Chocolate macarons are perhaps my favorite of all my macaron recipes (yes, I have quite a few!). They are rich in flavor and adorable in their appearance!

Chocolate macarons are quite popular in high-end bakeries. But, where did they come from? There is much debate about whether macarons originated in France or Italy. I’ll tell you, there is no definitive answer here. But, for this recipe, we will be using the French macaron technique.
Want to learn all the tips and tricks (and a little bit of history) on the macaron? Read my guide for The Perfect French Macarons to go more in depth on this delicious little cookie.

How to Make Macarons
In the recipe I will explain how to make macarons in depth. But here is a brief overview of the process so you can see that this impressive cookie is actually not that hard to make:
- First, you will beat your eggs with sugar in an electric mixer until you see soft peaks form.
- Next, you will sift your cocoa powder and almond flour with a sieve to remove any lumps. This is a crucial step in making your macarons smooth and uniform.
- Then, you will lightly fold the sifted dry ingredients into your meringue. Be careful not to over mix! This will result in flat discs, versus light and fluffy wafers.
- Transfer the macaron batter to a pastry bag (also called a piping bag).
- Pipe small, circular discs onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Allow the wafers to “dry out” at room temperature for around 20 minutes before baking.
- Preheat your oven. Bake for at least 13 minutes. Depending on the oven, I have had to go up to 20 minutes.
- Make your ganache filling. Allow it to cool. Then assemble your macarons!
Note: Macarons are best when they have been refrigerated for at least 24 hours (or up to two days) before serving. They are never eaten straight out of the oven. This process is called “maturing”, but what it means in plain terms is allowing your cookies to develop the best flavors possible!
Use Almond Flour for Macarons
Almond flour is what gives macarons their signature texture and flavor. For most recipes, you will be asked to use blanched almond flour, which means the skins of the nuts were removed before they were milled (or ground into a fine flour). This type of almond flour will result in the silkiest and most uniform of macarons. If you used unblanched almond flour (which is totally fine), you will get a more coarse texture and a cute, speckled appearance.
You may have an allergy to almond flour or are simply wondering if there is any other type of flour you can substitute. I know some people have used pumpkin seed flour, but to be honest, I don’t have any experience or tips here.
Why are my Macarons Cracking?
There are a couple of reasons why your macarons are cracking. The main one is most likely that you didn’t let them dry out at room temperature long enough before baking them. I recommend a minimum of 20 minutes. You will notice that this allows them to form an outer shell, which will protect them from cracking in the oven.
Tip: After piping your macarons, tap the outer edge of your baking sheet lightly a couple of times. This will release any air bubbles that may be lurking within your macaron batter. During the baking process, these pesky bubbles will expand and crack through the top of your cookie.

Chocolate Ganache Filling
I absolutely love this ganache. Why? Because it is DELICIOUS and it only requires two ingredients to make. This is a relief after making the delicate (and at times fickle) sandwich wafers.
To make the ganache, melt butter and chocolate chips together in a small saucepan over medium-heat. Continue to stir the ingredients together with a rubber spatula until fully incorporated. After you allow your filling to cool to room temperature, carefully spoon the ganache onto the flat side of one wafer and then place another on top. And, ta-da, you have a macaron!
Macarons Recipes
- Cranberry White Chocolate Macarons: These pretty macarons are perfect for the holiday season!
- Coffee Macarons: If you are a coffee lover, these macarons are for you. The wafer is made with coffee grounds and the filling is chocolate. Can you say mocha macaron?!
- Dulce de Leche Macarons: I love dulce de leche and will find any reason to use it. It adds such a nice caramel-y flavor to these macarons!
Recipe
Ingredients
Macarons
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup almond mill flour
- 2 egg whites kept in room temperature for 24-48 hours
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 5 tbsp granulated sugar
Macaron Chocolate Cream
- 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3 tbsp butter
Instructions
Macarons
- In a bowl of a standing electric mixer, beat the egg whites with granulated sugar until they begin to rise and hold their shape.
- Shift powdered sugar, cocoa and almond flour to get rid of any lumps.
- Stir in dry ingredients into egg whites. Be sure not to over mix the ingredients.
- Place plastic bag or pastry bag into a cup to hold it straight. I would suggest a pastry bag, hence once you cut off the edge of a plastic bag it may not be a round shape. In this case, I wasn’t going to make a trip to the store, so I did use a ziplock bag. Pour the entire mixture into the bag.
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Pipe circles into the baking sheet, making them thick. Tap baking sheet at least 3 times on each side, this will get rid of any air bubbles and will prevent from cracks. Let macarons sit in room temperature for about 20 minutes, they will create a bit of a shell, also helps from cracks on top.
- Bake macarons at 350 °F for 13-15 minutes, depending on your oven. I would suggest checking them after 13 minutes or so.
Macaron Chocolate Cream
- Place butter together with chocolate chips in a glass bowl.
- Microwave chocolate with butter in 30-second increments. Stir to combine it together every 30 seconds to ensure that the mixture is perfectly creamy. Let the mixture cool down to room temperature.
I have a question do you fold the batter until it ribbons and you can make the number 8 shape?
Yes, thats a great way to describe it. Enjoy it
I literally just finished making this recipe and WOW, they taste amazing! I usually don't like macarons, but I am a lover of chocolate and now I can say I love chocolate macarons. Thank you so much for this simple and amazing recipe.
I'm so glad you gave this recipe a try! They really are so rich yet delicate.
Wow...just wow. I made macarons before and they did not come out well, but I just made these and they came out absolutely FLAWLESS. Thank you so much for providing this extremely easy recipe that I can continue to make. It was HEAVEN with nutella in the middle! Now I am more interesting in baking, just thank you so much!
Anna, I'm so glad that you were inspired to bake more with this recipe, that may be the greatest feedback 🙂 Thank you for your comment!
Hey, how much aquafaba can I substitute for 1 egg white?
Hey, I haven't worked with aquafaba. I would suggest googling for options.
What kind of cocoa powder is best for making macarons? Thanks
You can use any that you have on hand, plain nonsweet.
These macarons are amazing! Tried them today and they dried up before I could finish piping all of it. I guess it's really hot where I live 😅 though when I bake them at 170, they grew tall feet but spread out uneven... At 160 they grew tiny but even feet. .. Nevertheless they are very delicious
Di, Macarons can be tricky. But I am so happy that you like the outcome!
help! We did something wrong. Maybe over whipped the eggs? Our dough was very thick and not smooth. Any suggestions?
One of the things that could be is under mixing the dough. If you were to keep on folding in the flour it should become runnier. Another thing that's possible is adding too much almond flour.
It was my first time making macarons and this was so easy! They turned out so well and I changed a few things because my family likes less sugar. I did 1/2 C powdered sugar and 3 T granulated sugar to reduce it and they still turned out so well!
Amari, wow, I didnt know the recipe would still work with less sugar. Thank you for sharing this tip! Enjoy!
Does humidity affect how the cookies turn out? I live near the equator so it’s normally 85-90 Fahrenheit daily.
I heard that it does but I had good success with them on different occasions. We live in Seattle and weather is always changing here.
Great recipe except the ingredients above say 2 eggs but down at the comment section, you reply to someone to use 3 eggs? Wondering if that was a typo?
It was a typo, I was thinking of this recipe, https://momsdish.com/recipe/p…. But Chocolate Macarons have 2 eggs, sorry about the confusion.
I would give it a 4.5 just because the instructions weren't very detailed, but if you do a little bit of background research, these can turn out amazing, just like mine did! I still have to wait to taste them, but I sneaked one and it was good! Slightly grainy, but overall delectable.
Hey Dear, what would you suggest we add to the recipe? I would love to hear your feedback.
These came out just great! Very impressive! Just one question: do you allow the cookies to cool before you remove them from the parchment paper? or do you take them off the paper once they are baked? Thanks.
Hey Carrie, I allow them to cool, its easier to slide them off the parchment paper.
These came out just great! Very impressive! Just one question: do you allow the cookies to cool before you remove them from the parchment paper? or do you take them off the paper once they are baked? Thanks.
Hi, this recipe looks really good and delicious but can I half the recipe?
Hey, because you need exactly 3 eggs for this recipe. It would be hard to split the recipe. Macarons can be a bit tricky so I wouldn't recommend splitting it.
Hello I went to the comments just to see if I should make any changes, and I saw that you said three eggs but in the recipe it says 2?
This is the recipe I was thinking of, https://momsdish.com/recipe/p…. 🙂
Gosh, I am sorry, I was thinking of the regular macarons, not the chocolate macarons. Sorry for the confusion. 🙂
Hi. I wanted to know what the metric units are for the recipe. The metric unit button is not working
These are perfect for anyone who loves chocolate! I love how simple they are to make!
Love this process! You make it look so easy! Macarons are always a great crowd pleaser!
Tisha, thank you! Yes, they are easier than most people think. If you follow the steps you can be a real baker.
My favorite! And your step by step photos were so helpful!
Amanda, I am so glad you found them helpful. 🙂
Wow! These macarons are perfect! Can't wait to try!
Katerina, I really hope you have great success. I am so excited for you to try them.
These Chocolate macarons are mouth watering!
Erin, thank you! I am so glad you loved them. 🙂
Wow. I've tried making macarons before and they are too gooey inside. Thanks for the tips and tricks to get these to turn out properly (like laduree??? haha).
Hey Lisalia, this recipe is not gooey, they have a good texture. Laduree is a nother level but I would say this recipe is pretty darn good!
These will make great gifts for Valentine's Day! Looking forward to giving these a try!
Hey Sara, I really hope you enjoy them. Thanks for stopping by!
Could I use almond flour instead of Almond meal flour? Are they the same thing or different?
yes, either one of them would work great.
Hi! I made them and the shape is perfect but they tasted rock solid hard! 🙁 what happened?
The only thing that I can think of is that they were over baked and tried out. If you keep them in a sealed container with the cream they may soften up a bit.
About how many minutes does the mixing take with the eggs and sugar?
Nvm, Its 10 mins 😉
Sorry just finally got to this 🙂
Hi, I don't have almond flour and was wondering if i could use regular all-purpose flour? Thanks
Hi Margaret, with this recipe you have to stick to it exactly or it would not turn out. Regular flour wouldn't work.
I was wondering if I can use nutella instead of chocolate cream.
Yep you can, its actually mu most favorite filling for macarons. Use it a lot with this recipe. http://momsdish.com/recipe/256
will taking away cocoa powder will mess up macarons, should i replace it with almold flour those 3tbs?
You can try this recipe http://momsdish.com/recipe/25…. Macarons are very sensitive so I would be afraid that they could be messed up.
so i have tried 1st time with replacing cocoa with almond flour, and didnt turn out, only few did, so i figured out it was under mixed butter, today i tried again and turned out great without cocoa powder
Have you tried the other recipe, it would be same exact thing. Just with out food coloring.
they came out perfect! thanks a lot!!!
and no aging needed for eggs, i used straight from fridge
I did that before but than another time it didn't work out.
So happy to hear. 🙂
hii 🙂 what if i overbeat the egg white and the batter becomes to stiff? if i leave the batter aside for awhile will it get softer? x
I haven't tried doing that so I cant tell you for sure.