To be honest I had never seen a macaron until about 5 years ago. I know this might sound astonishing, especially given the fact I have been to France four times in my life, but for some reason those cute little cookies have evaded me. Now I see them all the time due to their increased popularity. The Whole Foods Market, the small, quaint bistro in town, even my large mega-grocery store, HEB, sells them. These beautiful little cookies have inspired me to concoct my Keto, Gluten-Free Raspberry Macaron recipe.
Raspberries bring superfood phytonutrients & a lovely color to the macarons.
Keto, Gluten-Free Raspberry Macaron
The name of this recipe is a little misleading, for all macarons are gluten-free. The issue with most store-bought macaron is that they are chockful of sugar. The typical recipe uses loads of granulated sugar. Plus, how do you think most of them get those lovely pastel-esque colors? They use conventional food dyes.
What is wrong with food dyes? Read our article on The Problems With Food Dyes. (Hint: there are many problems.)
What makes this Keto, Gluten-Free Raspberry Macaron recipe different than the other macaron recipes are, of course, the ingredients. So addressing the first issue with conventional macarons, this Keto, Gluten-Free Raspberry Macaron recipe doesn’t use any refined sugar.
In lieu of this nutrient-deprived ingredient, we use erythritol, a sugar alcohol substitute commonly used by diabetes. (A sister to erythritol is xylitol, commonly found in “organic gum.”) Though high-doses of erythritol may cause abdominal discomfort in some people, low doses are not problematic. Plus they boast the ancillary benefit of not raising blood sugar.
(Click HERE to read our article on the 6 Problems with Conventional, Sugar-Free Chewing Gum.)
Stevia extract is used in this recipe as well. If you read our Review of non-Sugar Sweeteners, we actually give stevia a relatively low grade due to its high-processed/refined qualities. It is best to opt for natural stevia. If you can find it at a natural foods store, try it out but just be prepared that it doesn’t taste anything like the refined stevia to which most are accustomed.
So there is not much in this Keto, Gluten-Free Raspberry Macaron recipe that will spike your blood sugar, aside from the raspberry jam and almond flour. But c’mon macarons are desserts so it is impossible to remove all forms of carbs and sugar from it.
We can only hope to limit it and endeavor to use more whole food ingredients. Vis-à-vis the raspberry jam, opt for all-natural jam or preserves that actually contains raspberries and not high fructose corn syrup-based jelly. (Like the one shown below.)
To Dye or Not To Dye
Most macarons, in fact most processed foods & drinks, use food dyes. This Keto, Gluten-Free Raspberry Macaron recipe uses beets to color it reddish-pink. You might be asking “Gregory, will using beets as a natural dye make my macarons tastes like beets?” Well try the recipe and let me know.
All jest aside, no the beets will not make your macarons taste like beets. (It might stain your countertop if you aren’t careful though.) The beets will bring the color but nothing more. If you are concerned about the taste, don’t use as much. It will make the shells of this Keto, Gluten-Free Raspberry Macaron recipe more pink. That’s fine!
To make this recipe a little more fat-filling and nutrient-dense, we are using pistachios for the filling. Now you might ask “Gregory, will using pistachios make my macarons taste like nuts?” Well, try the recipe and let me know!
Click Here to try our Raspberries With Dairy-Free Keto Whipped Cream!
I made sure that the amount of pistachios used will not make the Keto, Gluten-Free Raspberry Macarons tastes too-nutty. The butter, vanilla, and certainly the raspberry jam, will overpower the nuts. Plus using pistachios brings a lot of healthy unsaturated fats and fiber, two things you certainly wouldn’t get buying or making conventional macarons.
I’m not going to lie to you. Making macarons is exceedingly difficult. I shouldn’t say making them is hard per se, but rather making them WELL is hard. Not just to make the perfect circular appearance of the macarons, but more of the texture of the shells.
If not properly mixed or if overbaked the shells can come out hard and grainy. I have tried coconut sugar and other ingredients, but I feel this recipe is your best shot of getting it close to a French bakery. Give it a shot and let me know how they turn out on FB “Albert Gregory” or Twitter.
Buy these ingredients now:
Ingredients
- Macaron Shell
- 1 large beet for natural red coloring
- 2 large egg whites (2 days old preferably)
- 0.5 ounce erythritol (granulated)
- 3 ounces almonds (blanched & grounded)
- 5 ounces of erythritol (powdered)
- Macaron Filling
- 2.5 ounces of butter (preferably grass-fed or Kerrygold)
- 1 ounce raspberry jam
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon stevia extract
- 1.2 ounce pistachios (grounded & unsalted)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees (or lowest temperature). Line baking pan with parchment.
Grind the almonds with a food processor.
Add the powdered erythritol and process until fine.
In an electric mixer beat the egg whites. When they get rather "bubbly" slowly add in the granulated erythritol. Keep mixing until the whites look stiff and rather shiny.
Grate the beet over a paper towel. (A beet should yield 3 tablespoons of beet juice.)
Squeeze the beet juice into the egg white mixture. While slowly blending, add 1/3 of the almond flour/erythritol mixture to the beet egg white mixture. Mix until the entire shell mixture is viscous like honey.
Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag. Make a 1/2 inch hole at the tip. Pipe 1-inch round on the parchment paper. Let the shells dry for at least half-an-hour.
Bake for 15 minutes. Don't overbake them. Just 15 minutes for if you overcook they will not be soft. Allow them to cool for a few minutes.
Macaron Filling
Grind the pistachios with the stevia extract as finely as possible.
Using an electric mixer, mix the soft butter well.
Add the pistachio mixture, raspberry jam, and vanilla extract to the butter. Mix very well.
Apply the filling to the cooled shells to make the macaron. Leave in fridge for a day, if possible, to allow the flavors to blend and the macaron to soften.
Before serving, leave out at room temperature for an hour.
Notes
Making macarons is VERY difficult. Play with the ingredients and do the best you can. Enjoy!