cracking due to sudden temperature change by opening the oven door immediately. 
9. Once the hour has gone by, take out of the oven and place on a cooling sheet for an additional 10 minutes before assembling. 

Buttercream Filling

Once you have begun Step 9 above and the macaron discs are baking in the oven you can begin making the buttercream filling.

1. Mix the butter on low-medium in the stand-up mixer with the flat beater attachment (be sure the meringue was cleaned off before using).
2. In a separate bowl, sift out larger clumps so the powder is fine. 
3. Once creamy and smooth, slowly add the powdered sugar until fully incorporated. 
4. Sift the matcha into the mixture until fully incorporated with no clumps in the batter.

Assembling the Macarons

1. Add the buttercream into a new piping bag, or a compostable baggie. Cut a small hole on one bottom corner for piping the cream. 
2. Pipe a round disc onto the flat-side of half of the macarons.
3. Top the buttercream-layered discs with a macaron shell, flat-side down.
4. Allow to settle in the refrigerator for 1 day before serving. Voila!

 This recipe was modified from recipes from the cookbook Vegan for Everybody and the food blog, Pies and Tacos.