How to paint macarons + what to use to paint macarons

Drawing on macarons, hand-painting macarons, and splatter-painting macarons are just a few of the many ways to decorate them. But they're all possible with food gel coloring, a set of food-safe paintbrushes or pens, and a bit of clear extract with powdered sugar. As you'll see below, to paint my macarons, I mixed a drop of gold food gel coloring with a bit of powdered sugar and clear extract. I used a ramekin, but any small container will work fine. Dip your paintbrush into your "paint" and decorate your macaron however you'd like. You can add more extract to thin the paint or powdered sugar to thicken it.

How do macarons get their color?

Macarons oftentimes get their color from adding a colored powder (like cocoa powder or powdered gel food coloring, for instance) or food gel to the macaron batter. This literally bakes a color into your macarons. However, if you'd rather not dye your macaron batter, painting your macarons with food gel is super easy.

How to paint macarons with luster dust

I love sprinkling my macarons with some gold or luster dust! You can mix this dust with a clear, flavorless extract and again use a food-safe paintbrush to paint your macaron by hand. You can also take a dry brush, coat it in luster dust, and swipe it across your macaron.

Painting Macarons: Ombré Tutorial

Description

Wondering how to paint macarons? This tutorial makes painting macarons simple; these ombré macarons come together in under half an hour!

Ingredients

Scale

Equipment:

Food-safe brushes for cake and cookie decorating
Three small mixing bowls, ramekins, shot glasses, or similarly small containers
Parchment or wax paper
Set of measuring spoons

Ingredients for painted design:

Minimum of 12 white or lightly-colored macaron shells
1–2 drops of food gel color(s) of your choice
1 1/2 tsp of clear extract (like almond, peppermint, lemon or another clear extract), divided into thirds
3 tbsp of powdered sugar, divided into thirds
Optional but fun: Edible glitter for dusting on top

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Begin by setting up your station for painting your macaron shells. On a large, clear surface, such as a countertop, put down your wax or parchment paper with your macaron shells on top. Then, pour your powdered sugar into one of your small containers.
Put one drop of food gel into another one of your small containers. Add 1/2 teaspoon of powdered sugar, followed by 1/2 teaspoon of your clear extract. Mix food gel, powdered sugar, and extract together with a paintbrush.
Paint one stripe of this color onto one third of all your macaron shells.
Lighten your paint slightly by adding another 1-2 teaspoons of powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of clear extract.
Test this color on one of your macaron shells. If it appears lighter, continue to paint this color on all the middle sections of your macaron shells. If it does not appear lighter, add a bit more powdered sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of clear extract at a time to your paint.
Once all of your macarons have been covered in approximately 2/3 of your food gel mixture, repeat the process for lightening your paint. Add more powdered sugar and extract as needed.
Paint the final third of your macaron shells. You should notice a gradual change in color from top to bottom.
To lighten or blend any of the sections, pour 1/2 teaspoon of clear extract into your third small container. Lightly dip your paintbrush into that, and wipe it across any areas that are too dark. Or wipe it along the lines between colors to create a better, more gradually faded effect.
Leave macarons out until dry to the touch (about 15 or so minutes) before assembling and adding buttercream, ganache, or filling of your choice between the layers.

Notes

If you've just baked macarons, you likely have more than 12 shells available, as many recipes will yield a few dozen. I only decorated 12 shells here, but I had food gel color leftover. I could've decorated at least 24 shells with the remaining amount. Feel free to stretch this recipe as much as needed, as you will likely be able to cover 24 or more shells with the food gel here. A little bit of these ingredients goes a long way, as macarons are relatively small and easy to quickly paint.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Painting time: 10 minutes
Category: Dessert
Cuisine: American