How to make the pretty rose macarons using wet on wet piping

Honestly these Cottagecore rose macarons might be the prettiest macarons I've ever made. Are they cottage core? I'm not sure we used to call it shabby chic. Anyhoo those sweet roses are piped into the still wet macaron batter with different coloured macaron batter. I was so happy when it worked and I ended up with super shiny deliciously gorgeous patterned shells.

They are definitely the macarons of my dreams. It is so satisfying when the piped mixture falls back down into the shells.

I was so excited I even made a 5 minute Youtube video showing how I made them which includes mixing up the macaron batter so you can easily follow along and make your own here. Like I said it's a pretty short video and you can see the consistency required for the batter so I recommend watching it if you're going to try make your own macarons (patterned or not).

I filled these ones with a white chocolate rose ganache to match in with the rose decorated shells. I also did a version with a whipped white chocolate buttercream and raspberry puree centre for Mother's Day which was reminiscent of Devonshire tea and totally delicious..

They do require a little bit of work and I'm not sure every macaron recipe will work. Some of the recipes out there are different batter consistency to mine and as a result the piped roses will not fall back into the shells as well, so I've included the exact recipe I used which is the same recipe I've used for 15 years, modified slightly over the years. While I had a cafe I made thousands of these gorgeously delicious treats and fine tuned the recipe until it was no-fail for me.

I've already made up a few more batches of these wet on wet designs to share with you so check back to see all the macaron gorgeousness over the coming weeks.

XX

Linda 

Cottagecore Macarons (wet on wet instructions - see also my YouTube video)

Mix up macaron batter. I've included my recipe for Italian meringue macarons below. Just before the batter is ready spoon out a small amount into 2 small bowls around 1/3 cup in one and 1/2 cup in the other.

Colour the large portion sky blue, and then colour the 1/3 bowl green (I used one drop mint green), then colour the 1/2 cup pink (I used one drop) then split a small amount of the pink into another bowl and put another drop of pink to make it a darker hue of pink. Put all the batter into seperate piping bags. 

Batter waiting to be piped. I made my own parchment bags for the small amounts

Pipe the main batter onto trays lined with parchment paper. I did one tray at a time so the macarons did not start to form skins.

Once you have the blue macaron shells piped, tap the tray on the counter to remove any air bubbles and then pipe 3 light pink dots (see picture 1 in the collage below).

Using the darker pink pipe a curve or c on top of each light pink dot. (see picture 2 in collage below)

Using a toothpick, skewer or scribing tool swirl in little circles back and forth to look like little rose swirls (see picture 3 in collage).

Pipe little leaves on the sides of each rose by piping a dot then letting go of the pressure on the piping bag and pulling the bag out sideways (see picture 4 in collage below) My leaves fell into the batter, however you might need to pipe a dot and use the scribing tool to pull the 'leaves' outward. 

Repeat for remaining batter and then allow to rest on the trays until set (see picture 5 in collage below).

Linda's Macaron Shells makes around 40-50 shells or 20-25 filled macarons. See below macaron recipe for simple instructions for ganache filling.

150 gram (5 +1/4 oz)almond meal (almond flour)
150 gram pure icing sugar (5 +1/4 oz powdered sugar)
150 gram granulated sugar (5 +1/4  oz) 
37 grams water (1 +1/4 oz)
110 gram (3 + 7/8oz) egg whites aged split into 2 lots of 55grams each (2 lots of 1 + 7/8 oz each)
food color of choice (I used sky blue, pink and mint green gel type food colour)

*ageing egg whites refers to separating the yolks from whites and then leaving the whites to age for a few days. This can be done on the counter if your countries climate permits or in the fridge, wrap the bowl with plastic wrap and then pop a few holes in the top. Alternately you can pop fresh egg whites in the microwave on high for 10 seconds or so - I used the aging on counter method in this batch pictured. 

1. Mix the ground almonds and icing sugar together and pulse a few times in food processor to make almond meal finer. Do not over process as the meal can become oily. Sieve into a large bowl. Add colour and 55g (1 + 7/8 ounce) of the egg whites to the sugar/almond mixture but don’t mix in.

2. Place remaining 55g (1 + 7/8 ounce) of egg whites in bowl of mixer fitted with the whisk.

3. Pop granulated sugar and water into saucepan, stir to combine and cook without stirring to 118 C (245F). Brush down the sides of the saucepan with a pastry brush dipped in water as required to avoid sugar crystallising. Make sure you have a pouring shield on your mixer, once the syrup has reached 118C pour in a thin stream down the side of the mixer bowl continuing to whisk on medium low.

4. Continue to whisk the meringue on high until the side of the bowl is only a little warm to touch, around 50C (120 F).

 

5. Add meringue mixture to almond mixture and using a large spatula fold the mixture together until it starts to shine and forms. If you run the spatula through the mixture it should form a ribbon that disappears back into the mixture after about 20 seconds.

6. Add the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a plain tip (or just cut the end of a disposable piping bag, that's what I do) and pipe in lines onto parchment lined baking sheets. To make the macarons as even as possible I apply a constant slow pressure to the piping bag and count a few numbers like up to 3 for each one. 

7. Set aside for about 30 minutes or until the macarons have formed a skin so that the macaron mixture does not stick to your finger when gently touched. If the weather is humid this step may take longer up to 2 hours. I pop on the aircon if it's humid at my house.

8. Meanwhile preheat oven to 130-135C (275 F) fan forced. Once ready bake the macaroons for around 19-23 minutes depending on size, it may take less of longer, all ovens are different. If they are baked and you gently push on the side the tops will not move, if the tops do move bake for another minute or 2. Also they should not be browned if they are reduce the heat for the next batch or bake for less time.

9. Once baked remove the baking trays and immediately slide off the macarons and the parchment onto the work surface and let cool completely before removing the shells.

10. Once cooled match disks into like sizes and sandwich together using the ganache.

Ganache Recipe

To make ganache melt white chocolate with cream in the microwave for 2 minutes on high and mix gently until combined, use a ration of 3:1, so for example 240 grams (8+1/2 oz) white chocolate to 80 grams (2 + 7/8 oz) cream. Add some gel color and rose oil/flavor to taste.

Original photos and recipe from the Bubble and Sweet blog ©Linda McCubbin 2025. I love when people share my blog ideas and give credit. Please feel free to link back to my blog for non commercial purposes or contact me. Affiliate links and adds may earn me money, however all ideas and opinions are my own.

Sweet bunny cookies with floral headbands and a new You Tube tutorial

 

Similar Bunny Cookie available here on Amazon

I'm making bunny cookies for Easter and just couldn't find a cutter I truly loved in any of the stores around here. What is going on in the world? All I could find is little mini cutters with matching embossers like they sell on temu or shein for  a couple of dollars.....and I just felt they had no character and definitely did not match the cookies I had in mind.

So I decided to go back to basics and hand cut the cookies. I hand drew a design I wanted, copied it onto some clean card stock and used it as a template for a couple of test cookies. Then I remembered my brother has a 3D printer and I sent him a photo asking if there was any way we could make a cookie cutter.

True story, a few hours later he was at my door with a cookie cutter that he had made downloading the picture I sent. Have I mentioned in the past he is a top tier brother that can be relied on to enable my cookie or cake craziness at the drop of a hat? Some of you might remember when he helped me mount a unicorn head cake to a mirror on a wall (HERE).

Anyway it is dangerous information to know that he can whip me up any cookie shape I need in next to no time. There are actually no cookie limits now!

So with my newly created cookie cutter I have been working on a theme for this years Easter cookies and have come up with a few designs that I like.The kids favourite is this sweet bunny with floral headband for which I've also made a matching floral egg. 

I've popped up a YouTube video of me making the cookie so you can follow along and make your own. Basic written instructions plus my sugar cookie roll out dough are below.

I hope you find them as cute and delicious as we do.

Happy Baking

xx

Linda

Bunny with floral headband instructions 

Ingredients

12 Bunny Cookies (see below for recipe)

white fondant

How much fondant will I need. This is a tricky one as everyone rolls out their fondant different thicknesses and lots of cookie cutters look the same but are different sizes. I find this best way is to roll out one fondant cookie shape then weigh the fondant and multiply it by the number of cookies you are making, then add a little bit excess. Remember fondant dries out quickly so always keep it wrapped in plastic wrap and in an airtight container.

Royal icing mix (around 1 cup powder)

food colour (pink and leaf green)

black edible marker 

pink edible paint (can use food colour diluted with a little rose spirits)

pink edible dusting powder

Equipment

Bunny cookie cutter (similar one available on Amazon here)

small daisy plunger flower cutter approx 13mm (1/2 inch)

small 5 petal plunger flower cutter approx 8mm (1/3 inch)

mini 5 petal plunger flower cutter approx 6mm (1/4 inch)

small plastic rolling pin

foam pad 

assorted brushes 

piping tips (round 1 or 2) x 2 small leaf tip 349 (or similar)

Piping bags and couplers X 3

Here is a link to amazon with some cutters and fondant tools like the ones used in the video

https://amzn.to/3E79Fly

Step1 - Bake your bunny cookies for these instructions we make 12 bunny cookies

See below for recipe

Step 2 - Make floral decorations

I like to make my floral decorations before hand. For this design you will need 1 small daisy, 1 small 5 petal flower and 1 mini 5 petal flower. If you don't have these exact sizes you can make a similar design with other plunger cutters.

For 12 bunny cookies you will need 12 pink small daisy's, 12 pink small 5 petal flowers, 12 pink mini 5 petal flowers and 24 white mini 5 petal flowers.

Colour a small amount of fondant pink. I used over the top pink gel food colour. Dust your bench with cornflower/cornstarch and roll the fondant out with a plastic mini rolling pin until a couple of mm thick (1/8 inch). Press out the flower shapes and place onto a foam pad.

Using fondant tools (Dresden/veiner and ball tools), shape the flowers. Press small indents into each of the daisy's petals, and using the ball tool gently press each of the 5 petals on each flower. Using the below picture as a guide for each bunny make 3 flowers. Set aside in a pain palette to dry overnight.

Step 3 - cover the cookies with white fondant (or what ever colour you like)

Once the cookies are cool, cover them with white fondant. To do this dust you work bench with cornflour/ cornstarch and roll the fondant out until a few mm (1/4 inch) thick. Using your bunny cookie cutter press out the bunny shape. Lightly brush the cookie with water using a clean brush and adhere there fondant to the cookie by lightly pressing down with the rolling pin. Gently roll the fondant out to the edges of the cookie if needed. You are aiming for a smooth even finish.

Allow the fondant to dry out a little then store in an airtight container in a single layer overnight.

Next day

Step 4 - Mix up royal icing

Following instructions mix up royal icing. You are just making accents and 1/3 of a cup of each colour is enough. The pink and white should be a consistency they pipe a Nice rounded dot. The green will need to be a stiff peak consistency if you want the leaves to hold a nice shape. I put the icing into plastic wrap and then slide them into my disposable piping bags, that I have already cut off the tip and popped a coupler into. When I am ready to use I snip off the tip of the plastic wrap and screw on the tip I am using with the coupler.

Step 5 - Add the floral decorations and royal icing accents

Using the white royal icing, adhere the flowers around the base of the bunnies ears. Pipe a white dot into the small pink mini flower. I add a few dots around the flowers for a little visual interest.

Using the pink royal icing, pipe a bunny nose and pipe pink dot in the centre into the 2 flowers with white centres.

Using the green royal icing pipe on leave accents as per the picture.

Step 6 - Paint on the ears

Using edible paint, paint on the bunny ears. If you like you can use pink royal icing to pipe ear centres.

Step 7 - Draw on eyes

Using the edible marker draw a small semi circle with lashes for the eyes. If the fondant has not set a little be very carful as the marker will press down and leave an indent.

Step 8 - Add a rosy cheek

Using edible dust on a dry brush, dust a small circle on the cheek. Using a seperate clean brush dust off any excess.

Step 9 - Share and enjoy your cookie greatness

Linda's Best Ever Roll Out Sugar Cookie Recipe

460 grams plain flour (16 1/4 oz all purpose flour)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
230 grams unsalted butter (8 1/8oz)room temperature
220 grams caster sugar (7 3/4 oz superfine sugar)# 
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
#use regular white sugar if you do not have caster/ superfine sugar

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.

Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to medium low, add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined. Reduce mixer speed to low and mix in the sifted flour mixture until combined. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill in fridge for 30 minutes or so.

Line a few baking trays with parchment/ baking paper.

Dust workbench with plain flour and using a large rolling pin roll out the dough until around 1/2 cm (1/4") in thickness. If the dough is to hard you may need to work/knead it a bit until you can roll it out.

Cut out cookies shapes and place the cookies on the prepared trays. (Knead and reroll dough as necessary, if it becomes to soft you can pop it back in the fridge.)

Pop the cut cookie dough trays into the fridge to chill again for around 30 minutes until firm (or in the freezer for 10 minutes).

Preheat oven to 160 C (320 F) and cook the cookies until they just start to turn golden, around 15 minutes (less or more depending on cookie size).

Cool on trays for 5 minutes and then carefully lift onto a wire rack to cool completely prior to decorating.

- Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for 1 week.

Original photos and recipe from the Bubble and Sweet blog ©Linda McCubbin 2025. I love when people share my blog ideas and give credit. Please feel free to link back to my blog for non commercial purposes. Affiliated links and adds may earn me money, however all ideas and opinions are my own.

Gateway Muffins - Super easy mix banana muffins

 

You will not believe how easy these muffins are. No special equipment or fancy ingredients for the basic mixture and you can pop in any type of add in you like. I first published them on the blog here back in 2014 as raspberry and there is no way to keep track of how often I've made them. The recipe is still almost too good to believe.

If your household is anything like mine, the kids will be eating bananas by the truckload and then all of a sudden stop. It used to drive me crazy but now I don't mind at all, I just make muffins. Also no big deal if you don't have time to cook right now, just peel the banana, wrap them in cling film and pop them into the freezer. When you're ready to cook pull them out defrost and use them, the mushier the better in this case.

Plus they are a gateway muffin to healthy eating and home cooking. They are not actually a health food, but if you have someone who eats too much processed packet foods, chances are you can win them over with these muffins and actually get a bit of hidden fruit into their diet. I sometimes made them with wholemeal (wholewheat) flour and they still taste great.

I made a YouTube video here which is only just over 4 minutes long from start to finish which shows just how fast and easily you can whip up a batch of home made deliciousness.

This is consistently one of the go to recipes I have used over the years. You can have them plain banana or add in chocolate, blueberries, raspberries, pretty much anything at all.

If there is one recipe on the blog I recommend everyone have up their sleeve, it's this one, trust me you won't regret it.

Happy Baking

Linda 

XX

Super Easy Mix Banana Muffins

makes 9 muffins. I often make a mix of different muffins by mixing all the ingredients up to the add in stage, scooping the batter into the muffin tins and then adding different add ins so I end up with a mixed variety of muffins. ie 3 blueberry, 3 chocolate and 3 white chocolate and raspberry.

3 very ripe bananas
1 egg
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup oil (I used olive oil)

Optional add ins: 

3/4 cup raspberry (fresh or frozen) and 1/4 cup white chocolate;

 or 1/2 cup chocolate chips; 

or 3/4 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 160C (325F) and line a regular muffin tin with baking papers (you will only need to line 9 of the 12 holes)

In a large bowl using a fork, mash the bananas well. 

Add the wet ingredients and mix well.

Add all remaining ingredients except the optional add in's and mix until just combined.

Divide mixture evenly between the 9 paper cases filling up to the top of each cupcake paper. 

**Add in extra 'add-ins' at this stage. You can make all one flavour or make a mixture. Some ideas are chocolate chip; raspberry/white choc chip; blueberry. Just push the ingredients into the mixture.

Bake until the top is golden and a skewer inserted comes out clean (around 30 minutes).

Original photos and recipe from the Bubble and Sweet blog ©Linda McCubbin 2025. I love when people share my blog ideas and give credit. Please feel free to link back to my blog for non commercial purposes. Affiliated links and adds may earn me money, however all ideas and opinions are my own.