Cat Macarons with Fruity Pebble Filling (French Method) Recipe (with Video)

Preparation:
1. Put printed macaron templates on baking trays. Place silicone baking mats or parchment paper on top of templates.
2. Set up one large piping bag with a medium round tip. If you do not have a round tip, you can just snip the end of the bag before piping.
For the French macaron shells:
1. In a medium bowl, mix the sifted almond flour and powdered sugar.
2. Pour the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer. Set up a stopwatch to time how long to whip the meringue. (These times are listed to help beginner macaron makers. With practice, you can go by eye.)
3. 0:00 – 4:00 minutes: Mix on medium-low for 4 minutes (Kitchenaid speed 4).
4. 4:00 – 9:30 minutes: Turn the mixer to medium speed (Kitchenaid speed 6). Add a third of the granulated sugar. After 30 seconds, add another third. After another 30 seconds, add the last of the granulated sugar. Keep mixing at medium speed until you have reached a total of 9:30 minutes.
5. The meringue should be balled up onto the whisk, very thick, glossy, and have stiff peaks. If not, keep mixing at 30-second intervals at Kitchenaid speed 8 until it is.
6. Using a toothpick, knife, or cookie scribe, swipe in a very small amount of your food coloring of choice. Since I wanted pink cats, I added a small amount of red food coloring.
7. Dump in all of the powdered sugar + almond flour to the meringue. Gently fold the macaron batter, often scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl. Continue folding, adding more food coloring as needed.
8. Fold the batter until it reaches a thick, glossy consistency and flows off the rubber spatula into ribbons. To test if it is ready, allow the batter to flow off the spatula and into the batter. If the ribbons do not melt into the rest of the batter after 30 seconds, continue folding. Be careful not to over mix. When it passes this test, transfer the batter to your piping bag.
9. Pipe about 16 round shells onto your silicone mats/parchment paper, using the macaron template as a guide. Make sure you have some batter left over for the ears.
10. Tap the trays against the counter a few times to get rid of air bubbles. If there are bubbles on the surface, you can use a toothpick or cookie scribe to pop them. Popping the air bubbles helps stop them from cracking when being baked.
11. Pipe on ears on 8 of the shells (the bottom shells won't need any ears, they will be plain circles). Use a cookie scribe to move the batter to your liking.
12. Allow the macarons to sit out at room temperature to dry for at least one hour. They will be ready to bake once the surface of the macaron is matte and dry to the touch. If it is a really humid day, it can sometimes take 2 hours for them to dry.
13. Preheat the oven to 325F. Place an empty baking sheet upside-down on the middle rack.
14. Place the baking sheet with the macarons on top of the upside-down baking sheet. The upside-down sheet will help the macarons bake more evenly, decreasing the chances of cracking.
15. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate. Bake for 5-10 more minutes. To test if they are done baking, gently push the side of one shell. If it wiggles on the sheet, they need to be baked longer.
16. Remove the macarons and place them on a wire rack. Bake any remaining macaron shells.
17. Allow macarons to fully cool before peeling them off the parchment paper or silicone mats.
For the Fruity Pebbles filling:
1. In a medium-large mixing bowl, whip the cream cheese until smooth. Mix in all of the Fruity Pebbles cereal.
2. Taste test the filling! If it isn't sweet enough, add 1 tbsp powdered sugar at a time, up to 3 tbsp. Make sure not to overmix, or the filling will become too loose. If it does become too loose, you can whip in a small splash of heavy cream until it fluffs up again.
3. Transfer filling to a piping bag and snip a medium tip.
Assembly:
1. Match the macaron shells, lining up each pair on your work surface.
2. For all of the details, use edible markers.
3. Pipe Fruity Pebbles filling onto all of the bottom macaron shells, then top with matching shells.
4. Leave macarons in an airtight container in the fridge for at least 2 hours before eating. This allows them to mature, making them softer, chewier, and more flavorful. Eat at room temperature.
5. Store the macarons in an airtight container. They can last in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can also freeze them for up to one month! Eat at room temperature.