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The best chocolate mint macarons recipe
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5 from 1 vote

Mint Chocolate French Macarons

Let me show you how easy it is to make your own French macaron cookies with a decadent chocolate mint ganache filling.
Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 16 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 16 minutes
Servings 20 macarons
Calories 161kcal

Ingredients

For the macaron shells

  • 1 cup almond flour ( Scant cup or 105g - I used Blue Diamond Almond Flour)
  • 1 cup powdered sugar (Scant cup or 105g)
  • 3 large egg whites, room temperature (100g - weigh your egg whites and add a little extra from a carton of store bought egg whites, if needed)
  • ½ cup granulated sugar (Scant ½ cup or 100g)
  • 1 drop leaf green food coloring gel (or one more drop if you want it darker)

For the mint chocolate ganache

  • 1 ¼ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (or 70 ounces. I used dairy free)
  • cup unsweetened coconut milk (In the can, stirred well. Or use heavy cream if you can tolerate dairy.)
  • 1 teaspoon peppermint flavoring (I prefer Simply Organic brand because it's an oil)

Instructions

For the macaron shells

  • Line two half sheet pans with silicone mats (I like the ones that have the circle pre-marked on the mat - found on Amazon, see blog post for link). You could also use parchment paper.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour and powdered sugar (make sure you get out any lumps). Weigh out the ingredients for best results. Set aside.
  • Place egg whites in a heat proof bowl. I like to weigh the 3 egg whites. If they are less than 100g, then add enough liquid egg whites (from the carton) to reach the 100g mark. Add the granulated sugar. Place bowl over a pan of boiling water, whisking constantly for 90 seconds. This will dissolve the sugar. Remove the bowl from the heat and immediately start beating with an electric mixer with the whisk attachment on medium high for 1 minute, then turn up to high and beat 2 minutes or until stiff peaks form. (Do not overbeat or they will be too dry.)
  • Fold half of the almond flour mixture into the beaten egg whites until combined, then fold in the remaining half of the almond flour mixture. Keep folding until completely combined. Add the food coloring. Continue to fold and stir until you have a smooth batter that runs off the spatula easily and fairly quickly. You should be able to drizzle a figure eight pattern. This took me 6 minutes. Note: You will need to use some "elbow grease" towards the end, meaning to put some muscle into it. You will be delicate with it at first, when you're folding, then you don't have to be so delicate towards the end.
  • Pour batter into a large pastry bag fitted with a ½" round pastry tip. Start piping the batter, holding the bag at a 90° angle. Squeeze bag until you've piped a round of macaron batter that almost reaches the edges of the macaron template or about 1 ⅜-inch wide. You should have enough to pipe about 40 shells. Tap pan on counter to release the air bubbles. Use a toothpick to pop any bubbles that appear. Let the shells dry for 40-60 minutes. You can preheat the oven at this point to 325°F. Bake the shells for 16-18 minutes. Let them cool completely. Use a metal spatula to slide underneath the macaron shell and lift from the pan. Don't use your hands, the shells might break. Note: Ovens may vary. If you want to TEST bake one cookie first, you could do that. If they aren't baked long enough, they will be too soft, but baked too much and they will be too hard.

For the mint chocolate ganache

  • Place chocolate chips in a microwave safe medium bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir. Add coconut milk and microwave for another 30 seconds. Stir until smooth. Heat for a few more seconds, if needed, but be careful because the chocolate will burn very easily. Stir in peppermint flavoring. Cover and let cool so it can thicken up a bit.
  • To fill macarons, scoop the ganache into a pastry bag fitted with a round pastry tip such as a #12. Tie the end so it doesn't spill out. Pipe a dollop of ganache onto half of the macaron shells, then place the remaining shells on top. Store macarons in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. You can also freeze them for 1-2 months.

Notes

This recipe is dairy free, if you use non-dairy chocolate chips and coconut milk for the chocolate ganache. If you CAN have dairy, feel free to substitute an equal amount of heavy whipping cream instead of the coconut milk for this recipe. Then follow the same directions for the coconut milk.

Nutrition

Calories: 161kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 11mg | Potassium: 93mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 6IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg