Chocolate Espresso Macarons
I hope you guys had a wonderful memorial day weekend. Summer is officially here and it is time to fire up the grill, bake pies and eat frozen desserts. However, I’m starting my summer with some macarons! Chocolate espresso macarons to be exact!.
I am in love with these tiny cookies and I can tell our relationship is just the beginning to a very long one (I am planning our wedding already :P). This is my second time making macarons since this first try here. I think I love making them because you can see a progression since the last time. If you haven’t tried these cookies yet, you really should because they are full of delicious crunchiness.
I was at Barnes & Nobles a few weeks ago picking up some summer reads when I found a book called “Macarons & More” on clearance for $2.99 and you know I had to pick it up!! I adapted this recipe from their double dark chocolate macarons by adding a teaspoon of espresso powder to the cookie recipe for a little kick and filled the sandwiches with chocolate buttercream.
There is a good dose of chocolate in these and after 24 hours refrigerated they are chewy, crunchy and soft on the inside. Very decadent!
The possibilities of flavors and colors are endless with macarons so expect to see some summer flavors soon!
Chocolate Espresso Macarons
Ingredients
For the Macaron shells:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ cup almond flour
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
- 2 egg whites, room temperature
- 5 tablespoons granulated sugar
For Filling:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
- 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
- milk (as desired)
Instructions
- Line two sheet pans with parchment paper. I used a 1½-inch round cookie cutter to draw circles on the parchment paper and flipped the paper (drawing side down).
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a pastry bag with a round tip. I used Wilton 2A.
- Using a food processor, pulse the powdered sugar, almond flour, espresso powder and cocoa powder into fine powder. Sift several times until there is less than 2 tablespoon of almond bits left.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, combine the egg whites and sugar. Whip on medium-high speed until stiff peaks forms, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the dry ingredients to the meringue and fold with a rubber spatula. Gently fold to deflate the meringue by pressing against the side of bowl and scooping from bottom until batter is smooth and shiny. To check consistency, drop a spoonful of batter and it should have a peak that quickly relaxes back into the batter.
- Transfer batter into pastry bag and pipe the batter into the pre-traced circles on the baking sheet. Tap baking sheet hard on counter to release any air bubbles trapped in the batter. Let macarons rest for 15-30 minutes until top hardens slightly.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes, rotating cookie sheets halfway through baking time. Cool completely on cookie sheets before peeling from the parchment.
For the Filling:
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth. Reduce speed to low and add the sugar.Add the melted chocolate. Mix until well combined and smooth. Add milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, to get the desired consistency.
- Match same size cookies; pipe a little mound of buttercream onto flat side of one cookie and top with another.
- Store refrigerated for at least 24 hours before serving.
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I tried making these and they completely failed. I made your lemon ones before and they were amazing, and I’m not sure what I did wrong this time. After about ten minutes, I noticed them cracking a bit and pulled them out of the oven. I noticed they looked a bit undercooked and put them back in, but when I did that and looked away for about ten seconds directly after, they inflated and appeared to be 3 inches tall. I immediately pulled them out, and they collapsed and cracked everywhere. I have let them sit and cool and I just tried to pull one off and found that the underside is completely uncooked! Help! The lemon macarons were the first ones I ever tried to make, and this is my second time making macarons and they’re totally ruined! What did I do wrong?
Thank you for the recipe! I tried it for the first time today and it was my third macaron attempt. The consistency came out great! Well… except for the smooth top and the overpowering espresso. I also attempted the filling but the chocolate was not enough to smooth out the sugar.
Do you have any suggestions on how to smooth out the filling and have a smooth top?
So glad to hear you tried this recipe and liked it. Macarons definitely take practice and one of the things that take time is macaronage aka mixing the batter. If the batter is too thick, I find that the tops are not smooth. Maybe try mixing a little extra next time. As for the espresso flavor, feel free to reduce the amount. Not everyone likes coffee flavor as much. And finally, for the filling, feel free to thin out with milk.
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Hello,
I have tried your chocolate espresso macaroons twice and I was unsuccessfull. I know I can creat the chocolate butter cream filling, but the actual macaroons come out hard and flat. As if now I use a hand mixer, i do not have a kitchen aid mixer. Do you have any suggestions@?
Thank you for your time in advance.
Hi Tiicia, I’m so sorry to hear that the macarons are giving you a hard time. They are really the most temperamental little cookies to make but are so worth the hassle. Most of my troubles with them have come from my oven not being the right temperature. I finally got an oven thermometer which helped me make sure that the temperature was right. Secondly I will suggest you don’t over mix the batter…this will cause the macaron shells to be runny and never form feet. That has happened a few times too when I’m distracted. From your description of flat, I am guessing this is what it might be. Try to keep the mixing of the dry ingredients with the meringue to about 50 strokes, just until it forms a pancake-like mixture. I usually do a spoon test…that is I spoon out a little bit and drop it back into the bowl, if it just sits on top and doesn’t blend, I mix more, if it takes a few seconds (5-10) to blend, then it’s just right. Hope this help.
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I’m a little confused…where do you get the “espresso” flavour? Are you missing a coffee ingredient, like instant coffee or coffee extract?
Sorry about the typo Wendy. The recipe has been updated.
I’ve only made macarons once. Yours look perfect! and I bet they are super tasty!
Thanks! They just have a bad rep of being finicky but they are not painful and so worth the time 🙂
Oh my gosh! I want to try making macarons so bad, but I’m so scared to try! These look INCREDIBLE
You need to try…they take less time than most cakes :). Plus would be great during your handsome guy’s afternoon nap time. Let me know if I can help!
Your macaroons came out beautiful! I’ve never made them before, they seem so intimidating but you’re selling me on them! 🙂
They are not very hard…you should try them!
Your macarons look wonderful! So beautiful and tempting!
Thanks 🙂
These look scrumptious! Where did you get your cupcake liner?
Thanks! I got them from Bake it Pretty (online store).