• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Peanut Blossom
  • Start Here
  • Recipes
  • Book Club
  • Cookbooks
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
menu icon
go to homepage
  • ABOUT
  • RECIPES
  • HOLIDAYS
  • BOOK CLUB
  • COOKBOOKS
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • ABOUT
    • RECIPES
    • HOLIDAYS
    • BOOK CLUB
    • COOKBOOKS
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Easy Recipes for Kids

    Macaron-Inspired Cake Cookies

    Published: Oct 19, 2015 · Modified: Feb 21, 2020 by Tiffany Dahle · This post may contain affiliate links.

    • Share
    • Email Friend!
    Jump to Recipe - Pin Recipe

    This fun trio of macaron-inspired cake sandwich cookies is perfect for young bakers who love American Girl's Grace character.

    Host an American Girl Grace movie party and serve homemade kid-friendly macarons in three flavors

    I mentioned the other week how the Peanut has fallen in love with Grace from American Girl and all things French Pastry Shoppe. When Grace's movie came out this summer, we wanted to do something special for our first viewing of American Girl Grace Stirs Up Success.

    The Peanut had been playing with the Grace's Sweet Shop app on her iPad and discovered a homemade macaron recipe she wanted to try. We thought it would be such a fun treat for our movie party.

    The problem came in with their recipe being not exactly stellar. The dough was stiff and the baked cookie crumbled. Not exactly conducive to kid baking. The Peanut was so disappointed, I set out to find a different kid-friendly version of French Macarons that she could actually help with.

    In the end, we mixed and matched a few ideas I found online and made up our own! It was so much fun and they turned out great. We made (from top to bottom in the photo below) tinted Macarons in French Vanilla, Chocolate Ganache, and Pistachio Fluff--my personal favorite.

    Host an American Girl Grace movie party and serve homemade kid-friendly macarons in three flavors

    To make it more of a party, I even went so far as to download the Paris Party Set from Caravan Shoppe. So the Peanut and I could have some special one on one time in the kitchen, we set up Little Pea with the pictures of the Eiffel tower and the city scapes and asked her to color them up while we made the macarons.

    Host an American Girl Grace movie party and serve homemade kid-friendly macarons in three flavors

    The Peanut was so excited to wear her matching apron from Grace's bakery for our cookie session but she loved it even more that I let her crack all the eggs and do as much of the baking as possible:

    Host an American Girl Grace movie party and serve homemade kid-friendly macarons in three flavors

    We wanted a variety of flavors and colors for our macarons but we didn't want to be drowning in cookies. I decided we would make one single batch of the batter for our cookies and then divide it into 3 equal portions in separate bowls for tinting.

    I let the Peanut pick the colors for our vanilla cookie base. She chose pink, green, and blue.

    Host an American Girl Grace movie party and serve homemade kid-friendly macarons in three flavors

    Since all the cookies were vanilla, we played with the flavors for the filling. I made tiny portions of a whipped vanilla buttercream frosting, chocolate ganache, and a pistachio fluff. All three got 2 thumbs up from our testers but the girls both loved the chocolate one best and I devoured the pistachio.

    Host an American Girl Grace movie party and serve homemade kid-friendly macarons in three flavors

    Since we only wanted a couple of cookies for each of us during the party, I stored all the fillings separately in the fridge. We assembled leftover cookies as we wanted them but the buttercream and chocolate had to come to room temperature before they could be spread easily. The pistachio worked the best for impromptu filling later.

    Host an American Girl Grace movie party and serve homemade kid-friendly macarons in three flavors

    To be fair, these are not *exactly* macarons. They are much more like dressed up whoopie pies made on a smaller scale. We experimented with a more legitimate recipe and discovered that real macarons are very EXACT. At her current level of skill, the Peanut wasn't able to really help with the baking which was no fun. But, the real deal is so delicious, they'd be a great project for a more advanced baking partner to help with and might be worth trying again at some point.

    Host an American Girl Grace movie party and serve homemade kid-friendly macarons in three flavors

    Has your daughter discovered Grace yet? I watched the movie with the girls and thought it was super cute. I think that it would make a perfect weekend party for your daughter and her friends to get together and bake & watch the movie with their treats.

    American Girl Grace books, DVD, and holiday gift ideas

    You might also enjoy:

    • An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success, the movie
    • Grace, Book 1
    • Grace Stirs It Up, Book 2
    • Grace Makes It Great, Book 3
    • Silicone baking mats: For making our version of macarons, these are essential. Be sure to grab the size that works for your pans.
    • Les Petits Macarons: Inspiration for making legitimate macarons!
    • Macarons Baking Set: The silicone mat and tools are perfect for baking the real deal.
    • Macaron Stationery Set: For when baking them is just too much. Ha!
    A trio of macaron-inspired cake sandwich cookies in green, pink, and blue colors on a polka dot napkin.

    Homemade Macarons for Kids

    4.50 from 4 votes
    Got a little baker who wants to make French macarons? This easy recipe is perfect for playing with different flavors of sandwich cookie fillings.
    TOTAL TIME 27 minutes
    PREP TIME 20 minutes
    COOK TIME 7 minutes
    YIELD 3 flavors of cookies
    PIN RECIPE FOR LATER PRINT RECIPE NOW

    Ingredients
      

    For the cookies:

    • 1 box vanilla cake mix
    • 3 tablespoon milk
    • ¼ cup vegetable oil
    • 2 eggs
    • food coloring

    Chocolate ganache:

    • ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
    • 1 cup chocolate chips

    Vanilla buttercream:

    • 8 tablespoon (1 stick) of butter at room temperature
    • 1 cup confectioners' sugar
    • Pinch of salt
    • ½ tablespoon vanilla extract

    Pistachio fluff:

    • 1 pkg pistachio instant pudding prepared according to pie filling instructions
    • 1 container of Cool Whip

    Instructions

    For the Cookies:

    • Heat the oven to 350°F. Line your cookie sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
    • In a large bowl, combine the cookie ingredients until thoroughly wet.
    • Divide the dough evenly into three bowls and tint each one a color of your choice.
    • Roll dough into 1 inch sized balls and place 1 inch apart on the cookie sheet.
    • Bake 7-9 minutes or until set.
    • When slightly cooled, move from the cookie sheet to wire baking racks to cool completely before filling.

    For the Fillings:

      Chocolate ganache

      • Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave by heating in 30-second batches and stirring until smooth. Pour in the cream, stir to combine. If the mixture is too thick, add a little more cream at a time until proper consistency is reached.

      Vanilla buttercream

      • Beat the butter and sugar together with a hand mixer or stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Add the salt and vanilla and stir to combine.

      Pistachio fluff

      • Prepare the pistachio pudding according to the package directions for PIE FILLING. (This is thicker than normal pudding.) Gently fold in the Cool Whip to great the fluffy frosting-like filling.
      COURSECookies
      CUISINEAmerican
      AUTHORTiffany Dahle

      Save This Recipe to Your Recipe Box

      Find this delicious recipe next time you visit by saving it to your very own recipe box on my site. All your favorites stored in one easy place!

      SAVE THIS RECIPESaved!


      More Easy Recipes for Kids

      • A cake plate has several squares of cereal bars in rainbow colors with mini marshmallows scattered about.
        Mini Trix Rice Krispie Treats
      • A platter of chicken nuggets has a cup of copycat Chick-Fil-A sauce for dunking.
        Copycat Chick-Fil-A Sauce
      • Two waffles on a blue plate have a dollop of whipped cream and pastel sprinkles.
        Birthday Cake Waffles
      • A photo collages shows several easy dinner ideas kids could make.
        Easy Dinner Ideas for Yo-Yo Nights {You're On Your Own!}

      Reader Interactions

      Comments

        Share Your Thoughts Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Recipe Rating




      1. Jane

        March 05, 2021 at 12:39 pm

        Please change the title., its not even close to a macaron., it’s misleading.

        Reply

      Trackbacks

      1. I bet Einstein's mother invested time baking with kids says:
        November 17, 2015 at 12:13 pm

        […] Sweet macaron cookies: let them mix the fillings and assemble the cookie sandwiches, too! […]

        Reply

      Primary Sidebar

      Hi, I'm Tiffany!
      I believe a great family recipe is one that makes everyone at the table happy, not just the kids. I'm the author of two bestselling cookbooks for kids that are chock full of recipes everyone in your family will love. I'm also the hostess of the best online book club for moms.

      More about me →

      What's Trending Now

      • A photo collage shows the variety of recipes that can be made in a bread maker.
        50 Best Bread Machine Recipes
      • A blue baking dish filled with mac and cheese with bread crumb topping. A serving spoon has removed a portion to show the creamy elbow noodles.
        Make Ahead Mac and Cheese
      • An airfryer basket has 7 seasoned chicken tenderloins golden brown and cooked.
        Healthy Chicken Tenderloins in the Air Fryer
      • Two salmon filets are surrounded by fresh green beans in an air fryer basket.
        How to Cook Salmon in Air Fryer

      Popular

      • A freezer-friendly metal pan holds an 8x8-inch apple crisp with crumble topping.
        Freezer Friendly Apple Crisp
      • A stack of the best books for book club in 2023
        Best Book Club Picks 2023
      • A taco salad made with mini frozen tacos.
        10-minute Trader Joe's Meals
      • A young kid's hand is holding a homemade pizza lunchable.
        30 School Lunch Ideas for Kids
      • A collage of easy dinners for busy nights.
        30 Quick Dinners for Busy Nights
      • A photo collages shows several easy dinner ideas kids could make.
        Easy Dinner Ideas for Yo-Yo Nights {You're On Your Own!}
      • A meal train dinner kit featuring supplies for tacos sits in an aluminum tray for delivery.
        30 Clever Meal Train Ideas with Recipes
      • Harry Potter themed snacks are in a platter with a witch hat sitting next to an open copy of a Harry Potter book.
        21 Harry Potter Snacks for Movie Night

      Footer

      As Seen On

      The Taste of Home Logo
      The Pioneer Woman Logo
      The Country Living Logo
      The Buzzfeed logo
      The Good Housekeeping Logo

      About

      As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

      Contact
      Privacy Policy
      Disclaimer

      Favorites

      Bread Recipes
      Soup Recipes
      Quick Dinner Recipes
      Harry Potter Fan Club
      Reading with Kids

      Holidays

      Easter Recipes
      4th of July Recipes
      Catholic Celebrations
      Thanksgiving Recipes
      Christmas Recipes

      Recipes

      Appetizers
      Dinners
      Main Dishes
      Salads
      Side Dishes
      Desserts
      Brunch
      Homemade Pantry

      ↑ back to top

      Copyright © 2023