DIY Mini Macaron Cocktail Swizzle Sticks

I, Erin, was making mini macarons recently for cupcake toppers, and a lightbulb went on in my head: Mini macs are the perfect size to use for cocktail swizzle sticks!

Let’s be honest here, happy hour cocktails are pretty darn good on their own, but throw in mini macaron cocktail swizzle sticks, and you just took happy hour to a whole new level!

If you’re looking for a way to mix things up at your next girls night, why not whip up a batch of these babies?! Try your hand at mini macaron-making at home, or pick up pre-made ones at the bakery, either way, you’ll have a show-stopping cocktail garnish to rock your next girl’s night.

3 Quick Tips for Making Mini Macarons:

If you’re making mini macs at home, here are a few mini mac specific tips to keep in mind as you work through your chosen macaron recipe!

— A good basic size for mini macarons is about 5-8″ to 3/4″ diameter. In order to make sure to stick to that size when piping out the shells, I draw 5/8″ circle guidelines on the UNDERSIDE of the parchment paper before piping out the shell batter. Keep in mind the batter will spread out a bit after piping, so don’t pipe right up to the edge of the circle guidelines.

— Baking time for mini macs is quick! I bake macs at 325 degrees F for about 4-5 minutes.

— If your oven has a convection feature, definitely use it when baking up your mini macaron shells. The air circulation helps ensure evenly cooked shells!

Prepare the mini macaron shells & pastry cream. I use Jill Colonna’s book, Mad About Macarons, as a guide for macaron techniques and recipes (she’s never failed me!), but there are also tons of free macaron-making resources online. See my tips for perfecting mini macs at home below!

Line a baking sheet or tray with parchment paper, and marry up the macaron shells into similarly sized pairs. Fill the piping bag with pastry cream, and pipe a generous dime sized amount onto one of each macaron shell pair.

If you’re not up to the task of making macarons, you can also purchase mini macs from your local bakery, and simply use a knife to slice the two shells apart, making sure they’re at room temperature when you do so.

Nestle the swizzle stick into the pastry cream of each piped macaron and top with the other half of the pastry shell.

Refrigerate the macaron swizzle sticks for at least 30 minutes to allow the pastry cream to solidify around the swizzle stick.

When you’re ready to serve, pull the swizzle sticks out of the refrigerator and garnish your cocktails. Happy hour with your girls just got a little sweeter!

These would also be pretty perfect for Mother’s Day this weekend, don’t you think?!

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