An easy heart-shaped macaron recipe for Chocolate Macarons with Chocolate Ganache Filling.

Chocolate French Macarons Recipe

Macarons are one of those desserts that always makes an event feel like a special occasion.

Whether you’re laying out a tray of them at a party, an otherwise casual brunch, or enjoying a few with a friend over coffee, these delicate bite-sized cookie sandwiches always feel like a treat.

My daughter does not have much of a sweet tooth, but she goes crazy for macarons, so we make them together often.

She loves helping to sift and measure the ingredients and pipe out the macaron batter onto our heart-shaped baking mat. (And of course, she loves eating any broken cookies before we get to filling them.)

We have made macarons dozens of times, including making them in Paris with a French pastry chef. and while they are definitely a recipe that needs to be followed to the letter (!) they definitely don’t deserve their reputation as incredibly tricky or technical.

(And yes, not all of the macarons turned out perfectly – and that’s okay! That’s often the case even at professional patisseries. Also, we didn’t allow our macaron shells to sit out for an hour at room temperature before baking – which helps form perfect “feet.” If you take the time for that extra set, yours will turn out even better than ours.)

Things like humidity, oven hot spots, and less-than-fresh eggs in the batter can cause the macarons to not turn out.

The egg whites need to be beaten to the perfect fluffy, shiny texture – it can take anywhere from 4 to 8 minutes. Under- or over-beating your eggs will cause issues.

The macaron batter should flow like lava – thick without clumps, but not runny. If it’s too thin, it’s likely been over-beaten and the batter will need to be discarded.

I show you step-by-step how I make my macarons in the video below because those little details can mean the difference between perfect macarons, and a cookie tray full of charred meringues.

If you run into issues making this recipe – reach out to me! I’m happy to help troubleshoot with you; I want you to have a great experience making these!

Take your time and follow the recipe as written. I’ve tried to streamline my recipe as much as possible so that only the necessary parts are included. Patience and persistence are the best path to perfection.. when it comes to macarons, anyways.

And if you end up with a bunch of broken macarons, it’s the perfect excuse to make a Eton Mess – a yummy English dessert that came about just for this very purpose.

Check out our quick recipe video for how to make chocolate macarons and then don’t forget to scroll down to grab your free printable recipe!

Chocolate Macaron Ingredients

• Egg whites, room temperature
• White sugar
• Powdered icing sugar
• Almond flour
• Cocoa powder

Chocolate Ganache for Macarons:

• Semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Heavy whipping cream (35%)
• Powdered icing sugar, optional

Scroll down to the printable recipe card for full measurements.

Tip: Almond flours is sometimes referred to as almond meal. Homemade almond flour from processing your own almonds is much denser and only 2/3 cup is needed for this recipe.

Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful

• Stand mixer
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Parchment paper
• Cookie sheet
• Spatula <– I like these spatulas because they are one solid piece and don’t have removable heads for bacteria to get trapped underneath. Plus they are heat-resistant and have a lifetime warranty.
• Mixing bowl
• Piping bag
• Heart silicone sheet

How to Make Chocolate Macarons

In a small bowl, combine the almond flour, icing sugar and strawberry powder. Mix thoroughly to combine, and then set aside.

Place the egg whites in a large bowl and beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes, then add in the sugar and continue beating for 4 minutes until glossy, stiff peaks form (as shown below).

You should be able to pull your beater away and have some of the egg whites form a little “tuft” on the tip of the beater.

Carefully but thoroughly fold in the dry ingredients – some people will say exactly 25 folds, some 30 – just make sure you don’t have dry patches and that everything is well incorporated.

Spoon the macaron batter into a piping bag and snip the tip off for about a half inch opening.

Pipe the batter into the heart shapes on the tray.

Bang the tray on a hard, level surface to remove any air bubbles, then wet your finger and smooth down any “peaks” on the macarons.

If desired, let the macarons sit at room temperature for an hour to develop a skin. (I usually skip this step without issue, but it is a best practice.)

Preheat oven to 285F

Bake for 10 minutes, until  the glossy appearance has become matte, the macarons have “feet” (that little bubbling at the bottom) and the feet look cooked through. (If they look uncooked when you take them out, immediately return them to the oven.)

Chocolate Ganache Filling directions:

Using a small pot, heat up the heavy whipping cream over medium heat until it starts to simmer

Place the chocolate chips in a medium, heat-proof bowl (glass preferably).

Pour the hot heavy whipping cream over the chocolate chips and allow to sit for 1 minute.

Whisk until smooth and allow to cool completely.

Some people like adding powdered icing sugar to their ganache, which increases the sweetness and gives a slightly fluffier texture.

Scoop the cooled ganache into a piping bag, securely wrap and tie the end and then snip off the tip of the bag. Apply about a half tablespoon of ganache to the side of the macaron that was on the baking sheet, and then sandwich with a second macaron on the same end.

Repeat with all cookies until done.

Pin this Easy Chocolate French Macarons recipe:

Grab your free printable recipe card for our easy chocolate macarons with chocolate ganache filling:

I hope you love these chocolate macarons and they dispel any myths you may have believed before about macarons being hard to make!

For more delicious French desserts that you can make at home, check out our Snickerdoodle Crepes or our Kid-Made Yogurt Cake recipe.