Chocolate and Salted Peanut Butter Macarons

I’m in love. And perhaps slightly obsessed.

I’ve caught macaron fever. I’m even posting twice in the same day, I’m that excited to tell you about my adventure.

The time had come to tackle this little treat. I’ve heard how finicky and temperamental they can be, and I’ve even experienced it first-hand. You see, this was my second attempt at macarons; the first didn’t go so well. They did develop their little feet, but I had overmixed the batter a bit, piped them too big, and underbaked them slightly. I was so afraid of doing something wrong that I ended up doing everything wrong. This time, I took everything I learned from that first attempt, and applied it to my second.

How did things go this time around? A quick look at the pictures will probably let you know that I did just fine. Not perfect, but they’ll get better with practice. I actually relied much less on instructions and just kind of went by instinct. I also went crazy with making adjustments to the remaining ingredients based on the weight of my egg whites. Better safe than sorry, right?

I haven’t been this excited to take a bite out of a treat in a really long time. They’re everything I hoped they could be, and the sweet chocolate macaron pairs perfectly with the salty peanut butter filling! Now all I want to do is make more and more macarons. I’m already thinking about flavor combinations, upcoming holidays, practicing, and more practicing. But what on earth would I do with all of those macarons?

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Macarons
adapted from Cannelle et Vanille

87 grams egg whites (from 3 eggs)
22 grams sugar
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
196 grams powdered sugar
109 grams almond flour
13 grams cocoa powder
pinch of salt

The day before, separate the egg whites and store uncovered at room temperature.

The day of, sift the powdered sugar, almond flour, cocoa powder, and salt into a large bowl.

Whip the egg whites and cream of tartar on high speed until very foamy. Slowly add the sugar, continue to whip until the meringue is glossy and forms stiff peaks.

Add the egg whites to the almonds and fold; the process will be difficult at first, but keep going. Continue to fold until the mixture is shiny and flows like magma when you lift the spatula.

Pipe the macarons (I used a large plastic freezer bag and cut the tip of the corner off, as I seemed to have lost my piping bag) onto a silicon mat and sprinkle with gold sugar, if desired. Let the macarons dry at room temperature for 20 minutes or so. Bake them at 300*F for about 8-10 minutes. Rotate the pan and bake for another 8-10 minutes. Cool completely and remove from pan.

Salty Peanut Butter Filling

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

Using a paddle attachment, mix the peanut butter and butter on medium speed until combined. Add the powdered sugar and salt, and mix until combined. Reduce the speed to low and add the vanilla, then slowly add the milk until well-mixed.

Pipe the peanut butter frosting onto the base of one macaron and top with another. Store in an airtight container. Enjoy!

(For the record, a couple of my macarons did not turn out – the jimmies and dragees were a little too heavy and kind of sank into the macarons. The macarons topped with colored sugar were just fine.)

Tagged as: chocolate, macarons, peanut butter