Hot Cocoa Macarons

5 from 8 ratings

Learn how to make perfect hot cocoa macarons! They're made with chocolate shells and a decadent chocolate marshmallow filling.

Prep Time20

Cook Time17

Additional Time30

Total Time1 7

Course: Macarons

Cuisine: French

Servings: 18 macarons

Calories: 129kcal

Author: Chelsey White

Ingredients

Chocolate Macarons

110 g aged egg whites - about 4 large egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar - optional
110 g granulated sugar 1/2 cup + 2 tsp
126 g superfine almond flour - blanched 1 cup + 2 Tbsp
126 g powdered sugar 1 cup
14 g unsweetened or dark cocoa powder 2 Tbsp

Hot Cocoa Buttercream Frosting

56 g unsalted butter, room temperature 1/4 cup
10 g marshmallow fluff 2 Tbsp
4 g vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 1 tsp
1 g fine salt 1/8 tsp
125 g powdered sugar 1 cup
10 g heavy whipping cream, room temperature 2 tsp
10 g hot cocoa mix 2 Tbsp

Tools and Equipment

Instructions

Chocolate Macarons

Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon mats. Set aside.
Pour 110g of aged egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk and mix on medium speed until the surface of the egg whites is covered in small bubbles. Add in a pinch of cream of tartar and continue to mix until it reaches the soft peak stage where you can see the whisk leaving faint tracks in the egg whites.
Gradually add 110g of granulated sugar into the eggs and mix on a medium speed for 30 seconds. Increase the mixing speed to a medium-high speed. Keep mixing until stiff, glossy peaks form.
Sift 126g superfine almond flour, 126g powdered sugar, and 14g of cocoa powder into the meringue, then fold the ingredients together with a rubber spatula. Use a circular motion that sweeps around the edge of the bowl and then pull through the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is getting mixed together.
Fold until a thick ribbon of batter runs off the spatula when it is lifted. You should be able to draw a couple of figure 8's with the batter running off your spatula when it is the right consistency. If the stream of batter breaks before you're able to do this, you may need to stir it a bit more.
Pour the batter into a large piping bag fit with a medium-sized round piping tip and pipe 1 3/4-inch rounds on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart.
Pipe one pan at a time and bang the pan firmly on the counter a few times to release air bubbles, then pop any remaining air bubbles that come to the surface with a toothpick.
Let the macarons rest for 30 minutes, or until they develop a skin. The macarons should look matte once the skin has formed. While the macarons rest, preheat the oven to 315 F / 157 C.
Bake one tray of macarons at a time on the middle rack of your oven for 19-23 minutes and rotate the pan halfway through to help them bake evenly. I find that chocolate shells always take a couple of minutes longer to bake than my regular shells.
Remove the pan from the oven and let the macarons cool on the pan (about 15 minutes), then gently remove them from the silpat mat.

Hot Cocoa Buttercream Frosting

Beat the room-temperature butter on a medium speed for 1-2 minutes with a whisk attachment until it becomes lighter in color and smooth.
Mix in 10g marshmallow fluff, 4g vanilla extract, and 1g tsp salt on a low speed.
Slowly mix in 125g of powdered sugar on a low speed. Halfway through add 10g heavy cream to make the frosting easier to mix.
Mix on low for a couple of minutes until the ingredients are fully incorporated and the desired consistency is reached.
If the frosting is too thick, add in additional heavy cream or milk (1 tsp at a time). If the frosting is too thin, add more powdered sugar (1 Tbsp at a time).
Place half of the frosting in a separate bowl and mix in 10g hot cocoa mix.
Use an offset spatula to spread both types of frosting in streaks up the side of a piping bag fit with a French frosting tip.

Assembling These Hot Cocoa Macarons

Pair up the macaron shells then pipe a dollop of marshmallow and hot cocoa buttercream onto one macaron shell. Gently press a second shell on top of the frosting to create a sandwich.
If desired, drizzle melted dark and white chocolate on top of each macaron.
Place the finished macarons in an airtight container and chill in the fridge overnight, then let them warm to room temperature and enjoy!

Video

Notes

Recipe Yield

This recipe makes about 36 small macaron shells, which can be used to make 18 macarons. You can double or triple this recipe to make more macarons if needed.

The yield and bake time can vary based on how large you pipe your shells. I piped these shells with a diameter of about 1 and 1/4 inch, so they're a tiny bit smaller than a standard macaron.

Tips for Making the Best Hot Cocoa Macarons

Measure your ingredients in grams with a kitchen scale! You really need to be precise with this recipe. Your macarons will turn out best if the ingredients are weighed.
Separate your own eggs and age them if possible! Do not use egg whites from a carton.
Use a macaron mat or print out a template to help you pipe consistently sized macarons.

Let your macarons mature in the fridge overnight! Letting them rest overnight while they are filled softens them (in a good way) and allows the flavors to develop.

Making These Hot Cocoa Macarons in Advance & Storage Tips

French macarons need to mature overnight (or ideally 24 hours) in the fridge before being eaten! They taste best 24 hours after being made.
Macarons can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days in an airtight container.
Macarons can be refrigerated for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
Filled macarons can be frozen for up to a month, but the length can vary based on the filling.
Unfilled macaron shells can be frozen for up to a month in an airtight container.
Your filling can be made ahead of time too or save any leftover filling! It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to a month.

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