These Dark Chocolate Caramel Macarons will surely be among your favorite in your long list of macarons for 2 things: it’s chocolate and it’s macarons.

Chocolates are always among the best treats we can offer to anyone. It’s hard to resist, right? I wonder what’s with the chocolates.

And then these macarons are so one of a kind. You can do many things with the macarons. To put together chocolates and macarons and the addition of caramel… is a blast!

To make sure you are not going to miss this recipe, I highly suggest to Pin this recipe already into your favorite Macarons Pinterest Board. It will make it easier for you to check back for this.

How to make a No-Fail Hot Cocoa Macarons

If you are a beginner or it seems this recipe is quite hard, no worries. I’ll share with you what I learned.

I learned some of these techniques through a friend and I am happy to share them with others too. You will be surprised how great your macarons will be if you’ll just follow this. You will make your finest Dark Chocolate Caramel Macarons you will ever make.

Always weigh all your ingredients. Because this is kind of a finicky recipe, you do have to weigh the ingredients–there might be more moisture in your almond flour than was in mine, you never know! And that kind of thing can throw off french macaron cookies in a heartbeat.
Don’t over-mix. When you’re combining your wet and dry ingredients, only mix until the ribbon stage. Do not go past it. If you don’t get to the ribbon stage, you have to keep going, but if you have reached ribbon-satisfaction, STOP!
If you don’t have a stand mixer, don’t fret! You can use a hand mixer, but like with everything, you’re going to spend a little bit more time putting elbow grease into these cookies.

I learned that the French macarons are so much better if the ingredients are measured by weight. I’ve been using something like this simple, flat digital scale if I need to weigh the ingredients.

I also made this template to make it easier. So you’ll know about how much to put out on your silicone mat–and thus how big your French macaron cookies will be.

And finally, I strongly recommend having a look at these 12 Tips for Perfect Macarons. There is more to learn there, too.

TOOLS

Again, here’s what you’ll need:

Digital Weighing scale
Template.
Silicone Mat
Piping bag with a medium round tip ( you may use a ziplock bag and cut off a corner)
Piping bag with a star tip.

If you’re enjoying these Hot Cocoa Macarons, again, be sure to Pin it–because you will definitely want to be able to find it next time and make more batches. I’m sure the first batch will not take long before they disappear.

Dark Chocolate Caramel Macarons

These Dark Chocolate Caramel Macarons will surely be among your favorite in your long list of macarons for 2 things: it's chocolate and it's macarons.

Ingredients

COOKIES

4 oz. confectioners sugar minus 2 tbsp
2 oz. almond flour I recommend Bob’s Red Mill
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder Hershey’s is the best!
1 oz granulated sugar
2 oz. egg whites roughly two eggs at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla optional
1/4 tsp salt

GANACHE

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp of your favorite caramel bits

Instructions

COOKIES

First, weigh out all of your ingredients.
Next, sift together your almond flour, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder in a large bowl and set aside.
Add your egg whites to the bowl of your mixer and start mixing on a medium speed until they get frothy. Add in the salt.
Gradually add your sugar to the egg whites and mix at a medium speed until you get a soft peak consistency. (see photo about, VERY important).
After the egg whites are the right consistency, add about 1/3 of the dry mixture to the egg whites and fold in until there are no dry spots left.
Add in the remaining dry mixture to the meringue and fold in until there are no dry spots.
Begin to check for the “ribbon” stage, where the batter falls off in ribbons and you can make a figure 8 without it breaking off. Once you get to this consistency stop folding.
Prepare your piping bag with a medium round tip. Place your bag in a large cup to make it easier to add your batter. Slowly add in your batter.
Place the macaron template under a silicon mat on a baking sheet.
Hold your piping bag completely vertical when piping and lift straight up. Making about 1 1/2 to 2-inch circles.
After you have piped all the batter, bang the baking sheet on the counter 10-20 times (seriously) to remove all air bubbles. Use a toothpick or something sharp to pop them.
Now it is time to let them dry. Leave them sitting on the counter for 30-60 minutes until you can touch them and you can feel a “shell” form over them. No batter should come off on your finger.
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F. and bake your macarons for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned. When you touch the top of the macaron it should not wiggle around on the “feet”.
Allow them to cool COMPLETELY before taking them off the baking sheet.

GANACHE

Place the chocolate chips and heavy whipping cream in a microwave-safe bowl and melt in thirty-second increments until fully melted. Allow to sit for 10-15 minutes until thickened. You can also put the ganache in the fridge to speed up the thickening process.
Once the ganache is ready, place in a piping bag with a star tip, and pipe a generous amount on half the macaron shells.
Add some caramel bits in the middle of the ganache.
Sandwich them with the remaining macaron shells.
Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours to allow them to “mature”.

Enjoy

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 71Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 19mgSodium: 43mgCarbohydrates: 7gFiber: 1gSugar: 6gProtein: 2g

Dark Chocolate Caramel Macarons Recipe