1. Candy melts! Candy melts are small candy wafers that you can melt and drizzle over anything, like strawberries, cookies, and macarons. This is probably the easiest decorating method since all you have to do is melt the wafers, put the melted chocolate in a piping bag, and drizzle! They come in several different colors and even some flavors. Some ways I use candy melts are by drizzling half of the whole top shell of a macaron, dipping the entire top shell of the macaron, criss-cross drizzle, “circular” drizzling, etc.! There are so many easy ways you can use candy melts, and that’s why this method is my favorite! My favorite brands of candy melts are Sweet Tooth Fairy (Micheals) and Ghirardelli (Target)!!
2. Sprinkles! Sprinkles are such a fun way to make any macaron pop! There are so many types of sprinkles that you can put on your macarons, such as sanding sugar, nonpareils, jimmies, and confetti sprinkles. The best part is that you can put the sprinkles on the macarons right after you pipe them and they won’t melt in the oven!! However, if you do not want to take a risk, you can put the sprinkles over some drizzled chocolate on the macarons. Both ways are super easy and cute! I get all my sprinkles from Micheals and occasionally Target!
3. Food Coloring! Believe it or not, just basic food coloring can be used to decorate macarons! I use this method when I want to achieve a watercolor look on my macarons. I usually do this when I want to paint flowers on them! All I do is use some gel food coloring and mix it with some almond extract. You can use more or less almond extract depending on how “liquid” you want your “paint” to be. You could use water too, but be careful not to use too much on top of the macaron, as it can make the shell soggy. I use Americolor food coloring for everything!
4. Luster Dust! Edible Luster Dust results in the prettiest macarons ever! They give them a beautiful metallic look and shine, and I love painting different designs on my macarons with them! My favorite color is gold, and I almost always use it on everything! Technically, the proper way to use it is to use some alcohol-based liquid, like vodka, but I prefer using almond extract instead. All you do is pour a little bit of the almond extract, add a very small amount of luster dust (a little goes a long way), and use a paintbrush to paint on your designs. You can also use the luster dust dry without any liquid to simply add a subtle shine to your macarons. I love using luster dust from The Sugar Art, and my favorite gold luster dust, which I use regularly, is this one from Amazon!
5. Airbrushing with stencils! This is probably the hardest and most expensive technique, but it is also the technique that achieves the most professional results! I purchased an airbrush machine from Amazon along with edible ink (make sure it is EDIBLE ink as the same brands also sell acrylic, NON-EDIBLE ink). It is a little pricey, but it is so worth it! After following the instructions to set it up, which is fairly easy, all you need to do is add some drops of ink to the color cup and press on the nozzle. Figuring out how much pressure to put on the nozzle requires a lot of practice, as sometimes putting too much pressure causes the color to splatter, and putting too little pressure will prevent any color from clearly showing up on the macaron. I love using stencils for this technique, and it makes my macarons look so professional and artisanal! I have several stencils for special occasions like birthdays and baby showers, and they are so much fun to use! I get my stencils from Amazon and occasionally from BakeArt Stencils!
