Chocolate Macarons

🥘 Ingredients

Chocolate Macaron Shells

• Almond Flour - You can't make macarons without almond flour. I recommend Bob's Red Mill, but you can use your preferred brand.
• Powdered Sugar - Also known as confectioners sugar.
• Cocoa Powder - You'll use some unsweetened cocoa powder to make these shells chocolate.
• Egg Whites - Egg whites are the base of your meringue. Let them sit out for a few hours to warm to room temperature.
• Vanilla - Use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.
• Cream of Tartar - A small amount of cream of tartar helps to stabilize the meringue.
• Sugar - Plain, white granulated sugar is used in the meringue.

Chocolate Ganache

• Heavy Cream - Heavy cream or heavy whipping cream is combined with chocolate to make some ganache.
• Milk Chocolate Chips - You can also use dark or semi-sweet.
• Vanilla - Some vanilla extract for added flavor.
• Salt - A pinch of salt will help to balance everything out and prevent your ganache from being overly sweet.

Topping

• Chocolate Chips - If you like, add a drizzle of more melted chocolate for decoration.

🔪 How To Make Chocolate Macarons

Macarons are known for being tricky, but you can learn to master them if you follow every step exactly. You will need a stand mixer, some piping bags or storage bags, a couple of baking sheets, some mixing bowls, a kitchen scale, and a silicone spatula.

This recipe will make 52 macaron shells or 26 fully assembled macarons. Of course, this amount may vary depending on how large or small you pipe the shells.

Prepare the Ganache

Add the ingredients. In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, add all of your ganache ingredients (3 ounces (85 milliliters) of heavy cream, 3.75 ounces (106 grams) of milk chocolate chips, ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 1 pinch of salt).

Heat. Heat in the microwave for 1 minute.

Rest. Remove from the microwave and let it sit undisturbed for 5 minutes.

Stir. Use a spoon to stir the mixture until melted and combined. If not completely melted, you can heat it for another 15 seconds.

Chill. Place the ganache into the fridge to set up while you make the macarons.

Make the Macarons

Prepare your work area. Prepare your baking sheet with a silicone macaron mat or parchment paper.

Add. In the bowl of your food processor, add 150 grams of almond flour, 140 grams of confectioners sugar, and 10 grams of unsweetened cocoa powder.

Pulse until smooth. Blend with the food processor on low speed until the mixture has become extra-fine. Then, use a fine-mesh sieve to sift the mixture into a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

Begin making the meringue. Add the 110 grams of egg whites to the bowl of your stand mixer and beat, using the whisk attachment, on medium speed until foamy.

Add. Add ½ teaspoon vanilla extract and ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar and continue to beat until soft peaks form.

Gradually add sugar. Once you have soft peaks (where you can see lines in the meringue, but the peaks droop), begin to very gradually add 95 grams of sugar.

Mix until stiff peaks. Continue to beat on medium speed until stiff peaks form.

Begin folding. Add ⅓ of your dry mixture into the bowl with the meringue. Then, using a silicone spatula, gently fold until fully incorporated.

Repeat. Repeat this process for the second and third portions of the dry ingredients.

Finish the macaronage. After the last bit of the flour mixture has been added, continue to gently and slowly fold the macaron batter until the batter falls from the spatula in ribbons. *The consistency should be similar to honey or lava. If you let the batter fall from your spatula, it should only take about 10 seconds to sink back into itself.

Pipe the Macarons

Place batter into a piping bag. Once you have reached the perfect consistency, transfer the batter into a piping bag that has been fitted with a round tip (or a storage bag with the corner cut off).

Pipe. Pipe the macarons onto your parchment paper (or mat) in 1½-inch circles, making sure to space them at least ½-inch apart from each other.

Remove air bubbles. Firmly tap the baking sheet on the counter 5 times to get rid of any air bubbles. Then, use a toothpick to pop any remaining bubbles that you might see.

Rest. Allow the macarons to rest on the counter at room temperature for 30-60 minutes or until they are dry to the touch and no longer tacky.

Preheat. While the macarons are resting, go ahead and preheat your oven to 300˚F (150˚C/Gas Mark 2).

Bake. Once ready, bake the macarons for 15-17 minutes, or until the macarons don’t move if you tap on them slightly.

Cool. Remove the macarons from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Assemble

Pair the shells. Match up your macaron shells so that each pair is close to the same size.

Drizzle with chocolate. If desired, you can melt ¼ cup of chocolate chips in 20-second increments in the microwave, stirring well in between each one. Then, you can drizzle the chocolate over the top macaron shell.

Prepare the ganache. Scoop the ganache into a piping bag with a round tip (or a storage bag with the corner cut off).

Assemble. Take one cooled macaron shell and pipe some frosting into the center. Place a second macaron shell on top (the one drizzled with chocolate if using) and gently press them together, forming a sandwich.

Repeat. Repeat this process with your remaining macaron shells and chocolate ganache.

Chill. For best results, place the macarons into an airtight container in the fridge for 24 hours. Then, allow them to come up to room temperature and serve.

💭 Tips & Notes

• Mix until stiff peaks. Your meringue should have stiff peaks before you stop mixing. When you remove the whisk, the meringue should stick up in a peak. You could also flip the bowl over, and nothing falls out.
• Use a template. If you plan on making macarons frequently, I recommend picking up some silicone macaron baking mats or parchment paper with a template printed on them. If you don't have one, you can print a template out online.
• Weigh your ingredients. Weighing all of your ingredients is the best way to ensure that you have the most accurate measurements possible.
• Always sift the dry ingredients. This is what helps to achieve the perfect texture.
• Don't overmix the batter. Make sure you don't overmix your batter, as it will cause your macarons to flatten out. It should be thin enough to let the batter fall from your spatula in a figure 8 movement without the batter breaking. It should also sink back into itself within about 10 seconds. If it is faster than this, you have overmixed it. If it is slower than this, keep folding to thin it out some more.
• Don't skip the resting time. Let your macarons rest for 30-60 minutes before putting them in the oven. This allows them to form the feet and is a crucial part of the process.
• Pop any air bubbles. Air bubbles will cause your macarons to crack. After piping them, firmly bang the baking sheet onto the counter to pop the air bubbles. Then, use a toothpick to pop any that you can still see. 
• Let the ganache chill. If your ganache is still thin, it probably needs to chill in the fridge for longer. It should have a consistency similar to peanut butter when it is ready to pipe.

🥡 Storing

Place shells into an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 6 days. Simply add your filling when you are ready.

If assembled, place your macarons into the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Freezing

You can make the shells ahead of time and freeze them. Once the shells have fully cooled, place them into an airtight container and freeze them.

When ready, allow them to thaw in the fridge for a few hours before filling and assembling them.

Assembled macarons can also be frozen. Allow your macarons to fully bloom in the fridge for 24 hours before freezing them.

Stack them carefully in an airtight container and place them in the freezer. When ready, allow the macarons to thaw in the fridge for a few hours.

📖 Recipe Card