Chocolate Macarons and a Tropical Storm

This is what happens in my family when we are stuck indoors for hours on end due to bad weather. We eat, cook, bake and eat some more… and we particularly like to eat chocolate. Call it emotional eating, but we cannot help ourselves.

Last Monday, we were hit by tropical storm Fay and although we didn’t get significant damage in our area, some communities north of us were impacted pretty badly. It rained heavily, we had five tornado warnings in a row and the wind blew strong for a few hours. Luckily, we did not lose power so we were able to enjoy a cozy afternoon with movies and lots and lots of baking.


After all the ice creams and custards I had made prior to the storm, I had an enormous bowl of egg whites in my refrigerator that needed to be used. I always find that macarons are the best way to use up all the egg whites because everyone I know loves them and nothing will ever go to waste.

This time I had to fulfill my neighbors’ request for chocolate macarons with salty peanut butter cream, but I also saved some for me to fill with milk chocolate and passion fruit ganache. One for you, one for me.

I really wanted to call this post “Anatomy of a Macaron” because I wanted photograph close ups of what the macaron feet should look like, the bottom of the macaron, the before and after… This week a reader that emailed me about macaron was able to successfully replicate them in her own kitchen, which definitely makes my day. It’s hard to explain all the little details in an email but she mastered it.

Chocolate Macarons

100 grams egg whites
25 grams sugar
1/2 tsp lemon juice
225 grams powdered sugar
125 grams almond flour
15 grams cocoa powder
pinch of salt
Cocoa nib for topping

Separate the egg whites at least 24 hours prior and even let them sit at room temperature for a few hours before starting to make the macarons. This will help them get rid of some moisture and become more acidic, which will help form a stable meringue.

Whip the egg whites and the lemon juice until they are almost fully whipped. Sprinkle in the sugar while still mixing. Continue to whip to a full meringue.

Sift the powdered sugar, salt, almond flour and cocoa powder into a bowl. Add the meringue into the dry ingredients and fold until a shiny mass is formed. We want it to spread a bit but not too much.

Pipe the macarons onto a silicon mat and sprinkle with cocoa nibs. Let the macarons dry at room temperature for 20 minutes or so. Bake them in a 300F for about 8 minutes. Rotate the sheetpan and bake for another 8 minutes.

Salty Peanut Butter Filling

125 grams creamy peanut butter
70 grams powdered sugar
25 grams softened butter
25 grams heavy cream
5 grams vanilla extract
3 grams fine sea salt

Cream all ingredients together for a smooth filling.

Milk Chocolate and Passion Fruit Ganache

100 grams milk chocolate
40 grams passion fruit puree
20 grams heavy cream
15 grams butter

Chop the milk chocolate into small pieces. Boil the passion fruit and heavy cream together and pour over chocolate. Stir until incorporated and the ganache forms. Wait a couple of minutes for the ganache to cool a bit and add the softened butter. Stir to create and emulsion. Let it harden a bit until it is pipeable and fill the macarons.


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97 Responses to “Chocolate Macarons and a Tropical Storm”

  1. mimi says:

    these look so delish, i could eat every one! i always forget about macarons when faced with a bowl of egg whites, i’m going to have to tape this to the fridge so i don’t forget next time!

  2. Y says:

    Didn’t hear about the storm. I’m glad you and your family weren’t badly affected. Love that picture with the little finger pointing at the macaron, almost as if to steal one!

  3. morgana says:

    Aran, ¡¡estos macarons son PERFECTOS!! A mí me parecen tan difíciles de hacer que no sé si me atreveré con ellos algún día.

  4. Tartelette says:

    I was wondering where these had gone….almost in J’s mouth!! They look mighty good with both fillings!

  5. Peabody says:

    Yum, salty peanut butter sounds good!

  6. Bea says:

    Superbes macarons ! Dommage, je suis trop loin… quoique, pour les tornades on se sent mieux chez nous…

  7. Tanya says:

    Beautiful as always and still jealous of your amazing talent. Chocolate and peanut butter is such a great combination!

  8. Trop bons ces macarons Mogador, pour moi les meilleurs. Il est temps que j’en fasse à nouveau. Étrange, ce besoin de cuisiner pendant la tempête, je connais aussi.Comme toujours tes photos sont très belles.

  9. Victoria says:

    Would you mind discussing the passion fruit puree a little? Is it an ingredient or a preparation?

  10. Me encanta cuando haces macarrons Aran! Siempre te quedan perfectos! Me ha gustado muchísimo la receta de relleno de mantequilla de cacahuete. No se si en macarrons, pero la usare en algo! Un besito y me alegra que Fay no te haya perturbado mucho.

  11. Aran says:

    Thank you everyone!

    Victoria- passion fruit puree is an ingredient. I get it frozen from an specialty food store but you could probably use passion fruit nectar or something similar. It adds a touch of acidity and balance to the recipe.

  12. those look so scrumptious! i’m not much of a baker myself and macarons are hard to get by in the Philippines so i’m looking forward to try some at Ladurée soon. is it true that when it comes to macarons that’s the place to go to in Paris?

  13. Christy says:

    What a great way to spend time indoors during a thunderstorm!! I reckon that’s what i’ll do too, if I’m stuck in the house for the whole day—bake,eat,bake,eat,bake,eat. I’m glad the storm did not hit you guys hard!

  14. Aran says:

    Cosmopolicious- yes, Laduree macarons are very famous. they have been around since 1862!!

  15. nadia says:

    Absolutely Georgeous! so this is where we find heaven!

  16. C.L. says:

    That’s IT! I now have to make something with egg yolks so I can make these tomorrow! No questions asked! YUM!!! Thanks for giving me the courage to try again Aran!

    Carrie

  17. they look so perfect, so yummy so delicious, gosh you did so well, well done! the fillings sounds so rich abd too beautiful to eat them!

  18. veron says:

    oooh…what an inspiration Aran! I have a lot of requests for peanut butter filling for my macarons. This sounds delicious! And we know how lovely passion fruit -milk chocolate tastes like :).

  19. linda says:

    How delicious! I’ll take the milk chocolate and passion fruit filled one please :)
    Good thing the electricity stayed on during the storm ;)

  20. Sonya says:

    Décadent !!…wow bravo

  21. Bea says:

    They look lovely Aran. I will have to try my hand at them again when I return. With chocolate, I could really be a fan ;-) Ah yes, did I say before that macarons have never been my fav sweet treat? That said, yours are just too pretty to resist.

  22. Bridget says:

    Thanks for posting the “anatomy” macaron pictures…I’ve never made them before and I know those will help when I do. They look delicious!

  23. Rachel says:

    I can’t stop ogling at those pictures. So lovely. And I think I’m going to get up the courage to try my hand at them. I’m equally infatuated with and intimidated by macarons, but you just might have encouraged me enough to get into the kitchen!

  24. Jill says:

    Peanut butter and chocolate are two flavors that are only better together. This reminds me of baskin robbins peanut butter and chocolate ice cream…yum!!

  25. everyone makes such beautiful macarons, when i lived in paris they were everywhere i just figured, ohi bet they are montrously hard to make. I think though, it is time i try to make them! i will i will.

    my housemate it named Fay, she is kind of a tropical storm too…heheh.

  26. PheMom says:

    Yay! I have been waiting to see these! They look even more fantastic than I dreamed. I am going to have to finally get around to making these soon!

  27. Sil BsAs says:

    Tarde o temprano tendre que animarme a probar! son años y cientos de posts que leo lo fantasticos que son y tus fotos son por cierto invitantes… mi duda es si la “harina de almendras” la puedo fabricar en casa tostando, pelando y procesando las almendras, sera bueno el resultado final?

  28. Irene says:

    Thank you for photographing the close-ups! I’m just conquering my fear of The Meringue, so I wanted to try making some macarons. What is your favorite macaron recipe? What about you favorite filling? Thank you again!

  29. Cakespy says:

    I’d love to be stuck in your house during a storm, Aran! These look delightful–light but decadent all at once. Yum….

  30. amy says:

    maybe this is the wrong thing to say… but you make me hope for more storms – so you can bake away and we can enjoy from a far the fruits of your labor!
    macaroons are on now at the TOP of my to do list!

  31. That salty peanut butter filling is calling my name!!! My parents are actually in Florida right now too and just missed the worst of the storms I think…lucky them they are going to Disney world with my little brother!

  32. bbaking says:

    I particularly like to eat chocolate too! Why not come live with me, I live in Belgium if it helps……belgian chocolate!!!

    These look gorgeous! I’m guessing those little fingers got that maceroon!

  33. Anonymous says:

    Aran, they look great! just a little question this recipe is not the same than your previous one what is the difference are they more crunchy or smooth and what is the difference between adding the lemon instead of dry egg whites thanks
    Anis.

  34. Aran says:

    thanks so much everyone. i really appreciate every single comment. you guys make my day.

    anis- the lemon juice is there for acidity to help the whites whip well. if baked properly, this is a fudgy macaron. it still has a thin crunchy exterior but i love how moist the interior is. i have another chocolate macaron recipe that uses an italian meringue but i don’t like it as much as this one.

  35. Elra says:

    Sorry to hear about the bad weather, I’m glad that you didn’t have tornados, despite of 5 warning. Macarons is always a great treat and yours as always look scrumptious!

  36. Mrs.French says:

    my B just discovered the macaron this weekend…it has replaced the cupcake. That is huge around here….why oh why can’t you live next door?

  37. Mrs.French says:

    oh and for goodness sake stay safe….

  38. Anonymous says:

    thanks a lot Aran for your sweet answer in fact in fact now i have no problem mastering the macaron making process for both french meringue or italian meringue but in fact i am looking for a macaron shell much more like a biscuit comme on dit en francais like those of Laduree that is why i am spotting any little detail because i find the homemade macarons too much chewy and not crunchy enough qu en penses tu ? ce qui m intrigue c est que le resultat est plus proche de ce que je recherche avec la meringue francaise mais Philippe Andrieu dit que les macarons Laduree sont a la meringue italienne quel dilemne! sorry for this long message and thanks you very much for this blog i just love it so much keep on going Aran!
    Anis.

  39. Eileen says:

    I love to be indoors baking during a snowstorm. I suppose it’s a little like you being indoors during Fay. I have always wanted to make macarons, but have been a bit intimidated by them. Will have to try this winter, during a snow. You combination of ingredients sounds wonderful.

  40. Adi says:

    I tried making these lovelies, but once the feet started going the shell started cracking. What did I do wrong? I also makde your Levender and orenge macs and they were PERFECT.

    Thanks for this beautiful blog.

  41. Suzie says:

    thanks very much for sharing! I need to overcome making a macaroon with feets… it always failed on me!!

  42. corine says:

    Your family is going to want more storms!

  43. Allie says:

    Can’t wait to try the pb cream! Can you tell us how many cookies the recipe makes? Also, how many grams, roughly, is one egg white? Thanks!

  44. Aran says:

    Hi Adi- usually when the shell starts to crack, it means the macaron were not left out to dry long enough. Once you pipe them, you should let them sit at room temperature anywhere between 20 to 45 minutes, depending on your environment. Did you do that? The test is to touch the tops and feel a little hard crust on top. Not too dry but should never stick to your fingers. Hope that helps!

    Allie- This recipe makes about 2 dozen macarons, about 2 inch in diameter. And an egg white is about 30 grams.

    Thank you everyone!

  45. 1/ I had to scroll a loooooooong way to leave this comment. Boy you’re really popular! (as you should be)
    2/ God, these look wonderful.

  46. cindy* says:

    i love sotrms. lovely macarons.

  47. Adi says:

    So baking in a humid climate may have caused them not to dry out even after an hour, right?

  48. Mobula says:

    Ya lllego, ya llego!!!! Que falto yo!!! _A ver si queda alguno para comermelo que seguro que no… Que esto de trabajar de noche me trastoca los horarios y no me deja disfrutar de ms blogs favoritos…

    Ya se que Fay no te tocó pero me alegro muchísimo de que todos esten bien.

    Y de los macarons, no voy a decir ná.

    Besos,

    Ana

  49. Aran says:

    Hi Adi- yes, humidity doesn’t let them dry out but an hour is a long time. They should have been dried by then.

    Another thing that it could have caused this is if you used egg whites that were freshly separated. I didn’t mention it in this post but I have on the other ones (I will make a note on this one too), that egg whites need to be separated at least 24 hours before. This allows them to age a bit, get a bit acidic and lose some moisture. It is even best to let them sit at room temperature about 6-8 hours before making the macarons.

    I hope this helps!

  50. Millie says:

    What a wonderful blog! I am sooo impressed!

  51. Sha says:

    This is what we can call : macarons PARFAITS !

  52. buericana says:

    These look amazing and not as intimidating as some recipes I’ve seen. May be time to try them!

  53. nicisme says:

    I’m glad you are all safe.
    Great macarons, as always!

  54. Lisa says:

    I love macarons that are still “fudgy” or moist inside. The ones from Paulette in Beverly Hills are great like that, though some fillings are better than others.

    I haven’t felt up to tackling macarons in a while. Maybe i’ll have to try again- i’m working my way through a tart book at the moment.

    Beautiful photos as always. I wish I could sample all these gorgeous things!

  55. Pero que buena pinta por favor!
    Un besazo

  56. ok, i know i always say this but: i am definitely going to try to make these (no flour–no substituting flour–yessss!) and your photos and recipe are ingenius and beautiful as always…

    i love the filling–something i might not find at laduree!

  57. Elizabeth says:

    I am also partial to making macaroons when I want to use up some egg whites (and creme brulee when using up egg yolks!). But I have to say, none have ever turned out nearly as pretty as this.

  58. Megan. says:

    these looks so wonderful!

  59. Allie says:

    Hi Aran – whenever I make macarons, I can still see the swirls from the piping motion in the cookie. How do you get yours to disappear? Maybe my batter is too thick? Thanks!

  60. Aran says:

    hi allie- that is because the macaron batter is under mixed. just give it another 2 or 3 strokes with your spatula and test again. we want it to flow so it doesn’t leave any ribbons on the top but don’t mix too much or they will be flat. hope it works!

  61. rachel says:

    So glad I stumbled upon your blog. It’s deliiiiicious!

  62. Zoe Francois says:

    Glad you are all okay after the storm, it seems to be a wild season for them.

    I absolutely love macarons and these have me needing to make some. I love that you bake with your kids. Mine have to be in the kitchen with me as well. One wants to help, the other just likes to lick the bowl.

  63. Cakebrain says:

    Your chocolate macarons are absolutely gorgeous! I’ll have to start making them again…I’ve fallen off the macaron wagon! I still haven’t perfected the chocolate flavour macaron for some reason so I’m going to give your recipe a try!

  64. idu says:

    Enee Aran!, Ez dakit nire ingelesarekin animatuko naizen, esaten duzuna, eta ulertzen dudanaz, zure errezeta dezifatzen…. zerbait ona aterako ote da?… Eskerrak, zure blogean sartu eta argazkiak ikuste utsaz gozatzen dudan…. Ea sukaldatzen animatzen naizen!

  65. Aran says:

    eskerrik askoidu! aproba egin gure badozu, emailez bialduko dizut itzulpena! animo!

  66. Bria says:

    I’ve been trying to perfect macarons forever! I haven’t had much luck with the Italian Meringue method (always get cracked tops). I’ve had some success with the french meringue method but the results are so unpredictable. I made some the other day from this recipe and they would have worked lovely but I piped them too close and they formed one giant macaron! I could tell from some though that it would have worked perfectly. Now I tried it again today and my batter was too thick- even with macaronning, it wasn’t thining out :( To try my luck I baked them but alas, crack tops! Macarons are so frustrating (but seemingly so simple!?!)

  67. Aran says:

    Bria- I’m osrry you had trouble with the macarons. From what you say, if they formed when giant macaron when you piped them, to me it says the batter was overmixed. You want them to spread a bit but not to the point where the start touching each other. As for cracking on the top, that usually means two things. One that the macarons were not left outside to dry long enough or two, that the egg whites were not aged sufficiently and the dry ingredients had moisture in them so the batter needed to be drier. In both cases, you have to wait until the piped macaron develop a thin dry crust on top before baking them otherwise the tops crack. When the egg whites haven’t been aged, the batter will have more moisture which might need more time to dry before baking.

    Does this make sense?

    I hope that helped you some.

    Thanks!

  68. Louise says:

    I love your site and your recipes. I want to try to make the macaroons but I am unfamiliar with using grams in baking. Do you have the recipe translated into a US equivalent (cups, tsps. etc)? That would be really helpful as I am having trouble trying to do the conversion.

  69. Olivia says:

    I just made these
    second time trying to make macarons
    they turned out sooo well
    the outsides are really delicate.. they break easily
    I spent a solid half hour beating the egg whites
    you need to.. my first time they diddn’t rise because the eggs were only beaten for.. 10 minutes or so
    i also only made half the cream and instead of all peanut butter I used half peanut butter and half nutella (empty cupboards make for yummy experiments)
    anyways, deff a five star recipe, easy and yummy..
    wish I had found that passion fruit puree..

  70. Syrn's says:

    your recipes look so tasty ! i wonder if it’s all right for me to link your blog? I’m definitely trying out the macarons over this weekend (:

  71. huihui, from singapore! says:

    hello! your macarons are an inspiration! i’ve decided to try it too. :)

  72. Pearlin says:

    hi! ur macarons are really beautiful…i tried making them…but couldnt get the feet…is there any tips to get the feet? and the top of my macaron was not smooth eventhough i left them outside for nearly 2 hrs..could u advise me on this? thank you sooo much…

  73. Aran says:

    Pearlin- About the tops of macarons cracking, it’s simple, it’s humidity. If you live in a place with lots of it, then you will have to make sure that your ingredients are “dry” before starting. you can place your almond meal and powdered sugar on a sheetpan and dry it in a turned off oven with the pilot on and with the door slightly open. We just want to remove the moisture. Also, the egg whites, you should separate them from he yolks theree days before and leave the whites out at room temp overnight the night before making the macarons.

    Also make sure not to overmix the batter because otherwise the macarons will spread too much when piped and will not rise and develop feet.

    Try them again and let me know how it goes!

  74. rduht says:

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  75. I simply ADORE everything you make Aran, your photography is exquisite and your styling is GORGEOUS!! I have much to learn but will seek your blog often for wise words and inspiration.
    Thank you so much for sharing….
    :o)

  76. Sara says:

    Aran, I made these this week, and wow, are they ever delicious! I think I’ve just developed an addiction to macaron-making…

  77. charis says:

    hello :D your macarons look fabulous if i must say so. just yesterday i tried making them as i have successfully made one batch using another recipe, so i was feeling kinda confident but i guess i was down on some macaron luck :( they could not form shells and hence no feet :(

    could you advise me on what processes i could have easily done wrong..thanks! i am determined to try this recipe again :) thanks for sharing too!

  78. Aran says:

    Charis- it’s hard to say without watching what you did. did the batter spread too much when you piped it? it sounds like maybe it was overmixed. did the tops crack? if so it could be too much moisture and not enough drying time. i need some details to be able to help you, i’m afraid.

  79. Anonymous says:

    thank you for your macaron recipes, they’ve been very inspirational! i made my first ever batch of macarons today using this recipe, and for the most part they turned out great. the only issue i had was once cooled, some of the meringue cookies stuck to the parchment and therefore some of the shells were almost hollow inside. could this be from underbaking? they developed feet, no cracking on top, and the insides were relatively moist and chewy…

  80. Ariel says:

    the post above about the meringues sticking to parchment was from me, but i forgot to add my name!

  81. Aran says:

    Ariel- did you let the macarons cool completely in the pan before trying to lift them from the parchment? If they were completely cooled and still stuck to the parchment, they were probably underbaked. Baking times are relative depending on the oven, humidity, the size of the macarons… so you have to judge as for when they are done. Next time, if that happens again, you can even let them dry a bit more in th oven after it’s been turned off. just to dry them a bit, although you don’t want to do that too long or the inside will dry out too and we want to keep the inside moist. Hope this helped!

  82. Anonymous says:

    you say to use 100 g egg whites… is that 100 g before you let them rest for 24 hours or after? once they have rested and evaporated a bit, how much do they weigh?

    Thanks!

    jules

  83. jules- they should be aged so i always crack a bit more and then scale 100 grs after aging. thanks!

  84. Marie says:

    Dear Aran, your blog is so inspiring – thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes with the world! I live in Norway and find the list of ingredients you use a bit puzzling at times as I’m not always sure of the correct translation or if I can find the products you use in shops over here. Is the powdered sugar you use just regular icing sugar or it is a special brand; how fine should the grains be?
    Very much looking forward to try your recipe!

  85. Marie- powdered sugar is the same as icing sugar, just a different name. should be like powder, very fine. thanks!

  86. Natasha says:

    Made these today and they were the best yet! Thanks for a great recipe and all the wonderful tips.

  87. Heidi says:

    Hi!
    For a long long time I have lusted for your delicious looking macarons and this week, I finally created some myself. I made the chocolate macarons with the cocoa nibs completely according to your very accurate recipe and thank you for that! It was so much better this time I had the benefit of your experience. With the ganache though, I decided to try a little spin on your passion fruit version, so if you’d like to try my experiment, it’s all written in the post I made on my blog today
    (March 4th). Thank you!

  88. Cochonou says:

    I made these on the weekend and they came out pretty good for a first attempt. They did develop the feet, but they were too flat and a few developed cracks. I had aged the egg whites 24hrs and also let them rest for about 20 mins before baking. What else should I do?

  89. Cochonou- being flat might be because the batter was over mixed. Did it spread a lot when you piped them? When they crack it’s usually because the were not dry enough before baking. 20 minutes might not be enough. Did you touch the tops to see if they had formed a skin? Before baking, the tops must be dry. When you touch them, you should be able to feel a thin crust on top.

    Hope that helps! Thanks!

  90. Susan says:

    Can you freeze the ganache after completing the recipe?

  91. Susan- you can but it’s a delicate ganache that can break easily if over mixed so just make sure not to over do it. Thaw it out in refrigerator to make sure the emulsion doesn’t break.

  92. Sarah says:

    Oh thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!!
    I love macarons. Love making them, and of course eating them. I have yet to turn out a bad batch… except the chocolate ones. I don’t know why, I have tried a few recipes, including from very reliable and excellent sources, even from the Pierre Hermes book itself. The regular ones, fine. Chocolate- cracked, wrong, lovely flavor, just WRONG!

    I could tell they were not dry enough, or something to that effect. And then I saw your recipe, with the delicious fillings as well.

    Perfection. As a matter of fact, they turned out probably the most “perfect” of all the macarons I have made!

    I ended up filling them with a peanut butter and salted caramel ganache… heaven.

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