It’s December and one of the things I love about this time of the year are all the cookies. It’s everywhere. It’s on TV, it’s at the stores, it’s at work and it’s at home. There’s no way to escape from them. And I love it that way. Last year I had turned my kitchen into a mini bakery. I had sent out cookies for G’s teachers at school, my colleagues and neighbors. You could check out the Coconut Jam Heart Cookies [2] and Lemon Almond Cookies [3] that I made last year.
Chocolate Macarons Recipe with Dark Chocolate Ganache Filling
I have been hopelessly falling off the wagon when it comes to updating the blog but that said, I can assure you, I will be back with a few cookies for sure. And the recipe that I am blogging today is also a cookie, albeit the fancy kind and I have been allured by it for a very long time. The French Macaron is by far my favorite cookie; sophisticated, classy with its own mystery. Light to the bite yet allows the palate to experience the chewiness mingled with just the right amount of creaminess from the filling.
Some of you may know that we are in the middle of a massive house reconstruction project and we are in the final phase of it. Things are really crazy and I am on the verge of losing it. However, the only thing that helps me de-stress is baking in my 8X5 apartment kitchen. Not that I get enough time to bake but on days when I have been really under the weather, I try to do some late night baking. And chocolate Macarons had been on my mind for the longest time. These just turned out “the perfect macarons” I ever had and let me tell you this I am a macaron aficionado, so I know my macarons. And I filled these with an easy and fail-proof Dark Chocolate Ganache.
In fact, just like every year, I am toying with the idea of homemade gifts and this cookie fits the bill perfectly. And I added a little gold dust on top to add to the festive quotient. Yes, I needed about 3-4 attempts to get it right. It is technique driven but then you are chasing the accomplishment that comes from baking a classic French cookie and not just any plain Jane cookie.
I baked a small batch, which yielded about 13-14 cookies. They looked absolutely stunning. So as usual, Ms. G woke up the next day and spotted these cookies on the table. Her eyes lighted up and the lil dame quickly packed 5 of them in a Ziplock bag for her friends. Macarons are her favorite too. Currently, her close circle of friends is an all girls group. And most of my baked goodies are shared in this circle and if I were to believe G, presumably I have made quite a name for myself among these 12-year-olds. I would not lie; I even wait for their verdict. If they like something vs. love something totally, that does affect me.
So she comes back from school that day and tells me that the girls loved them and the boys were begging her for a macaron. She would never give them any but one of them had a good cookie, so she traded that for a macaron and 5 of them ate ONE macaron while the girls sat in front and relished theirs. How cruel yet I could not help smiling thinking that some great memories are in the making now.
Here’s a video [4], which was of great help to me.
Along with Chocolate Macarons Recipe, You may also like the following recipes:
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Chocolate Macarons with Dark Chocolate Ganache Filling
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 45
- Yield: 28
Description
Try out this Chocolate Macarons Recipe at home and suprise kids at home with this tasty treat. A classic French Cookie that is perfect for every occasion.
Ingredients
- Powdered Sugar – 1 cup (125 grams)
- Almond Meal – ½ cup (50 grams)
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – 3 tbsp (25 grams)
- Egg Whites – 2 (66 grams), At Room Temperature ( Separated from whole eggs 15 mins prior to baking)
- Salt- A pinch
- Granulated Sugar – 5 tbsp
Chocolate Ganache Filling
- Heavy Cream – ½ cup (120 grams)
- Chopped Dark Chocolate – 4 ounces (120 grams)
- Instant Coffee – 1 tsp
Instructions
For the Chocolate Ganache
- Heat the cream and the instant coffee till it comes to a boil on the edges.
- Remove from heat and add in the chocolate.
- Stir to mix and melt it until smooth.
- Let it rest and cool completely.
- Pour in a piping bag and keep ready.
For the Macarons
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment or silpat.
- Prepare a pastry bag with a round tip 1A (Wilton).
- Sift almond meal, powdered sugar and cocoa for three times, every time discarding the larger pieces.
- In a clean bowl, pour the egg whites and beat them with a hand mixer or you could use a stand mixer. As the egg whites start forming soft peaks, pour in the granulated sugar in two batches and blend that in. The meringue will have stiff peaks by the end of the process and it takes about two minutes after you add in the sugar.
- Fold in the dry ingredients in two batches very gently to avoid knocking off the air. There should be no streaks of whites and everything should be blended in.
- Pour in the macaronage in the pastry bag and pipe out 1 inch round circles on the parchment paper.
- Tap the baking tray on the counter couple of time to remove air bubbles from the macarons and let them rest open on the counter for 30 mins so that a skin forms on top and the batter does not stick to bare fingers.
- Bake for 15 mins and take out from the oven and let them cool before removing from the baking sheet.
- Take a cookie and pipe in a little ganache on the inside surface. Top with another cookie to form the sandwich.
- You are ready to serve your fancy cookies.
Notes
- I brushed a little gold dust on half of the cookie but that is totally optional.
- I also did not use aged egg whites. I separated them from whole eggs 15 mins prior to baking but the eggs were at room temperature!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 14
- Calories: 158
- Sugar: 16
- Sodium: 20
- Fat: 8
- Saturated Fat: 4
- Unsaturated Fat: 3
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 21
- Protein: 2
- Cholesterol: 12
Keywords: French Macarons Recipe, Chocolate Macarons Recipe