• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Rosanna ETC logo
  • Recipes
  • Travel
  • About
  • Writing portfolio and press
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Travel
  • Media
  • Ebooks
  • About
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Travel
    • Media
    • Ebooks
    • About
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Blog posts by Rosanna ETC » Desserts

    Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake Macarons

    Published: Oct 5, 2022 by Rosanna Stevens · This post may contain affiliate links · 6 Comments

    Spiced pumpkin cheesecake macarons are deliciously sweet and fragrant with a cream cheese filling that's laced with pumpkin puree and a cookie crumb. All the components of a cheesecake, in a macaron! Pumpkin season is upon us and these spiced pumpkin cheesecake macarons make a dainty Autumn snack or elegant Halloween cookie.

    If you've been here before, you'll know I love baking macarons and this recipe is one of my favourite fall macaron flavours that I have come up with. Inspired by the famed pumpkin spiced latte, I wanted to create something that used pumpkin and spices but creamy too. And the spiced pumpkin cheesecake macaron was born.

    Pumpkins are naturally sweet, so there's no need to add extra sugar to the pumpkin cheesecake filling. The cream cheese gives a rich tang and the spices in the macaron shells bring it all together perfectly.

    Pumpkin cheesecake macarons on a wooden chopping board with an ornamental pumpkin.

    Try making these pumpkin spiced cheesecake macaron cookies for Halloween and become the favourite house on your street when the trick or treaters come, or serve them after dinner at a dinner party. Macarons are an excellent way to use leftover egg whites and make a light and crunchy dessert or petit four.

    First time making homemade macarons? Read my step by step guide to making Italian macarons (with Italian meringue) first.

    Pumpkin cheesecake macarons on their sides showing their filling.
    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • Wine pairing
    • Variations
    • Equipment
    • Storage
    • Top tip
    • Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake Macarons
    • Food safety

    Ingredients

    Here is everything you will need to make these spiced pumpkin cheesecake macarons.

    The ingredients for macaron shells in Tupperware containers. Egg whites, ground almonds, icing sugar, granulated sugar and water.
    • Egg whites

    I prefer to buy eggs and separate them rather than use pre-packaged egg whites. I never get the same level of results from pre-packaged!

    • Fine granulated sugar/caster sugar

    I like to use golden sugar in fall macaron flavours, it just gives an added warmth that works really well in the season of pumpkins and apples and all things Autumn. But you can use either white or brown sugar!

    • Water

    We dissolve the granulted sugar into the water before boiling so that it heats evenly.

    • Ground almonds

    Ground almonds are almonds that have been

    • Powdered sugar/icing sugar

    This is mixed with the ground almonds and egg whites to make the almond paste.

    • Orange food colouring

    Use powdered food colouring for macarons, and not liquid or gel. I didn't want too intense a colour but you can add as much as you like!

    The ingredients for pumpkin cheesecake macaron filling. Pumpkin puree, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, cream cheese and digestive biscuits.
    • Pumpkin puree

    Canned pumpkin puree is so handy for baking, but make sure you purchase pumpkin puree with nothing in it other than pumpkin.

    • Cream cheese

    I try and buy organic cream cheese wherever possible as the water content is lower, making for thicker, richer cream cheese.

    • Ground cinnamon

    The cinnamon is added into the macaron shell batter to give it subtle flavour.

    • Ground ginger

    We also add ground ginger to give extra warmth.

    • Digestive biscuits/Graham crackers

    To get the taste and texture of a cheesecake base, we grind biscuits/cookies to a fine crumb and mix it into the spiced pumpkin cheesecake macaron filling.

    See the recipe card for quantities.

    Instructions

    Preheat the oven to 145 degrees Celsius / 295 Fahrenheit. 

    Prepare and weigh out the ingredients, separating the egg whites from egg yolks if necessary. 

    Make the almond paste by blending the ground almonds and powdered sugar together until they are a very fine consistency and completely combined. Sieve the mixture into a large mixing bowl and add the ground ginger, cinnamon and orange food colouring.

    Mix in the egg white firmly until it is fully incorporated. 

    Make the Italian meringue by placing the water and granulated sugar into a saucepan. Gently warm the water and stir to dissolve the sugar. Once it has dissolved, turn up the heat, stop stirring and place the sugar thermometer into the mixture. 

    Once the thermometer starts to climb above 105 degrees Celsius/220 degrees Fahrenheit, whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks.

    When the sugar syrup reaches a soft boil temperature of 115 degrees Celsius/240 degrees, start whisking the egg whites again and pour in the sugar syrup a little at a time. The residual heat of the sugar will mean the temperature continues to go up even once you remove it from the heat and it will be the required 120 degrees Celsius when you mix it into the egg white.

    The Italian meringue will turn a smooth, glossy and opaque white. Continue to whisk once all of the sugar syrup has been added to bring down the heat until you can touch the side of the bowl and it feels warm but not hot. 

    Now mix the Italian meringue into the almond paste in three stages. 

    Firmly mix in the first third of the Italian meringue with a metal or wooden spoon to loosen the almond paste and fully combine the two mixtures. 

    Fold in the remaining two-thirds one at a time using the softer spoon or spatula, being very gentle with the final third to not overmix the batter and make it too slack. 

    Pipe your spiced pumpkin cheesecake macarons. Move the macaron batter to a piping bag. Tie a knot in the end and relax the mixture slightly in the bag with your hands for a few seconds. Cut half a centimetre from the tip of the piping bag. 

    Position the piping bag perpendicular to the tray with the nozzle a few millimetres above the surface. Squeeze the bag without lifting it up for two or three seconds, then stop squeezing and make a little circle to twist it off. Fill the trays leaving a 2cm gap in between each macaron as they will spread slightly as they bake. 

    Firmly smack it down onto the work surface twice to settle the Italian macaron batter and get rid of any air bubbles. 

    Bake the macarons for 17 minutes, then remove from the oven and allow the macarons to cool on the tray. This is a no-rest macaron recipe, but if you cannot fit all of your macarons in the oven at once, it won't harm the remaining macarons to be out on the worktop for 17 minutes. 

    Pumpkin cheesecake filling

    Blend the biscuits/cookies to a fine crumb in a food processor or pestle and mortar.

    Mix the pumpkin puree and cream cheese together, then stir in the crumbs.

    Add the spiced pumpkin cheesecake macaron filling to a piping bag and pipe onto one shell before sandwiching together with another.

    Hint: If the pumpkin cheesecake filling seems too runny to pipe, put it into the piping bag and then chill quickly in the freezer for 20 minutes.

    A miniature pumpkin surrounded by macarons.

    Wine pairing

    Try a late harvest muscat with these Autumn macarons, or even a Hungarian Tokay.

    Variations

    After making these spiced pumpkin cheesecake macarons, try some of my other macaron flavours...

    • Blueberry cheesecake macarons
    • Chocolate cinnamon macarons
    • Fig and Cardamom macarons
    • Mango macarons
    • Festive savoury macarons with goat cheese and cranberry

    Love this recipe? You'll want to try this no bake pumpkin cheesecake too.

    Equipment

    • Weighing scales. Digital is best. Baking is a science, after all, so we need precision! I do not recommend using the cup system to make macarons.
    • A sieve to ensure that the powdered sugar and almond flour is as fine as possible. 
    • A blender/food processor to thoroughly combine the almond flour and powdered sugar. This ensures a completely smooth finish on your macaron shells. You can also use the food processor to blend the biscuits to a crumb.
    • A small saucepan to make your sugar syrup
    • A jam or sugar thermometer to measure the temperature of the hot sugar syrup. The sugar syrup needs to be at a particular temperature to make Italian meringue and it is impossible to judge without a thermometer. The best thermometers for sugar syrup do not allow the bulb to touch the bottom or sides of the saucepan, thus ensuring you are measuring the temperature of the sugar, and not the pan. 
    • An electric whisk or stand mixer to whisk your egg whites into soft peaks before slowly adding the hot sugar syrup. 
    • Two large bowls, preferably glass. Try to avoid using a metal mixing bowl for the Italian meringue as it will conduct heat and prevent the mixture from cooling. 
    • A metal mixing spoon for combining ingredients more vigorously.
    • A silicon mixing spoon or spatula for further, more gentle mixing. 
    • Baking sheets/trays - not high-sided ones as this builds up too much steam
    • Silicon mat or baking parchment paper (but the silicon mats are better and allow for lower waste as they are not single-use)
    • Piping bags - to pipe your macarons onto a baking tray, and then also to pipe your fillings. 

    Storage

    Store the macarons in an airtight container in the fridge and consume within 2-3 days.

    Macaron shells freeze very well, use within one month. Do not freeze once filled.

    Top tip

    You can adjust the levels of cinnamon and ginger to suit you, add more ginger if you like that warm heat!

    Pumpkin cheesecake fall macarons on their sides showing their filling.

    Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake Macarons

    Rosanna Stevens
    Homemade macarons with a spiced pumpkin cheesecake filling, the perfect sweet treat with step by step instructions. One of my favourite fall macaron flavours!
    5 from 6 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 45 mins
    Cook Time 17 mins
    Filling time 15 mins
    Total Time 1 hr 17 mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine French, Italian
    Servings 40 macarons
    Calories 109 kcal

    Equipment

    • 1 Weighing scales
    • 1 Sieve Blender/food processor 
    • 1 Small saucepan 
    • 1 Jam or sugar thermometer 
    • 1 electric whisk or stand mixer
    • 2 Large bowls, preferably glass
    • 1 Metal or wooden mixing spoon 
    • 1 Silicon mixing spoon or spatula 
    • 3 Large baking sheets/trays 
    • 3 Silicon baking mat or baking parchment paper
    • 2 piping bags

    Ingredients
     
     

    Almond paste

    • 185 grams Powdered sugar (icing sugar or confectioners sugar)
    • 185 grams Ground almonds
    • 65 grams Egg whites
    • 1 teaspoon Powdered food colouring
    • 1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
    • 1 teaspoon Ground ginger

    Italian meringue

    • 185 grams Granulated sugar
    • 100 ml Water
    • 65 grams Egg whites

    Spiced pumpkin cheesecake filling

    • 200 grams Pumpkin puree
    • 250 grams Cream cheese
    • 200 grams Digestive biscuits Graham crackers/Belvita soft bakes in USA

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat the oven to 145 degrees Celsius / 295 Fahrenheit. 
    • Prepare and weigh out the ingredients, separating the egg whites from egg yolks if necessary. 

    Almond paste

    • Sieve the ground almonds and powdered sugar and then blend together until they are a very fine consistency and completely combined. 
    • Add the powdered food colouring, ground ginger and ground cinnamon and thoroughly combine.
    • Make the almond paste by mixing the egg white with the ground almond/powdered sugar mixture until it is fully incorporated.

    Italian meringue

    • Place the water and granulated sugar into a saucepan. Gently warm the water and stir to dissolve the sugar. Once it has dissolved, turn up the heat, stop stirring and place the sugar thermometer into the mixture. 
    • Once the thermometer starts to climb above 105 degrees Celsius/220 degrees Fahrenheit, whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks.
    • When the sugar syrup reaches a soft boil temperature of 115 degrees Celsius/240 degrees, start whisking the egg whites again and then pour in the sugar syrup a little at a time. 
    • The Italian meringue will turn a smooth, glossy and opaque white. Continue to whisk once all of the sugar syrup has been added to bring down the heat until you can touch the side of the bowl and it feels warm but not hot. 

    Macaronage

    • Firmly mix one third of the Italian meringue into the almond paste with a metal or wooden spoon and fully combine the two mixtures. 
    • Fold in the remaining two thirds one at a time using the softer spoon or spatula, being very gentle with the final third to not overmix the batter and make it too slack. 

    Piping macarons

    • Move the macaron batter to a piping bag. Tie a knot in the end and relax the mixture slightly in the bag with your hands for a few seconds. Cut half a centimetre from the tip of the piping bag. 
    • Position the piping bag perpendicular to the tray with the nozzle a few millimetres above the surface. Squeeze the bag without lifting it up for two or three seconds, then stop squeezing and make a little circle to twist it off. Fill the trays leaving a 2cm gap in between each macaron. 
    • Firmly smack it down onto the work surface twice to settle the Italian macaron batter and get rid of any air bubbles. 
    • Bake the macarons for 17 minutes, then remove them from the oven and allow the macarons to cool on the tray. This is a no-rest macaron recipe, but if you cannot fit all of your macarons in the oven at once, it won't harm the remaining macarons to be out on the worktop for 17 minutes. 

    Spiced pumpkin cheesecake filling

    • Using a pestle and mortar or food processor, grind the biscuits/cookies to a fine crumb.
    • Mix the pumpkin puree into the cream cheese and stir through the biscuits.
    • Spoon the cheesecake filling into a piping bag. Pipe the filling onto a macaron shell, and sandwich another on top.

    Video

    Nutrition

    Calories: 109kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 2gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 51mgPotassium: 33mgFiber: 1gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 862IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 22mgIron: 0.5mg
    Keyword fall macarons, Italian macarons, Italian meringue, macaron recipe, spiced pumpkin cheesecake macarons
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    Food safety

    • Take care when boiling sugar and do not leave it unattended.
    • Wash hands, utensils and surfaces after handling raw egg.

    More Desserts

    • A bowl of chocolate truffle profiteroles.
      Classic Profiteroles With Chocolate Truffle Filling
    • Pistachio, white chocolate and macadamia nut cookies.
      Pistachio, White Chocolate & Macadamia Nut Cookies
    • Snowman macarons.
      Snowman Macarons With Cinnamon Buttercream Filling
    • Sweet shortcrust pastry cookies
      Sweet Shortcrust Pastry Cookies With Cinnamon & Orange

    Share this post

    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Laura says

      October 05, 2022 at 8:54 pm

      5 stars
      I can’t get over how much these tasted like cheesecake! Loved the ginger and cinnamon in them too, so autumnal.

      Reply
    2. MacKenzie says

      October 07, 2022 at 4:10 am

      5 stars
      These are beautiful! I was so happy to come across this recipe. I plan on making them tomorrow.

      Reply
    3. Kim says

      October 07, 2022 at 3:49 pm

      5 stars
      OMG these were so delicious! I made them with friends and we are planning to make them again since they were so good.

      Reply
    4. Gen says

      October 07, 2022 at 11:00 pm

      5 stars
      These are just gorgeous and much more elegant than serving a slice of cheesecake to guests. I will definitely be making these all month!

      Reply
    5. Jere Cassidy says

      October 08, 2022 at 6:33 pm

      5 stars
      I used to make macaroons all the time, so I was glad to find this recipe which was easy to make and totally loved these filling.

      Reply
    6. Claire says

      October 10, 2022 at 1:04 am

      5 stars
      These were such a hit with my mums group!!!
      I was a bit scared starting out making them, but the instructions were so clear and they turned out great...not quite as pretty and perfect as yours, but for a first attempt I was super impressed with myself.
      Thank you for making a harder recipe seem easy.
      Will be making these again for sure!

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Rosanna Stevens opening a bottle of champagne.

    Rosanna Stevens opening a bottle of champagne.

    I'm Rosanna, a trained chef, published writer and food and style fanatic. I believe in using food and drink to make every day an event with fresh and seasonal produce, wine pairings and a perfectly styled plate.

    I write for publications in the UK, USA and Central America on food, travel and the destinations I love and have also created several recipe ebooks and Stop The Scroll, a beginner's guide to food styling and photography. Thanks for being here!

    Learn more about me →

    Trending posts

    • Asparagus mousse amuse bouche.
      Asparagus Mousse Amuse Bouche
    • chocolate meringue nests filled with mini eggs candy
      Mini Chocolate Meringue Nests
    • Easy Salmon En Croute With Dill Cream Sauce
    • Caramelised Balsamic Shallots

    As seen in

    as seen in the media

    Spring recipes

    • Asparagus And Prosciutto Quiche
    • Rainbow Carrots cooked en papillote with star anise, in a serving bowl.
      Honey Glazed Rainbow Carrots En Papillote
    • Easy asparagus tart on a wooden serving board.
      Asparagus Cheese Tart With Puff Pastry
    • Juicy Lamb Rump Roast With Rosemary Butter

    Download your free guide to what's in season

      We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at anytime.
      Built with ConvertKit

      Check out my ebook

      Front cover of Stop the Scroll

      Soup season

      • cheesy beer soup
        Cheesy Beer Soup With Cheddar And Crispy Bacon
      • Butternut autumn squash soup with crispy sage
        Autumn Squash Soup With Crispy Sage
      • Smoked Sausage Soup With Cabbage And Sauerkraut
      • smoked haddock recipes
        Smoked Haddock And Sweet Corn Soup With Crispy Bacon
      • Recipes
      • Travel
      • About
      • Writing portfolio and press

      Footer

      ↑ back to top

      About

      • About me

      Newsletter

      • Sign up

      Contact

      • Contact

      View privacy policy

      This site uses affiliate links

      Copyright © 2022 Rosanna ETC

      Manage Cookie Consent
      To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
      Functional Always active
      The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
      Preferences
      The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
      Statistics
      The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
      Marketing
      The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
      Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
      View preferences
      {title} {title} {title}
      Manage Cookie Consent
      To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
      Functional Always active
      The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
      Preferences
      The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
      Statistics
      The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
      Marketing
      The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
      Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
      View preferences
      {title} {title} {title}