Double Chocolate French Macarons

French macarons are made by whipping egg whites and granulated sugar to form a meringue, and folding in almond flour and confectioner's sugar. These airy cookies are most recognized by the thin layer of filling holding together two cookies.

These cookies are hard to make, and even harder to perfect. With these instructions come some tips and tricks to making a perfect chocolate French macaron.

This instruction set is intended for use by home and commercial bakers who wish to expand their skill set in baking

**Touching the hot oven will result in burns.

**Keep fingers away from moving beaters

• Food Processor
• Fine mesh sieve
• Hand or stand mixer
• Rubber spatula
• Bowls (glass or stainless steel)
• Piping bag
• Silicon mat
• Baking sheet

For the cookies:

• 2 cups confectioner's sugar
• 1 cup almond flour
• 3 Tablespoons cocoa powder
• 3 egg whites, room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

*keep dry ingredients (confectioners' sugar, almond flour, cocoa powder) separate from other ingredients

*place egg whites in a clean, grease-free, bowl to ensure proper whipping

For the filling:

• 4 ounces chocolate of your preference
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

***Santopietro, J. (n.d.). French Chocolate Macarons

with Chocolate Ganache. Retrieved from Chowhound: https://www.chowhound.com/recipes/french-chocolat...

Place confectioners' sugar, almond flour and cocoa powder in bowl of a food processor.

Pulse until just combined.

*This will lessen the amount of clumps, resulting in a smoother batter.

Using a fine sieve, sift dry ingredients into a clean glass or stainless steel bowl to remove any large chunks.

*do not use a plastic bowl, as plastic absorbs grease and will deflate the meringue.

Place room temperature egg whites and cream of tartar in clean glass or stainless steel bowl. Whip using hand mixer at medium speed until foamy.

To ensure bowl is free from grease residue, wipe out the bowl with a paper towel moistened with distilled white vinegar.

*do not use a plastic bowl, as plastic absorbs grease and will deflate the meringue.

*room temperature egg whites will form peaks much quicker than cold egg whites.

Gradually add granulated sugar, while whipping, to combine. Continue whipping until thick and white

*adding sugar in too fast will lead to clumps of sugar

When fully whipped, the egg whites should look like this. When the beaters are pulled out of the bowl, the peaks should stand up on their own (stiff peaks).

Stiff peaks will remain standing, even when flipped upside down.

Place one half of the sifted dry ingredients into the bowl with the egg whites, and fold in using a circular motion.

Once the first half of the dry ingredients are nearly combined, the batter should look like this.

Add in the remaining dry ingredients, and fold to combine, using circular motions

If the batter does not easily run off the rubber spatula, it is not yet mixed enough.

When properly mixed and developed, the batter should run into itself within ten seconds, and create a flat surface in the bowl.

Transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip.

*If doing this on your own, placing the bag into a cup will make the transfer much easier and cleaner.

Pipe the batter onto a silicon mat lined baking sheet.

If you do not have a silicon mat, just use parchment paper on a baking sheet.

*If you want a different size macaron, simply pipe them smaller or larger.

Continue piping until all circles are filled.

*the batter should even out on the top in around seven seconds, if mixed properly.

When finished piping, tap the tray on the work surface four or five times, to flatten the batter out a bit, as well as bring any large air pockets to the surface.

After tapping the tray on the surface, examine each batter round to see if there are any air bubbles that rose to the top. Pop all bubbles with a toothpick.

Once all bubbles are popped, the surface should be smooth, without any large bumps

Allow piped batter to dry on the work surface until the surface is no longer sticky when touched.

*This will help in creating the lift of the cookie, or the 'foot' as it is commonly known.

Once dry, bake at 325‎° Fahrenheit for approximately 15 minutes, or until the cookies can be removed cleanly from the silicon mat.

**Baking time will vary based on oven, more or less time may be necessary.

While the cookies are baking, gather ingredients for the chocolate ganache filling.

• 4 ounces chocolate of your preference
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Chop the chocolate finely, to ensure even melting, and then place into heat safe bowl.

Heat heavy cream in small saucepan over medium heat, until simmering.

Pour the hot heavy cream over the chopped chocolate, ensure all chocolate is covered. Let sit for two minutes.

Mix the chocolate and heavy cream together until combined.

*There should be no lumps of chocolate. If there are lumps, heat ganache in a small saucepan over low heat, until all chocolate melts.

Once baked, the cookies should have a 'foot' on them, as pictured here. The tops should be smooth, and the cookies should still be round.

Place some ganache (to your preference) onto the bottom of one cookie, and place another cookie on top, to create the macaron.

Repeat until all cookies are assembled.

These cookies can last, in an airtight container:

• 3 days at room temperature
• 7 days in the refrigerator
• 6 months in the freezer