Chocolate Macarons Recipe & Video

I've found that once you start making French Macarons you become addicted to them. They have so much going for them. They look gorgeous, they taste divine, and you get a real sense of accomplishment from making them. The basic Macaron starts with two almond flavored meringue cookies that have a thin outer crust that breaks easily when you bite into it, yet inside they're wonderfully soft and moist. For a Chocolate Macaron you simply add a little unsweetened cocoa powder to the batter. And to make them even more chocolately we are going to sandwich the two cookies together with a delicious chocolate ganache.

These Chocolate Macarons are a little tricky to perfect as there are so many factors at play - the quality and amounts of ingredients, the mixing of the batter, the pans, the length of resting time, the oven temperature, and the baking time. Some common problems are that the Macaron doesn't have a 'ruffle' or 'collar' (called a 'foot') on the bottom, or that the 'foot' is more horizontal than vertical. Or maybe the tops of the cookies have cracks or are too domed shaped, or uneven, or even lumpy. Sometimes the cookies can be lopsided or the insides of the cookes are too chewy or dry. Unfortunately making Macarons does take a little practice, and I recommend taking notes so you can keep track of everything you do. That way if you have problems, you can refer to your notes and make adjustments. Because you will find that in your kitchen, with your ingredients, with your oven, you may have to adjust the recipe.

What I've learned from making Macarons is that you need to use top quality ingredients, and to get accurate amounts of each ingredient, measure by weight (grams), not volume. (This is why I don't give 'cup' measurements.) (I use a digital scale for measuring.) Next, the egg whites need to be 'aged', which means separate the eggs at least a day (and up to 5 days) before making the Macarons. Cover the egg whites with a piece of paper towel (to let the whites breath) and place in the refrigerator. Then, several hours before making the Macarons, remove the whites from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. (This ensures that the whites will reach their full volume when whipped.) Next, the ground almonds. You can either buy almond meal/flour (I use Bob's Red Mill finely ground almond meal/flour), or you can take whole blanched almonds and process them in your food processor until finely ground. The ground almonds need to be mixed with the confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar (use powdered sugar that contains cornstarch (corn flour) and the unsweetened cocoa powder (regular unsweetened or Dutch processed). You can mix them together with a wire whisk or in your food processor. Once that is done, sift the mixture to get rid of any large pieces of almonds.

In closing, even though making Macarons is quite challenging, I would encourage you to try. For more help there is an excellent food blog that I highly recommend, called notsohumblepie.com. Ms. Humble (as she is called) has done extensive research on the subject of making Macarons. She even has a "Macaron Troubleshooting" article that outlines the various problems (and reasons why) that can occur when making Macarons. I found it very helpful.