Dark Chocolate Peppermint Macarons
I’m going to start this post with a caveat that is applicable only in my household: Lyndon hates mint-chocolate anything. So when I told him I was creating a batch of dark chocolate peppermint macarons he was non-plussed.
I honestly don’t understand that.
Then again, some people don’t like cilantro. I honestly don’t understand that, either. But the fact remains that mint-chocolate anything is just not a pleasing taste for my better half. Therefore, these Dark Chocolate Peppermint Macarons are not for him. They are for the rest of us.
How are we going to make these, you ask? We’re going to bake up a delicate minty-almond shell, whip together a quick and easy chocolate ganache, and top them off with my less sweet royal icing. The combination of the dark chocolate with the minty-almond shell and the pop of sweetness from the royal icing is winning. And you’ll find yourself reaching for more and more macs as the day goes by.
Don’t fear the humble macaron!
If you’ve ever baked macs before you’ll know just how finicky they can be. They can fall in the oven. Crack. Bake up lopsided. Stick to the pan or generally disappoint in any number of ways. I can personally vouch for the fact that I have been failing at macarons for the better part of the last five years. Sometimes when the almond flour and confectioner’s sugar come out of the pantry Lyndon actually pleads with me to make something else.
But I have figured out the humble macaron, and I’m going to keep writing about it until I have shared all the knowledge I have. Because if you can make them from the get-go those five years of failure will be worth it.
Alright, let’s do some Macaron-201:
For my “Macaron-101 Tips,” visit this post.
Dry your macs before you bake them. This is really important, you guys, and the source of literally years of frustration for me. I baked so many macs that turned into tiny little volcanos of spite in the oven simply because I didn’t understand just how long it takes to dry my macs. People will tell you “dry them for X number of minutes” or “always dry them for Y number of minutes.” People are wrong.
- Dry them until they look dull.
- Not shiny.
- Or glossy.
- Frankly, not anything other than DULL.
- When your macs look the exact opposite of the way you want your red Mustang Convertible to look as you cruise down the Pac Coast Highway in mid-July with the wind whipping through your hair, they’re ready to be baked.
That macaronage is the stuff of legend. Yes, it’s true, it’s really difficult to know how long to fold this freaking batter for, but you can do it. For me, I have found that I reach perfect macaronage consistency by doing the following:
- Incorporating 20% of my Italian Meringue into the TPT with the paddle attachment on my Kitchen Aid
- Folding half of the remaining meringue in using exactly 20 folds
- Then folding the rest of the remaining meringue in using exactly 20 folds
- Followed by an addition 5-10 more folds before testing to see if the batter is ready by drizzling several figure-8’s back into the batter and counting 30 seconds to see if they all but disappear.
Legendary, you guys. Now go with God.
Tag me Instagram @jamandbreadofficial (I love seeing when other people make one of my recipes!) and please consider leaving me a review below if you make my dark chocolate peppermint macarons. I sincerely hope you love them, and that you are ON BOARD with making my dark chocolate peppermint macarons a staple of your baking.
For even more recipe ideas you can follow me on Pinterest!
Enjoy! 😀👍🏻
Dark Chocolate Peppermint Macarons
- Prep Time: 20 minutes; then a rest; then more time
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: About 90 minutes
- Yield: 40 small, or 30 large macs 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Italian Meringue
- Cuisine: French
Description
These macs are delicately flavored with peppermint, filled with my Whipped Chocolate Ganache, and topped with my Less Sweet Royal Icing.
I’ve developed my very own recipe for macs after YEARS of disappointments, discouragements, and full-on fails. It’s a heavy lift, but I promise you: You can turn out macs using this recipe. Pay attention to the details like how long something whips for in your Kitchen Aid (I have timed everything out), they’ll make all the difference!
For my “Mac-101 Tips” visit this post.
I’ve broken the ingredients out differently than most do, but that’s because it really helps me to keep things organized. These ingredients go into this bowl, and those go into that one.
Anything in bold in the instructions are key points for you not to miss. Why did I bold them? Because I’ve missed them in the past.
Ingredients
for the Tant Pour Tant:
- 165g powdered sugar
- 165g almond flour
- 60g (2) egg whites
- a pinch of salt
for the sugar syrup:
- 165g granulated sugar
- 40g water
for the Italian Meringue:
- 60g (2) egg whites
- 1 tsp (2.5g) meringue powder
for the joy of making macs:
- 4 drops green gel food coloring
- 1/4 teaspoon peppermint oil (not extract)
for the Less Sweet Royal Icing:
- 300 grams confectioner’s sugar
- 60 grams egg whites (from 2 eggs)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- a pinch of salt
for the Whipped Chocolate Ganache
- 1 bag white bittersweet chocolate chips (300 grams)
- 200 grams of heavy cream
- a large pinch of salt
Instructions
- Bring all ingredients to room temperature.
- Preheat your oven to 300°F/150°C + convection (or 325°F without fan).
- Grind together powdered sugar, almonds, and salt in a food processor (this is called, in French pastry, a “tant pour tant,” “this for that,” or “TPT” for short). Move your TPT into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add 60g of egg whites. Fold until well combined. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap so the mixture doesn’t dry out and get hard.
- Place your remaining 60g egg whites and meringue powder in a second mixer bowl. Fit your mixer with the whisk attachment.
- Combine granulated sugar and water in a saucepan and cook over medium high heat.
- When sugar mixture reaches 220°F/104°C start whipping the egg whites on medium speed (4 on a Kitchen Aid) to soft peaks.
- When sugar syrup hits 244°F/118°C pour the sugar syrup into the bowl with the egg whites while your mixer is still mixing. AIM FOR THE SPACE BETWEEN THE SIDE OF THE BOWL AND THE WHISK. You don’t want the sugar to run down the side of the bowl, and you don’t want the whisk to fling hot sugar everywhere. Increase the speed of your mixer and whip until meringue cools to 104°F/40°C (this alway takes 3 or 4 minutes with a Kitchen Aid, setting 6).
- Swap mixing bowls, and place the bowl with the TPT onto the mixer. Swap the whisk for the paddle attachment. Add 20% of the meringue into the TPT. Add your peppermint oil and your 4 drops of green gel color. Beat with the paddle attachment until incorporated, about 10 seconds.
- Folding by hand, add the remaining meringue to the TPT in two batches, using 20 folds each, and then folding to the ribbon stage. You should be able to lift the spatula and form several figure-8’s without the macaronage breaking from the spatula as you do it. Also, you can watch your figure-8’s disappear back into the batter: they should reincorporate in about 30 seconds. This is called the “ribbon” stage, and the traditional way to tell if your batter is ready is to watch it “ribbon” off the spatula. Trust me, looking at your figure-8’s is the way to go.
- Pipe rounds onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Wrap each sheet 6-8 times on the counter. I mean WRAP them. Like a man. Then knock on the bottom of each pan four times. Pop any remaining air bubbles with a toothpick. Let sit uncovered until surface of each macaron is dry to the touch, and looks dull. 15 minutes to one hour (this routinely takes 40+ minutes here in Boston). Your macs should look quite dull (matte finish) and should not be at all tacky.
- Bake for 11 to 15 minutes or until done. Cool completely on baking sheets, then remove to racks.
- Prepare your Less Sweet Royal Icing.
- Go through your macs and find matched sets (there will — inexplicably — always be perfectly matched sets for you to work with). Using a small tip, pipe three lines of royal icing across the top of 50% of your mac shells (these will be the tops of the cookies, and their unfrosted mates will be the bottoms). Sprinkle candy cane dust across the frosted macs. Let harden.
- Place your chocolate chips and pinch of salt in the bowl of your stand mixer. Bring the heavy cream to a simmer on the stove and, once simmering, pour the cream over the white chocolate and salt. Let the heat of the cream melt the chocolate. Stir until completely combined, then set aside to cool to room temperature, stirring every 10 minutes.
- Whip your ganache on medium high speed for 5 or 6 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Using a pastry bag with a medium-sized tip, pipe your ganache onto the undecorated shells. Sandwich the shells together to make macs. The perfect mac has a ratio of shell-to-ganache-to-shell of 1-1-1. Meaning you want each layer to be the same height.
- Freeze filled macarons for 24 hours before eating. Thaw for 3 hours in the fridge, then bring to room temperature to eat.
Notes
About that salt: A real pastry chef will tell you that salt doesn’t belong in a mac because the addition of salt casts a “shadow” on the shell. Listen: that healthy pinch of salt in the shells really helps to tame the sweetness of the macs. In my book that’s worth it. Also if you are able to pick out “shadows” on the shells of your macs than you are probably ready to go judge French pastry in Paris. If that’s you, send photos of your trip!
If you mac shells stick to the parchment paper / silpat after baking stick them in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Insane release.
Keywords: macarons, macs, Christmas, chocolate
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