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Creamy Baileys and roasty coffee create a smooth, luxurious filling for these Irish Coffee Macarons. The vivid green macaron shells with a touch of edible gold leaf are a lovely treat to whip up for St. Patrick’s Day, or even just because it’s a Tuesday.

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What’s Goin’ On?

As far as macarons go, these Irish coffee macarons are fairly simple and straightforward. We’re making Swiss method macaron shells and filling them with an Irish coffee buttercream. I considered adding espresso to the shells like I did with these Vietnamese Iced Coffee Macarons, but decided basic was best.

To lean into the St Patrick’s Day vibe, these macarons are bright green color. Naturally, they needed a touch of gold to really live up to the festive spirit of the holiday. While simple, these macarons are delicious and eye catching.

Macaron Resources

5 Steps to Prep for Perfect Macarons
All About Meringue: Covering the Basics
Filling Macarons
Macawrong Brownies or 4 Yolk Challah (delicious ways to use up extra yolks)
Basic Tools You Need to Make Macarons
Macaron Templates + Macaron Prep Checklist (available to subscribers only)

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Creating a Bold Color

Obtaining a bold color in your macaron shells can be a struggle. Whether you are adding gel or powder color, too much can alter the batter and land you with trays of macawrongs. And that’s just a bummer.

Powder color is a great choice for vivid colors. I’m totes obsessed with the Master Elites from The Sugar Art (not an affiliate, just a fan). Adding a dash of emerald to my egg whites about an hour before making the meringue created this gorgeous color.

Top Tips for Meringue

Wipe your bowl and whisk with a bit of vinegar to remove any residual fat or grease.
Separate your egg whites one at a time into a small bowl before adding them to your big bowl. This is to prevent any stray yolk from ruining the whole batch!
Acid (like cream of tartar or lemon juice) or egg white powder can help stabilize your egg whites.
Whip your eggs at a medium speed for longer to create a more stable meringue and minimize the risk of over whipping.
Room temperature egg whites will whip up faster, but it’s best to separate the eggs while they’re cold.

Related Reading: Dairy Free Vanilla Macarons

Irish Coffee Buttercream

“Have you ever drunk Baileys from a shoe?” Look, if you know where that quote is from, leave a comment and enjoy a little giggle for me. Anywho, back to the sweet, creamy beige filling…

I decided to go with a small batch of easy buttercream because I thought the creamy texture would be perfect for these Irish coffee macarons. Personally, I suggest making a full batch (multiply this batch by 4 without the flavorings), divide the frosting into 4 portions and freeze in Ziploc bags. When you’re ready to use a small batch of the buttercream, thaw, and beat in your flavors!

This buttercream has a delicious flavor, but it’s relatively mellow. You could easily increase the intensity by adding more espresso and/or Baileys. If you prefer a speckled look, don’t dissolve the espresso in Baileys first.

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Top Tips for Macarons

Pulse your dry ingredients in a food processor and sift out any large chunks.
Whip your meringue to stiff peaks. It’s best to whip at a medium speed for longer. Keep an eye on it!
Fold/ macaronage just until the batter flows like lava. It is best to slightly under mix if you are in doubt.
If you don’t have a macaron template yet, grab a free one from the Resource Library so that you pipe evenly sized shells.
Use a toothpick to smooth any nipples and remove any air bubbles on your piped macarons.
Bake one pan at a time and adjust the temperature and baking time if necessary.

FREE Macaron Prep Checklist for Subscribers

A Touch of Gold

Edible gold leaf is tricky to work with, but this is a fairly easy application. I don’t have much luck getting the gold to stick to a plain macaron shell. The gold needs a bit of moisture or stickiness to adhere too, but not too much moisture either.

To solve this problem, dip a brush in a high proof clear alcohol (Everclear or moonshine work well) and remove most of the liquid. Lightly brush a swipe onto the macaron. Immediately press a strip of edible gold leaf onto the shell. You could also use a dry brush to transfer some gold onto the area you brushed.

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Enjoy!

A pop of green paired with a touch of gold makes these Irish coffee macarons a fun and beautiful dessert. Enjoy the ultra creamy buttercream flavored with espresso and Baileys. It’s a delicious combination.

If you’d like to get access to over a dozen baking resources, including templates and a checklist to make macarons easier, subscribe to Bakes & Blunders! You’ll also get one email a week with a new recipe or tutorial!

Irish Coffee Macarons

Vivid green macarons with a creamy coffee and Baileys buttercream.

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Course Dessert

Cuisine American, French

Keyword almond, Boozy, Coffee, Cookies, Espresso, Frosting, Gluten Free, Holiday, Macarons

Prep Time 1 30

Cook Time 45

Resting Time 20

Total Time 2 35

Servings 30 macarons

Calories 142kcal

Author Colleen

Ingredients

Macaron Shells

112 g powdered sugar
112 g almond flour
107 g sugar
1 tsp egg white powder optional
107 g egg whites (about 3 eggs) room temperature
1/8 tsp Emerald Master Elite powder color dash

Irish Coffee Easy Buttercream

1 oz pasteurized carton egg whites
4 oz powdered sugar sifted
4 oz unsalted butter softened
1 tsp espresso powder
2 tsp Baileys

Instructions

Macaron Shells

Prepare 2 baking sheets with silicone mats, teflon, or templates and parchment paper. Fit a piping bag with a round piping tip. Set aside. Preheat oven to 285°F.
Pulse the almond flour and powdered sugar in a food processor and sift into a bowl. Discard any large chunks. Whisk the dry ingredients and set aside.
In a small bowl, combine sugar and egg white powder (if using). Whisk until completely combined and there are no more lumps of egg white powder. Set aside. Combine egg whites and powdered color.
In a clean stand mixer bowl, combine the sugar mixture and the egg whites. Whisk to combine and place bowl over a double boiler. Heat, whisking regularly, until the sugar dissolves, about 90 seconds. Remove the bowl from the double boiler and carefully dry off the bottom.
Place the bowl in the stand mixer and whisk on a medium speed (KitchenAid 4 - 6) until you have stiff peaks, about 10- 15 minutes. I did speed 4 for 5 minutes and speed 6 for 4 minutes.
Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and begin folding the ingredients together. Once everything is combined, continue folding until the batter flows slowly like lava.
Pipe macaron shells onto prepared baking sheets. Let the macarons dry until you can lightly brush the tops with your finger (15- 20 mins for me). Bake for 20 - 22 minutes, rotating halfway through. Gently poke shell, if it is firm, remove from the oven to cool. If they wiggle, add another minute or two.
Let the macaron shells cool on the sheet for 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Irish Coffee Easy Buttercream

Whip the egg whites and powdered sugar on a high speed for 3- 5 minutes.
Bump the speed down to medium- high and begin adding the butter one tablespoon at a time, letting each piece incorporate before adding the next. Once all the butter has been added, scrape the bowl down and whip on high for 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
Combine the espresso powder and Baileys in a small pinch bowl. Stir to dissolve the powder. Switch to the paddle attachment and add the coffee mixture to the buttercream. Beat to combine. Taste and adjust flavors as desired.

Assemble

Pair up the macaron shells. Fill a piping bag with buttercream and pipe a dollop onto one shell, then top with the other shell. Repeat with the remaining macaron shells.
Place in an air tight container in the fridge overnight to let them mature. Remove 30 minutes before serving.

Notes

I was able to pipe 60 shells, which made 30 macarons. You could have a few more or a few less depending on how large you pipe your shells.
For maximum color intensity, mix the egg whites and color powder about an hour before beginning the recipe.

Irish Coffee Macarons with Baileys