Chocolate Mint Macarons

If you're looking for a decadent and delicious chocolate macaron, you have to try these chocolate peppermint macarons. They're made with a mint flavored chocolate buttercream, along with chocolate macaron shells.

Whether you've made macarons before or are just getting started on this fun dessert, I've got step by step photos and helpful tips along the way.

If you get stuck at any point in the recipe and need help, leave a comment below, and I can give you some personalized advice.

What You'll Learn In This Recipe

Your free macaron template

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Ingredients You Need

How To Make This Recipe

Here's an easy step by step guide for how to make chocolate mint macarons.

1. Prep Work

Before embarking on the macaron baking process, there is some prep work you'll want to complete:

1. Separate the egg whites from the yolks, and allow the egg whites to reach room temperature, as they foam best around 70°F (21°C) - 80°F (26°C).
2. Accurately measure all dry ingredients using a digital kitchen scale. Weight-based measurements guarantee precision in your ingredient quantities.
3. Sift together the almond flour, confectioners' sugar, and cocoa powder to eliminate any large clumps. Remove any sizable almond flour pieces that may cause uneven shells.
4. Clean the stand mixer bowl and whisk attachment by wiping them with a little white vinegar on a paper towel. This removes any residual oils, as fats can hinder the proper aeration of the egg whites and potentially compromise your meringue.
5. Print a macaron template and place it on a light-colored sheet pan beneath a sheet of parchment paper.
6. Prepare your piping bag with a ½ inch (1.27 cm) round tip. Ensure a secure fit by pushing part of the side of the piping bag into the piping tip. Place the bag inside a tall glass, with the remaining top of the piping bag pulled out over the outside of the glass for easy and clean batter pouring.

2. Make The French Meringue

Next, it's time to make the French style meringue. This is a major component of the macarons, so it's important to get this step correct.

Add the room temperature eggs and cream of tartar to a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.

Whip on medium-low speed (I use speed 4 on my KitchenAid mixer) until the eggs are very foamy. This usually takes about 3 - 4 minutes.

Once the eggs are very foamy and you see small bubbles all around the mixer, it's time to slowly begin adding in the granulated sugar. Keep the mixer on a medium-low speed, and add in a third of the granulated sugar.

Allow the mixer to beat in each batch of sugar for about 45 seconds before adding in another batch.

This allows the sugar crystals time to dissolve, so they don't weigh down the egg whites. If the sugar is added too quickly, it can affect the final structure, resulting in an under whipped and weak meringue.

Once all the granulated sugar is incorporated, turn the mixer speed to medium-high (I use speed 7 on my KitchenAid mixer), and allow the egg whites to continue to whip until stiff peaks form, around 10 - 11 minutes.

If you're new to baking macarons, I'd suggest setting a timer. This will keep you aware of how long the meringue has been whipping.

This is a very crucial step to get correct. If your meringue is under whipped, you're likely to have problems once the shells bake up.

Here are some visual cues to look for to ensure your meringue has whipped to stiff peaks:

• You'll notice the meringue starts to ball up inside the whisk while it's mixing.
• Pull the whisk out of the mixer. A stiff peak should stand straight up (no curl at the tip).
• You can see pointy off-shoots of egg whites on the whisk when you pull it out of the mixer.
• You can fully flip the bowl over and nothing moves or falls out.
• The meringue feels sturdy (not flimsy).
• The egg whites hold the indentation that the whisk makes as it's whipping.

Generally, if you're new to baking macarons, you're likely to under whip the meringue. Don't be afraid to whip a little longer if you're not seeing all of these visual cues.

3. Macaronage The Batter

With a heavy-duty silicone spatula, fold the sifted almond flour, confectioners' sugar, and cocoa powder into the meringue. You'll continue folding until all the meringue is fully incorporated and no dry bits of almond flour remain on the bottom of the bowl.

Next, it's time to macaronage the batter. This is another important step to correctly perform.

Macaronage is a term that refers to folding the dry macaron ingredients (almond flour, confectioners' sugar, and cocoa powder) into the meringue. This process smooths the mixture and helps the macarons bake with proper structure.

To properly macaronage, you will continue folding the batter until it reaches a lava-like consistency. The goal of macaronaging is to deflate some of the air that was incorporated into the meringue.

You can test that you've achieved the perfect consistency by lifting your spatula and seeing if the batter drops almost like lava. The batter should still have a thick consistency to it. Once it drops off the spatula, the batter that was dripped should fade back into the batter within 10 - 15 seconds (not immediately).

Additionally, the almond flour should look blended into the meringue (not lumpy).

Many home bakers who are new to baking macarons will over macaronage the batter, meaning that the batter will be too runny.

If you're unsure if your batter has been properly macaronaged, it's better to under macaronage a bit since the batter will still be worked in the piping bag.

4. Pipe The Macaron Shells

Pour the batter into the prepared piping bag. Hold the bag vertically, and gently pipe 1.5 inch circles. Once you have reached the desired size, release the pressure on the bag and twist your wrist without lifting up.

Enhance your piping technique with the following suggestions:

• Maintain steady hand movements with the piping bag to achieve a consistent circular shape.
• Anticipate slight spreading during baking; pipe macarons approximately 0.25" smaller than your desired post-baked size.
• Employ a subtle wrist flick after achieving the desired size to neatly finish each macaron.

Tap the sheet pan down on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles. You can tap the pan fairly aggressively, so don't be scared! Failure to do this could result in cracked macarons.

Once you've tapped the sheet pan, you may notice some large air bubbles that have formed. To help improve the texture and appearance of the macaron tops, pop any large air bubbles that rise to the top with a toothpick.

Next, it's time to allow the macarons to dry. Before baking the macarons, allow the batter to sit on the counter and dry for 45 - 60+ minutes until a thin "skin" develops, and you can touch the tops without ruining the macaron. This may take up to 90+ minutes if you live in a humid climate, or it's a rainy day.

If you're having trouble with this, check out my tips for how to fix macarons that aren't drying.

5. Bake Macarons

While the macarons are drying, heat your oven to 300°F (150°C). If this is your first time making macarons, you might want to experiment with the oven temperature to find out the best temperature range for your home oven.

Once the macarons are done drying, bake one sheet at a time on the center rack of the oven for 24 - 27 minutes. I've found that chocolate macarons take slightly longer to bake. So, allow them to stay in the oven for about 5 minutes longer than your normal batch of macarons without cocoa powder.

Check that the macarons have fully baked using the following tests:

• The feet and the edge of the macarons feel firm when you gently touch them.
• It feels like you could forcibly lift the macaron shell off the parchment paper if you needed to (don't actually do this, just use it as a test).
• If you touch the shell and it wiggles, is still sticky, or is wet, you know the macarons need longer to bake.

6. Make The Filling

Beat butter in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 - 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the mixer as needed.

Add confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder; mix on medium-low speed until combined.

Add heavy cream, mint extract, and fine sea salt; mix until fully combined.

Set the mixer to medium-high speed, and allow the buttercream to beat for an additional 5 minutes until light and fluffy.

7. Fill Macarons

Finally, allow the macarons to fully cool, and then it's time to pipe the filling. Match up macaron shells, so they are paired with a similar size/shaped shell.

Pipe the buttercream filling on one side of the macaron shell using a star piping tip. This piping tip results in a beautiful pattern! Gently place the matching macaron on top of the filling.

Finally, mature the macarons with the filling in the refrigerator overnight. This will allow the macarons to slightly soften and develop a deeper flavor. 

Expert Tips

• If you choose to use salted butter instead of unsalted butter for the filling, be sure to adjust the amount of added salt to taste.
• Substitute unsweetened cocoa powder for a Dutch-processed cocoa powder if you prefer a stronger, richer tasting chocolate mint buttercream filling.
• If the buttercream is too warm when serving the macarons, the filling will push out the sides of the shell when you bite into it. Serve the macarons shortly after pulling them out of the refrigerator from maturing, once they reach room temperature.
• If you live in a warm environment, the buttercream may become thin during the whipping process. Allow the buttercream to chill slightly in the refrigerator before piping.
• Want to make the chocolate mint filling ahead of time? As long as the heavy cream is fresh, it can be made up 3 weeks ahead of time.