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With carrot juice powder and spices in the shells, these Carrot Cake Macaron taste just like a carrot cake! The cream cheese buttercream filling helps bring the flavors home. The sprinkles are just because they’re fun!

This post is sponsored in conjunction with #SpringSweetsWeek. I received product samples from sponsor companies to help in the creation of the #SpringSweetsWeek recipes. All opinions are mine alone.

Of course. Y’all knew I had to make some macaron for this event. I think it’s a goal to make macaron for all the events. ALL the events! Even the ones about savory recipes. Stay tuned for that.

This event right here is about spring sweets! You knew I had to make a carrot cake macaron at some point. Didn’t you? It’s only a given because, well, carrot cake and rabbits are almost synonymous with that spring holiday most of us celebrate. And, well, I LOVE making macaron!

I see you all there. Shaking your head thinking I’m a crazy person. Macaron are finicky, they’re impossible, they take too much time and effort. I say HODGE TO ALL OF THAT! And yes, we’ve had this conversation before. I will probably have this conversation with you again until you just try to make them. At least once. And then let me know how it goes.

I’ve had almost EVERYTHING go wrong with them.

I’m not kidding. From hollow shells to wrinkled tops to super crispy cookies. There’s nothing I can’t trouble shoot for you. In fact, I’m helping a member of this group with them. RIGHT NOW! Well, not at this same time. That would be confusing. But I am helping a member of their family trouble shoot their macaron attempts. And I can easily go through all my previous posts and explain what happened to those attempts, too.

 

The success of making macarons boils down to one thing: MOISTURE!

For those that gripe about my measuring the ingredients for macaron, tough. The key to creating consistent and perfect macaron is managing the moisture content in your ingredients. If you use cup measurements, you’re not going to get the same results in your kitchen as say someone in the mountains or near the beach.

Weighing the dry ingredients takes the moisture content into consideration. This means that you’re more likely to be successful at making them. It also means your macaron will be more consist every time once you get them down.

 

Why do you let them rest or dry before you bake them?

Drying the macaron shells allows the tops to form a crust and dry on top while it keeps the inside macaronage still moist. This is what helps create those epic feet or pied of the cookie.

The centers heat up and cook. But since the tops are dried, the only place for the steam to escape is to push the tops up. This allows the steam to escape out the sides thus creating those little feet. The last time I made them, I had to allow them to dry at least an hour before they were dried.

I know. If they’re so finicky then why do I keep making them? Why would anyone want to make them? Because once you make them correctly you’ll be addicted to making them again. And then you’ll make them all the time like I do. I think they’re fun to make and they’re super rewarding. When you see those feet, taste those shells, and have someone say, “You made those?” That is what makes it all worth it.

Besides, I get to decorate them with fun sprinkles like these! Sprinkle Pop has some of the prettiest sprinkles and decorations I’ve seen. Granted, I’m not a huge cake or cookie baker, but just look at how fun their sprinkles mixes are!

What sets Sprinkle Pop apart, aside from only being a couple of years old, but they make custom mixes. Yes! They will make a custom mix just for you and your needs. Not sure what colors work together? Not to worry! Liz, the owner, has a great eye for complimentary colors and great texture combinations.

See what I mean? Just look at all that bright color. All those shapes are just super fun to work with not only on cookies but also cakes, cupcakes, pancakes; you name it! This mixture had the little bunnies and carrot decorate shapes. It had large and small decorate balls and all this confetti fun that’s hard to resist.

 

Aren’t those bunnies and carrots just super cute?

Those balls rolled ALL over the place. It was difficult getting them to stay in place. A few of them rolled off the table onto the floor. And while I was cleaning up my surface, more rolled onto the floor. This included some of those tiny little balls. It was fun trying to herd them all into the bag. I wound up having to vacuum the floor when I was finish so the dogs didn’t try to eat them.

Don’t these put a smile on your face? Don’t they make you happy? I know they make me happy. They came out exactly the way I hoped. Well, minus the buttercream. I always fail at buttercream. The recipe I have given you are the adjustments I made to the recipe after the fact.

However, the flavors of all the elements are spot on. The carrot powder in the shells adds that little veg flavor you’d expect. The spice mix also in the shell brings that carrot cake flavor you’re expecting. This is a combination of a delicious German gingerbread spice mix with a little added cinnamon. Finally, the cream cheese buttermilk adds that little tartness that brings it all home. Next to the red velvet macaron, these are my next favorite.

Sprinkle Pop supplied us with some sprinkles for this event. I chose three smaller packs. They’re more my style than a larger bottle. I don’t bake THAT much. That’s literally a whole other post that I won’t get into right now. I did get a large bottle for another event and had a BLAST with that bottle making the gingerbread macaron. See how fun their sprinkles are?

I can’t wait to bust into the other two packages in the background there and cook up more macaron, or cupcakes, or whatever else inspires me. Sprinkle Pop colors, mixes, and shapes are just inspiring! I hope you get some inspiration by visiting their site and following them on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Thursday #SpringSweetsWeek Recipes

• Berry Chia Scones with Lemon Glaze by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Blackberry Lemon Coffee Cake by Our Good Life
• Bunny Cards by The Freshman Cook
• Carrot Cake Macaron by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Creamy Lemon Cheesecake Parfaits by Cheese Curd In Paradise
• Fun Spring Meringues by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Lemon Cookie Bars by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Spring Rolo Pretzel Bites with Sprinkles by Blogghetti
• Spring Sugar Cookie Cake by Books n’ Cooks
• Yogurt Panna Cotta with Berry Coulis by Cookaholic Wife

Thank you #SpringSweetsWeek Sponsors: Dixie Crystals, Swiss Diamond, Nancy’s Yogurt, Barlean’s, Sprinkle Pop, PEEPS, Melissa’s Produce, and Adams Extracts for providing the prizes free of charge. These companies also provided the bloggers with samples and product to use for #SpringSweetsWeek recipes. All opinions are my own.