Chocolate Macarons (Step by Step Recipe!) - Little Sunny Kitchen (2024)

Learn how to make the perfect chocolate macarons that have the smoothest tops, full shells, and perfect feet! French macarons that don’t just look great, but also taste amazing! Here’s a step-by-step tutorial to help you get them right from the first time, and definitely better than what you’d get from a high-end bakery!

What are French Macarons

French macarons are a delicate and beautiful meringue-based confection that’s not too complicated to make (don’t be intimidated by this gorgeous dessert!). People seem to prefer to buy macarons instead of making them at home, but honestly, if you have a good recipe and clear instructions, you’ll get it right!

My best advice? Take your time and read the full instructions before starting! While it might take a couple of tries to achieve the picture-perfect macarons, I included a step by step tutorial for you and answered all of the frequently asked questions in this post. So you are closer to getting beautiful smooth macarons from the first try.

If you have any question, leave a comment at the end of this post with your question and I’ll answer it as soon as I see it 😁

Macaron Fillings

Macarons can have different fillings. The most popular fillings are ganache, buttercream, citrus curd, jam filling, or any sweetened nut butter sandwiched between 2 shells or cookies of the macaron.

The macaron is a bit chewy but also slightly moist, and the shells literally melt in your mouth! They’re so delicate and imagine all of that combined with a rich filling.

Macaron vs Macaroons

Macarons are often confused with macaroons, but it’s not the same thing. A macaron is a delicate and fragile meringue-based cookie made with ground almond flour/meal (what you see in the images of this post). And a macaroon is mainly made with shredded coconut and has a completely different texture. They are chewy and often dipped in melted chocolate.

Macaron Ingredients

It is very important that you use FINE almond flour to make the macarons, the flour MUST be sifted even if you’re using super fine ground almond flour. It is even recommended to sift it twice if you can.

As for the cocoa powder, use unsweetened plain cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Natural unsweetened cocoa powder).

Another important note is to use fresh eggs, separate egg whites from yolks correctly, and not have any yolk bits in the egg whites that you’ll use to make the macaron batter. If you have enough time, then it’s a good idea to also age the egg whites (more on this below).

Cream of tartar is optional, but it helps stabilize the egg whites and hold the stiff peaks.

How to Make Macarons

• In a bowl of food processor, combine the fine almond flour with powdered sugar, and cocoa powder. Blitz 16 times, then sift together into a bowl. Do not push down the coarse bits, just discard them. Set aside.
• In a completely dry andgrease-free glass mixing bowl combine the egg whites and cream of tartar, and use a hand mixer to beat on high speed until they start to get frothy (about 1 minute).
• SLOWLY add in the granulated sugar and continue mixing at high speed just until you get stiff peaks. Do NOT overbeat. (Tip: when you stop the mixer you should be able to bring it straight up out of the meringue and the peaks stick straight up and not fold back over on itself – see image #4 below).
• Add half of the dry mixture into the meringue and fold by going around the outside of the bowl and cutting through the center, repeat until there are no dry spots.
• Add the remaining dry mixture and repeat folding until you get a molten lava consistency. (Note: you should be able to draw a figure 8 with the batter without it breaking off, make sure you stop folding at this point and check your batter often to make sure you do not overmix). The batter should look smooth and uniform.
• Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip (I used a Wilton 2A tip) with the batter.
• Pipe 1 ½-2 inch even circles onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. If you’re new to this, I recommend that you get a silicone mat with a macaron template like this one and it will help you get uniform circles.
• Gently tap the bottom of the baking sheets on the counter 5-6 times and pop any large air bubbles that come to the surface by using a toothpick and moving in a circular motion. This is very important to do.
• Let the macarons set for 45 minutes to 1 hour until they form a shell (this is very important). You can test to see if they are ready by gently touching the tops and if the tops are no longer sticky, feel firm and no batter comes off on your finger, they are ready to go in the oven.
• Preheat the oven to 320°F (160°C).
• Bake the macarons for 15-17 minutes or until you can touch the tops of the cookies and they do not move around on the “feet”. Do one baking sheet at a time if you’re using more than one.
• Remove from the oven and allow to completely cool before trying to remove them from the pan.
• To decorate with the drizzle: Melt about ½ cup of chocolate chips, add to a Ziplock bag and cut off the corner, and drizzle the chocolate over half of the shells. You can also top with crushed hazelnuts if desired.

Aging Egg Whites

Aging egg whites to make macarons helps a lot, it’s NOT a must-do for the recipe to work BUT it’s recommended as it reduces the moisture in the egg whites, and makes them better for whipping so they will hold their shape better.

To age egg whites, simply place them in a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let them sit in the fridge for at least a day before using.

Chocolate Macaron Filling

While you can use ganache, I chose to fill my chocolate macarons with a rich and decadent Nutella filling. It works so well, and incredibly delicious! Here’s how to make it:

• While the cookies are cooling, make your filling by mixing the softened butter and Nutella in the bowl of a stand mixer equipped with a paddle attachment. Beat on high speed for 3-4 minutes or until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar and mix until just combined.
• Add the heavy cream and slowly increase the speed to high and mix on high speed for 3-4 minutes or until you get a nice “whipped” consistency.
• Add the buttercream to a pastry bag with a large circle tip (I used the 2A for the filling as well)
• Flip over half of the macaron shells and pipe a generous circle of buttercream on the center of each cookie. Top with the remaining chocolate-drizzled shells.

Storing the Macarons

Place the macarons in an airtight container and place in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours for best results. Bring to room temperature before serving. Store the rest in an airtight container in the fridge.

Assembled macarons or just macaron shells freeze easily! Allow the macarons to set and develop at room temperature for 8-12 hours, then freeze them in an airtight container stacked on each other for up to 3 months. If there’s a sticky drizzle on them, use parchment paper to layer them.

To thaw, place the container in the fridge without opening it for a few hours.

NOTE: It is important to freeze macarons in an airtight container, as the macarons can easily absorb odors.

Success Tips

• Macarons and humidity aren’t good friends, so avoid making them on humid days. Cool and dry weather will help you get the best results.
• It is essential to use a kitchen scale when making macarons. While you can use measuring cups, but you won’t get perfect results every time so I strongly recommend weighing all of your ingredients before beginning.
• Be careful not to overbeat the egg whites! As soon as you reach stiff peaks, stop the mixer. Overbeating will result in hollow macaron shells.
• Do NOT bake the macarons before the shells dry, I always leave them to set over the countertop for at least 45 minutes to 1 hour, then touch the tops to make sure they’re no longer sticky and are ready to be baked.
• Do NOT open the oven as the macarons are being baked, only open after 14 minutes and check.
• This recipe makes 12 full macarons that are about 2-inches wide, or make bigger ones for a macaron cake.

Trouble Shooting

• Hollow shells – egg whites are over whipped, or batter is overmixed.
• Deflated shells – didn’t use kitchen scales, or oven door was opened too early.
• Soft collapsing shells – oven temperature is too low, or not baked for long enough.
• Uneven or lumpy shell tops – ingredients not sifted well, too many coarse bits in the almond flour.
• Shells with no feet – the batter was too wet, or shells didn’t have enough time to set and dry out before baking.
• Shells are too high – oven temperature is too high.
• Brown shells – oven temperature is too high, or macarons are too close to the heat source.
• Pointed shells – the batter is not mixed properly.
• Shells are not round – the pipping technique is not correct. Hold a sturdy piping bag vertically and squeeze out the right amount without moving your hand.
• Cracked macarons – too much air in the batter caused by overwhipping the egg whites, or the tray wasn’t tapped before drying the piped batter to remove any extra air bubbles.

Are you making these for Christmas? You should also check out my Peppermint Chocolate Christmas Macarons recipe!

Recommended Products

• Food processor – this is the one that I have and use all the time.
• Flour sifter or use a fine-mesh strainer.
• Hand mixer, or stand mixer – I have both and love them!
• Silicone spatula.
• Pastry bag fitted with a large round tip.
• Silicone baking mat – this is my preferred brand, but you can also find cheaper options on Amazon. They’re reusable and great for all types of baking!
• Baking pan – I have a pack of 2 that I use for food and desserts.