Sometimes you just can’t beat the classics!
Chocolate and peanut butter are a match made in heaven. Reminiscent of one of my favourite childhood chocolates, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, these tempting treats are must have!
Chewy chocolate shells sandwiched with the dreamiest salty sweet peanut butter centre. So decadent and delicious!
You can find some useful tips below on how to make the perfect macaron shells. They’re super easy to make and definitely easy to eat!
This recipe makes 28 macarons and it will take about 20 mins to prepare the macaron mixture. The macarons need drying time before they are baked. This can take 30 mins – 2 hrs. Once dry, they are baked for approx. 12 mins.
Ingredients:
For the shells:
- 77 g almond flour
- 60 g icing sugar
- 11 g cocoa powder
- 80 g egg whites (for best results, age the whites overnight by separating the eggs the day before and leaving them uncovered in a bowl in the fridge)
- 80 g granulated sugar
For the buttercream:
- 60 g unsalted butter, softened
- 150 g icing sugar
- 30 g peanut butter
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
For the decoration:
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- roasted peanuts, chopped
Useful Equipment: 2 baking trays, each with a macaron mat on top (if you don’t have a macaron mat, place a sheet of baking paper on each tray and draw out circle templates with a diameter of 3 cm – you can use a cookie cutter to do this), weighing scales, oven thermometer, hand/stand mixer with whisk attachments, food processor, stainless steel or glass mixing bowl, small saucepan, piping bag with a round nozzle, food processor (optional), sieve, spatula, cocktail sticks, heatproof bowl
Useful Tips:
- For best results, age your egg whites. This can be done by separating your eggs the day before and placing the egg whites uncovered in the fridge overnight.
- Wipe your stainless steel or glass bowl with kitchen towel dampened with lemon juice before whisking your egg whites. This helps to ensure you get the best peaks!
- You need your dry ingredients to be as fine as possible. Blend them together in a food processor or push them through a sieve a couple of times before combining with the egg. This is how the macarons get their shiny shell.
- Pay attention not to over-whisk your egg whites. This can cause your shells to crack apart during baking (too much air!). You need to get them to the thick and glossy stage (‘stiff peaks’). This means that when you pull your whisk out, the peak of the meringue should stand upright and not bend over.
- Leaving your macarons to dry out before baking is crucial for getting the smooth shell. If they are not dry, they are likely to crack when baking. Once you can touch the top of the shells without it sticking, they have dried enough.
- If you’re becoming a bit of a macaron pro, I highly recommend investing in an oven thermometer. This way you will know exactly what temperature your oven is at (it can vary so much, believe me!) and will have more control over the perfect macaron finish.
Please don’t hesitate to send me a message via the contact page or on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) if you need any advice or help troubleshooting your macarons!
Method:
Making the Macaron Shells:
- Prepare the baking trays with either a silicon macaron mat or baking paper with your template drawn out.
- Sift together the almond flour, icing sugar and cocoa powder. If you have one, I recommend blending them together in a food processor to get the mixture as fine as possible.
- In a clean, heatproof, stainless steel or glass bowl, combine the egg whites and granulated sugar. Place over a simmering pan of water (bain marie) and whisk until frothy and all of the sugar has dissolved. You can check this by rubbing the mix between your fingertips; if it’s still grainy, keep going.
- Remove from the heat and either transfer to a stand mixer or use a hand mixer to whip up the egg whites to form stiff peaks. Be careful not to overmix.
- Add in the dry ingredients and fold until combined. As you do so, push your spatula down as you turn the bowl – the aim is to remove some of the air trapped in the mixture.
- Repeat this movement until the batter starts to fall like ribbons. This is a key step to get right as under-mixing can upset the texture of the shells. Pick up some batter with your spatula and let it fall off the end. If it is falling like a ribbon, try drawing a figure of 8. If the batter doesn’t break whilst doing this then it is ready. If it does, keeping folding until the ribbon stage is reached. It should fall quite slowly.
- Place the mixture into a piping bag with a round nozzle and pipe onto your macaron mat/template. Try piping straight down into the centre of the circle to achieve a circular shaped macaron.
- Lift the tray about 10 cm off the surface and drop it down onto the table. Do this a couple of times to bring any air bubbles to the surface. You can then smoothen the top with a cocktail stick.
- Let the macarons sit at room temperature until dry on top. This can take from 30 mins to 2 hrs depending on the room. You will know they are ready when you can touch the top and it isn’t sticky.
- When the macarons are dry, preheat the oven to 160 °C fan/325 °F. For best results, use an oven thermometer!
- Bake for 10-12 mins. The feet should be well risen at this point. Cool completely on the tray.
Filling and Assembling the Macarons:
- In order to get neat looking macarons, try and pair similarly shaped shells together.
- To decorate the top shells, heat your peanut butter in a heatproof bowl in the microwave in 10 second intervals until melted. Dip your top shell into the peanut butter and place on the tray to cool. Top with the chopped roasted peanuts.
- For the buttercream, ensure your butter is at room temperature and cream until softened. If you have a stand mixer, you can use the paddle for this step. Gradually add in the icing sugar and beat until smooth. Add the peanut butter plus the vanilla extract and beat until combined. If your buttercream feels thick you can thin it out with a tbsp of milk or boiled water.
- Place the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with the nozzle of your choice and pipe the buttercream onto the bottom shell and sandwich with the top. Enjoy!
These macarons will keep for up to 5 days in an airtight container. The shells can be easily made in advance and frozen for up to 3 months. Make sure to fuly defrost at room temperature before using.
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