Snowman Macarons [Vegan, Gluten-Free] – One Green Planet

To Make the Macarons:

1. Place the chickpea brine into a small saucepan and place it on the stove over medium heat. Simmer until it reduces to half its size. Once reduced, set aside to cool.
2. Place the chickpea brine in a mixing bowl and mix with a hand mixer on high until fluffy. This will take around 5 minutes.
3. Add the caster sugar and whizz up on high until thick and glossy.
4. In a bowl, sift together the icing sugar and ground almonds until all lumps are gone.
5.  Fold in the ground almonds and icing sugar to the ‘meringue’ mix.
6. Line a baking tray with grease-proof paper.
7. Transfer the mixture in a piping bag and pipe snowmen shapes on the lined tray, then swirl the tip-off to one side.
8. Repeat for all of the batter, making sure to space out the macarons.
9. Tap the tray firmly against the counter 2 or 3 times to release any air bubbles.
10. Allow the macarons to sit at room temperature for two to three hours.
11. After 2-3 hours, place the macarons into the oven at 160 degrees c and bake for 15 minutes.
12. Once baked, please turn off the oven and open the oven door slightly, leaving them to sit in the cooling oven for around 15 minutes.
13. Allow them to cool fully before filling.

To Make the Filling: 

1. In a bowl or stand mixer, cream the butter on high, then add in the icing sugar and orange extract.
   If the filling is too thick, add a splash of dairy-free milk.
2.  Transfer the filling to a piping bag.
3. Once the macarons have cooled, add a swirl of filling to one macaron shell and press another on top to create a sandwich.
   Repeat for all of the macarons.
4. Decorate with royal icing – separate into a few different bowls, adding orange for the nose, pink for blush, and black for the eyes and scarf. Then, use a piping bag fitted with a small round tip nozzle to create the snowman details. You could even add some pink pearl sprinkles for decoration.