Earlier in the year (before TMX) I discovered the wonders of baking macarons - I tried both French and Italian methods. When we discovered that my DD had tree nut allergies a few months back, I realised that these wonderful morsels of sweetness would no longer be made in our kitchen.
Until yesterday
I started experimenting yesterday with replacements for the almond meal. I used the recipe on the forum from Trissalicious
http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?topic=4050.0For the 125g almond meal I used 100g Quinoa flakes and 25g Coconut. I ground these up first then added them to the icing sugar to further grind them together.
The results are amazing - DH thinks they are great. And best of all, DD can eat them!!
So for any one with nut allergies, definitely give these a go. You could change the ratio of quinoa/coconut. Another nut free recipe I found used coconut and black sesame seeds 50/50 ratio.
PS - I used raw sugar for these macarons, hence the more golden brown colour. Still trying to find a source for 'natural' food colours to colour my baking.