Macarons are one of my favorite treats, crunchy, chewy and delicate, just eating them makes me feel refined and sophisticated. But hazelnut macarons belong in its own category of wonderfulness; the amazing way they smell while baking is only a glimpse of their unbelievable taste. In case you just fell off the moon and are not familiar with macarons, they are meringue based treats made with egg whites, sugar and ground almonds. They are made into little ‘sandwiches’ with the filling of ganache, buttercream or jams. They are gluten free without trying, which makes them a perfect treat for people who avoid grains. Instead of almond flour, I use hazelnut flour in this recipe, because I absolutely love hazelnuts!
I included measurements in American cups, but I definitely recommend weighing everything in grams or ounces (weight as opposed to volume), since dry/wet or sifted/unsifted ingredients would yield different volumes. I have a small kitchen scale that i find myself using a lot. I normally toast the hazelnut flour slightly in a pan for just a couple of minutes to get rid of the excess moisture, then weigh it. I also found that ‘drying’ egg whites gives me more predictable results. I either keep the egg whites in the fridge for a few days before I’m ready to make macarons, or more often I put them in the microwave for 6-7 seconds to dry. The weight always changes after getting the ingredients drier.
HOW TO MAKE HAZELNUT MACARONS WITH CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT GANACHE
MACARONS
Ingredients
4 egg whites – 140g – 4.94 ounces
1/3 cup caster (or regular) sugar – 70g – 2.47 ounces
1.5 cups powdered (icing) sugar – 230g – 8.11 ounces
1 cup hazelnut flour – 120g – 4.23 ounces
A tiny pinch of fine sea salt – 2g – 0.07 ounces
Equipment
Stand mixer with a whip attachment
Large mixing bowl
Flour sifter, or a large sieve
Spatula
Piping bag with a plain round nozzle
Two cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, or macaron mats
Instructions
Whip egg whites with caster (or regular) sugar until stiff.
Combine powdered (icing) sugar with hazelnut flour and salt. Sift at least twice, discarding any lumpy pieces. Or eat them, like I do!
Fold the hazelnut sugar mix into the whipped egg whites with a soft spatula. Fold about 30 times. The mixture will be tough at first, then get softer. You want to stop folding when it’s still viscous but not runny.
Put the mixture into a piping bag, and pipe the batter onto two cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Or if you plan on making macarons more often, these macaron mats are the best, I just love them! Size should be between 1 and 1.5 inches. Leave an inch or so in between.
Leave the macarons to rest for 30 minutes, or until a film forms on top (you should be able to touch the top with your finger without leaving an indentation). It could take an hour if your house humidity is high.
Preheat the oven to 300ºF (150ºC).
Bake for 15 – 20 minutes. Try one macaron in 15 minutes, if it sounds hollow and cracks when you bite into it – it’s ready. The other sigh of readiness is being able to easily pick up a macaron without it sticking to the surface.
Repeat the process with the remaining batter. I get two full cookie sheets from this amount of batter.
CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT GANACHE
Ingredients
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup cooking chocolate (whatever darkness you prefer, I used 40% chocolate on the picture above)
2/3 cup hazelnut butter (pre-made, or I just process toasted hazelnuts in a food processor until they become butter)
Equipment
A saucepan
A whisk
Instructions
Heat cream in a saucepan on low until it just starts to bubble; add hazelnut butter, and mix until well incorporated.
With the heat still on low, add chocolate, and keep whisking until everything is melted together nicely. Remove from heat, and whisk until the ganache thickens.
Pipe the ganache onto the macarons after it’s cooled.
Note: this amount makes extra ganache, which I use as a spread for pancakes and toast. Cut the ingredients in half if you just want to use it for macarons.Â
- 4 egg whites – 140g – 4.94 ounces
- 1/3 cup caster sugar – 70g – 2.47 ounces
- 1.5 cups powdered (icing) sugar – 230g – 8.11 ounces
- 1 cup hazelnut flour – 120g – 4.23 ounces
- A tiny pinch of fine sea salt – 2g – 0.07 ounces
- Whip egg whites with caster sugar until stiff. Add vanilla powder, whip for another minute.
- Combine icing sugar with hazelnut flour and salt. Sift at least twice, discarding any lumpy pieces.
- Fold the hazelnut sugar mix into the whipped egg whites with a silicon spatula. Fold about 30 times. The mixture will be tough at first, then get softer. You want to stop folding when it’s still viscous but not runny.
- Put the mixture into a piping bag, and pipe the batter onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper or [url href=”http://amzn.to/2mPZzfo” target=”_blank”]macaron mats[/url]. The size should be between 1 and 1.5 inches. Leave an inch or so in between.
- Leave the macarons to rest for 30 minutes, or until a film forms on top (you should be able to touch the top with your finger without leaving an indentation. It could take an hour if your house humidity is high.
- Preheat the oven to 300ºF (150ºC).
- Bake for 15 – 20 minutes. Try one macaron in 15 minutes, if it sounds hollow and cracks when you bite into it – it’s ready. The other sigh of readiness is being able to easily pick up a macaron without it sticking to the surface.
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup cooking chocolate (whatever darkness you prefer, I used 40% chocolate on the picture above)
- 2/3 cup hazelnut butter (pre-made, or I just process toasted hazelnuts in a food processor until they become butter)
- Heat cream in a saucepan on low until it just starts to bubble; add hazelnut butter, and mix until well incorporated.
- With the heat still on low, add chocolate, and keep whisking until everything is melted together nicely. Remove from heat, and whisk until the ganache thickens.
- Pipe the ganache onto the macarons after it’s cooled.
HAZELNUT MACARONS WITH CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT GANACHE
