French Macaron Bath Bombs

French Macarons have been all the rage lately.  And Mother’s Day is coming up.  So might I strongly suggest that you pamper your mom with a little box of Fleur de Sel French Macarons to eat while she enjoys these little fizzing bath bombs in a nice, relaxing bubble bath?

Why yes.  She really does deserve it.  And throw in some jewelry while you’re at it.  And maybe a Ferrari.  Or a small island, complete with waterslide.  Yes.  She still deserves it.

What are we waiting for?  Let’s do this!

French Macaron Bath Bombs

Ingredients:

1 cup baking soda

1/2 cup Epsom salts

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup citric acid (I found the cheapest place to get this was on Amazon here.  I chose to get the 5 lb. bag because 1 lb. was $10, and for only $5 more I got 5x the citric acid, so I went the bulk route.  But there are smaller containers if you want a smaller amount.)

3 tbsp. baby oil (I used plain baby oil and scented it with 5-10 drops of scented oil– I found that a great mix of quality and affordability for soap scents was P&J Trading here.  They have a huge variety of scents at an affordable price, as well as excellent customer service.  You can mix and match scents to create your own flavor combos, too, which is super fun!)

A few squirts of water from a spray bottle (if you add too much water it ruins the bath bombs, so applying the water with a spray bottle helps you to add water in tiny amounts.  I use about 8-9 “sprays” per recipe)

Gloves (optional) and bath bomb molds (I used the macaron soap mold here)

Macaron “filling” ingredients

1/4 cup cocamidopropyl betaine

1 cup baking soda

Directions:

Combine baking soda, Epsom salts, cornstarch, and citric acid until well combined.  Add in baby oil, scent (if using), and gel food coloring, if desired, and use your hands (using gloves keeps your hands from getting a gritty feeling) to mix the dry ingredients together. Using a spray bottle, add a few squirts (I use about 8 “sprays” per recipe) until your mixture holds together without falling apart when you squeeze some of the mixture in your hand.  You want to add as LITTLE WATER AS POSSIBLE to get the mixture to stay together, or the bath bombs will not hold their shape while drying (too much water makes them flatten out instead of holding the round shape).

Once your mixture is sticking together fill the macaron mold with granules and pack tightly.  Dust off the superfluous bath bomb mixture and place a small cookie sheet overtop of the molds before carefully flipping the molds over, with the cookie sheet still underneath.  Gently tap the top of the mold with your hand and slowly peel the mold away from the bath bombs.  If you are gentle the macaron bath bombs should not break or crack.  Place the finished bath bomb onto a soft towel covered with a piece of wax paper, to keep the macaron from denting while it dries.  Allow bath bombs to rest without touching each other for 24 hours until completely dry.  When the macaron “shells” are dry, mix together cocamidopropyl betaine and baking soda until the mixture forms a paste about the consistency of mashed potatoes.  Use a piping bag to fill each shell with bubble “cream” and gently place a second dried bath bomb shell on top.  Allow to dry fully before packaging.  Bath bombs will keep in an airtight container for several months.

This is a lot of steps, but it’s not hard!  Let’s take a look at the process in pictures 🙂

The first time I ever did a tutorial on bath bombs, it became one of the most popular posts on my little ‘ole blog.  It turns out that people love bath bombs– they make them for wedding favors, teacher appreciation gifts, and just because they want a fun, easy project to do with the kiddos on a summer day.  Sometimes, just between you and me, I think they make them JUST to treat themselves to a relaxing bubble bath.  And what’s wrong with that????  Well regular bath bombs are  very cute.  BUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTT I love me some French Macarons, and I couldn’t wait to see if I could make a bath bomb kind.  🙂  This is cuteness like, level 1 million here, folks.  See?  You appreciate this. I knew you would.

This recipe is so easy that even kiddos can help make these.  It makes a great project for a hot summer day because you can hose everything down afterward and watch it sizzle.  Kids of any age would love that!  (PS my kids and I once made a basketball sized bath bomb.  It pretty much exploded in the tub and made a fizzy, pretty scented volcano of purple foam.  Bad idea. Don’t be like me.  hehe 😉

Start out by mixing your baking soda, Epsom salts, cornstarch, and citric acid together in a big bowl.  I strongly suggest using gloves because if you don’t use them (ahem.  I wouldn’t know this from personal experience . . . *awkward chuckle*) then your hands will feel like you rubbed them in chalk dust.  Shiver.  Wear gloves when you mix the dry ingredients. Trust me.  Your hands will thank you.

Once you get the dry ingredients mixed you can add in the color (I used sky blue gel coloring) and scent, if you are using it.  I used cupcake scent for these babies, since it seemed kind of sugary and sweet like a cookie.  I add about 1/4 tsp. gel coloring for 1 bath bomb recipe.  I usually use 5-10 drops of scent, depending on how strong I want the perfume to be.

Use your (gloved!) fingers to mix the color and scent into the dry ingredients.  The best way that I’ve found to mix these ingredients is to grab a few handfuls of the mixture and rub them together like you are warming your hands.  Mmmm.  Does anyone else want hot cocoa?  🙂

After you mix in your scent and color, it’s time to do the trickiest part– adding the water.  The reason this part can be tricky is that water activates the “foaming” part of the bath bomb.  So you want to add the smallest amount possible so that your mixture sticks together without foaming out of control.  I usually add about 8 “squirts” from a spray bottle.  The mixture will immediately start to foam and you will think “Oh NOOOOOOOOOO I ruined them!”  But don’t worry.  Do the “rubbing my hands to keep them warm” move again, and soon the mixture will just be slightly damp and not wet enough to foam.

You want to add *just* enough water that when you squeeze a handful of bath bomb mixture it holds its shape.  If you add too much water, then your bath bombs will get misshapen as they dry.  If you add too little, then they will crumble when they dry.  It’s a fine line that you will learn the more bath bombs you make– how much is just enough water.  Much like their real life macaron counterparts, macaron bath bombs can be on the tricky side to make.  But don’t worry.  You’ve got this. I believe in you. 😉

When your mixture is just wet enough to hold its shape (no more!), then it’s time for the fun part– creating your macarons! 🙂  I used a silicone macaron soap mold.  I found that it helped to have something sturdy underneath the mold while I packed the bath bomb crumbs into the shapes.  If you don’t have a sturdy surface then the mold moves around and the bath bombs crack.  When you have packed as much mixture into the molds as you can, use your fingers to brush away the extra mixture so that basically all that remains is the round shapes.

Now this part took some practice (and I messed up a lot of bath bombs doing it).  The great thing is that you can always “remold” your mixture if you mess up– kind of like building a sandcastle.  If your sandcastle cracks you can fill up the bucket and mold it again.  So don’t stress if you get a few cracked macaron bath bombs.  Just put the crumbs back into your bowl and try again.

Put a small cookie sheet gently overtop of the molds once you have them filled.

Flip the whole ‘shebang over, so that now your mold is upside down, full of gorgeous little macaron beauties, just waiting to be carefully released from their mold.

Right here use your fingers to gently tap on the mold, where each BB is resting.  This just helps to loosen them a little bit so that hopefully . . .

. . . when you gently peel back the mold there are gorgeous little macaron bath bombs waiting for you!  Again, if you crack them don’t stress.  If the mixture is super crumbly I would pour it back into the bowl and add another squirt of water.  You don’t want it to be so moist that the bath bombs get misshapen when they dry, but if you don’t have enough water then no matter how carefully you take the molds off, your bombs will crumble.  The more bath bombs you make, the more you will get to know the feel of the mixture when it has just enough moisture in it.  Start with 8 squirts.  You can always add more water, but you can’t take it out once you’ve added it.

The first few macaron bombs I made I tried to pick up and move to my resting place (a cookie sheet covered with a towel, covered with wax paper).  But they crumbled more easily that way. I had the best luck pretending my shells needed a handicapped entrance– moving my cookie sheet right down to almost level with the resting spot, and ever so gently sliding each shell off onto the waxed paper.  When these dry they become much more stable, but during this vulnerable drying period they are super fragile so treat them with a little TLC. 😉  Give the cute little shellies a day at the spa. Ahhhhh . . . just not a bath. Not yet. 😉

You may see a few imperfections– but let the shells dry before you try to mess with these too much.  When they are dry it’s easy to flick off a few flecks of extra bath bomb mixture, but if you try to do it now you’re going to squish the whole thing.  So just let them dry– overnight should be enough time.  And yes, if you have an odd number of shells you can “foam” the extra one with the kiddos at bath time. You can also fizz the leftover crumbs that weren’t enough to make a full shell.  And then you become Mommy, the bathtime wizard who suddenly has kids who WANT to take a bath.  You’re welcome.

After your bath bomb shells are dry, it’s time for the best part– assembling our bath bomb macarons!  For this part you will need bubble bath ingredient cocamidopropyl betaine— which I found on amazon.  Mix roughly 1 part of this bubble bath stuff to 4 parts baking soda.

I used 1/4 cup CB and 1 cup baking soda.

Mix the baking soda and bubbling solution with a spoon– if your mixture is too dry you may have to add a little more CB.  Don’t overdo it– just mix until you get a mixture that is roughly the consistency of mashed potatoes.  It doesn’t need to be any more wet than that.

It’s easiest to “pipe” your bubble bath filling onto your bath bomb macaron shells, but if you use a piping bag make sure you use a separate piping bag and piping tip from the ones you use for food products.  I have a separate set of piping materials that I use only for crafts.  Keep the food ones separate for food, only.  If you don’t have a piping set then just use a spoon.  It will be cute either way. 🙂

Pipe a little blob of bubble solution into the center of a shell and place another “shell” carefully on top.  Again, allow the bath bombs to dry overnight before handling them too much.  If you try to move them before they dry the shells won’t stick to the bubble solution and you will have a very pretty lady who exposes her little white petticoats and loses her shells. And let’s face it.  No one wants to lose her shells.

And then, my friends . . . take a look at these ADORABLE little bath bombs you just made out of like, thin air.  Talk about bath time goddess.  YOU, my friend.  Bathtime goddess.  Say that while you look at yourself in the mirror and think positive self esteem thoughts.  GODDESS.  Goddessssssssssssss!!!!!

Yes. You are.

I used my gift box punch board to make little individual “gift boxes” for these cuties.  They looked just like a single, perfect French macaron, packaged up adorably, ready to make someone’s day with some cutesy little ribbon.  And they did.  🙂

You can even take a real macaron packaging box and place these little beauties inside– maybe even wrapped in a lace paper doily.  Talk about ADORABLE.  Oh my goodness these things are just so adorable I want to reach out and pinch their little bubbly bath bomb cheeks.

Give them away.  Gift them to all your friends and family with wild abandon!  Fizz and foam and have fun!

But don’t forget to save a few for yourself . . . a few stolen beauties, stashed away, so that you can luxuriate in a nice, sudsy bubble bath that smells like cupcakes while you nibble dark chocolate and listen to Sinatra.  Maybe you should light a few candles too.  Hey– it may not be a private island with its own waterslide, but it’s pretty darned awesome.

You did it.  And I’m just so proud of you. 🙂

 

 

 

 

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