Hot Chocolate Macarons (GF)

This hot chocolate macarons recipe is a fun twist on the classic French macaron. It is inspired by my favorite cold weather beverage! Surprisingly these little sandwich cookies are completely gluten free. They are made with finely ground almond flour. For this recipe I used marshmallow filling instead of jam or buttercream, being that it is hot chocolate inspired!

Perfecting Your Hot Chocolate Macarons

The first thing to remember is that the trick to a good batch of macarons is making sure ingredients are measured accurately. You’ll also want to whip the egg whites to a stiff peak before folding in your almond flour mixture. As long as you have the method down, it’s a piece of cake – or rather… a piece of cookie. With this in mind, check out this short video from Baking Mad on youtube. She beautifully demonstrates what a stiff peak is and how to achieve it.

Oh No, My Macarons Don't Have Feet!

Firstly, your macaron shell might be too wet. This can happen if your kitchen is more humid, if the ingredients themselves had too much moisture, or if your measurements for ingredients were off. In this case, try letting the shells dry out more before baking. This can be achieved by placing them under a fan or even using a dehumidifier in the room where your macaron shells are drying.

Also, it’s possible that the “skin” didn’t have a chance to form before you began baking the cookies. Under those circumstances, make sure to give your macaron shells adequate time to set up (30 minutes minimum).

Additionally, lack of feet can come from baking at a temperature that is too low. With this in mind, increase the baking temperature a bit if you need to.

If you notice you had over-beaten or broken meringue, try using some cream of tartar or vinegar to stabilize your meringue while whipping it. Make sure the bow you’re using is clean and that your egg whites don’t have any yolk remnants lurking. You’ll want to make sure you whip your egg whites to stiff peaks but stop beating them as soon as they reach that stage. If you over whip your egg whites, the macarons will not turn out.

Hot Chocolate Macarons

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 15

Total Time 45

Ingredients

5 ounces Fine Almond Flour
4.5 ounces Powdered Sugar
0.5 ounces Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder
4.4 ounces Egg Whites room temperature
2 ounces Water
5 ounces Granulated Sugar
5 ounces Mini Marshmallows

Instructions

Measure all ingredients out by weight. Baking is a science, and accuracy is important here! Make sure you get your measurements as close as possible.
Mix together your almond flour, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder, and sift into a bowl. If there are any large bits of almond flour left, you'll want to toss them. Your mixture should be very fine, small granules.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip your egg whites at medium-high speed until they form a soft peak.
Combine the sugar and water in a small pan and heat to 240°F.
Once your egg whites are at a soft peak, and your sugar mixture is at 240°F, slowly pour the sugar mixture into the egg whites with the mixer running on slow speed. You will want to pour it in a small, slow, and steady stream.
Let the mixer run on medium until the mixture has cooled and the egg whites form a stiff peak.
Fold in the almond flour mixture into the egg white mixture. Be gentle, you don't want to knock too much air out of the egg whites!
Transfer the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip (about 1/2 inch), and pipe rounds onto a parchment lined baking sheet (or silicone mat). You'll want to pipe them each about 1.75 inches in diameter. Give about 1.5 inches of space between each cookie, they will spread a tiny bit.
Once all shells are piped, gently tap your baking sheet against the counter a few times to remove any large air bubbles.
Let the sheet of piped cookies set until they set (until you can poke them softly without getting the batter on your finger). My rule of thumb is to let them set for at least an hour. This can vary depending on the moisture level in your kitchen.
Preheat your oven to 320°F. Once preheated, bake your macarons for 15-20 minutes. You'll know they're done by gently testing the top of the macaron. If it is still pretty soft, let bake for additional 2 minute intervals until it just barely moves from side to side when testing it.
Remove the sheet from the oven and let cool completely
Pair together cookies of same size. Ideally, you want them all to be the same size, but sometimes they can turn out a little wonky!
Melt marshmallows down (or use marshmallow cream), transfer to a piping bag, and pipe onto one side of the cookie. Sandwich it together with the other half, and continue this process until all of your macarons are finished.

Notes

Not sure what I mean by soft peak and stiff peak? Check out this video on Youtube to visually see the difference!

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My name is Autumn! I’m a food lover living in Columbus, Ohio. No matter where my life has taken me, my passion for food has…

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