Coffee Macarons

These coffee macarons are the perfect way to start your morning! They are made with French macaron cookie shells flavored with espresso powder and filled with a coffee espresso buttercream. 

If you love coffee and want to try something new and seriously delicious, these coffee macarons are just the thing! Using espresso powder is great for adding strong coffee flavor to the macaron shells and to the coffee buttercream. It also adds a kick of caffeine to give you a burst of energy when you need one!

Even if you aren't a fan of coffee, these macarons make perfect gifts for those who are. A few of these wrapped up alongside a coffee shop gift card and you have a cute, unique, personalized gift that coffee lovers will absolutely adore! 

WHAT ARE MACARONS?

Not to be confused with macaroons, which are coconut cookies, French macarons are delicate sandwich cookies made with almond flour and meringue. The shells have a mild, sweet, slightly nutty flavor and are usually sandwiched between a frosting or other type of filling. 

Macarons are deceptively small and simple looking, but they are actually considered one of the hardest desserts to make! There is a lot of accuracy and precision involved, and you won't know if you've done everything right until they come out of the oven. The good news is you only need a few ingredients to make them, and even when they don't look perfect, they always taste amazing!

MERINGUE FOR MACARONS

Macarons can be made with a French, Swiss, or Italian meringue. No one method is necessarily better than the other, it just depends on what you feel most comfortable with or works best for you. 

The French method is the most basic and is a great place to start if you're new to meringue or to making macarons. Most professional pastry chefs use the Italian method, which is the most advanced but also makes the most stable meringue. The Swiss method is less common and is somewhere in between the two. 

This recipe for coffee macarons uses a French meringue. 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE COFFEE MACARONS

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT:

• Bowls and mixers: Several large bowls and an electric or stand mixer. Unlike Swiss and Italian meringue, a French meringue can be made just as easily with a hand-held mixer.
• Food scale: Keeps everything accurate, which is crucial for making macarons! This food scale is hands-down my favorite piece of kitchen equipment, it makes baking so much easier and practically eliminates the need for measuring cups.
• Piping bag and round piping tip: For piping the macaron batter, I recommend using a ¼-½" round  piping tip. 
• Baking sheet: For macarons you want to use a sturdy baking sheet that won't warp in the oven. You can also double stack your baking sheets to keep them from warping.
• Silicone baking mat or parchment paper: For piping the macaron batter onto. If you make macarons often enough a silicone mat is definitely worth the investment. I find it easier and the batter doesn't spread as much as with parchment paper. Whatever you use make sure it's slightly smaller than your baking sheet. Otherwise you'll have a few lopsided shells. 
• Template: A lot of silicone baking mats come with macaron templates printed on them. You can also make your own by tracing 1.5" circles onto a sheet of parchment paper. 

INGREDIENTS:

• Almond flour: Almond flour is made from blanched ground almonds and is what gives macarons their unique taste and texture. Not all brands are equal, some tend to be less fine and more oily than others. My favorite brand that I always use is Blue Diamond almond flour.
• Powdered sugar: Sifted with the almond flour to make up the dry ingredients. Powdered sugar is crucial in macarons developing feet during baking. 
• Espresso powder: Just a small amount adds plenty of coffee flavor to the shells and the frosting. 
• Egg whites: Separate the eggs while they're cold and then let them come to room temperature for about 30 minutes-1 hour. Eggs separate easier when they're cold and egg whites whip to stiff peaks easier and to a greater volume when they're at room temperature.   
• Cream of tartar: An acid that stabilizes the egg whites.
• Granulated sugar (sifted): Gives the meringue structure. 

COFFEE BUTTERCREAM

• Butter: Unsalted and softened to room temperature. 
• Powdered sugar
• Espresso powder
• Cocoa powder
• Cream: Or milk

HOW TO MAKE COFFEE MACARONS

Separate the eggs while they're cold, then set the whites aside to come to room temperature. Make sure you don't get any of the yolk in the bowl with the whites or you won't be able to whip them to stiff peaks.

Sift the granulated sugar into a small clean bowl and set aside.

Sift the almond flour back and forth between 2 bowls, discard any larger chunks that are left at the bottom of the sifter.

Place a large bowl on your kitchen scale and set the scale to 0 (in grams). Add 100 grams of the sifted almond flour, 135 grams of powdered sugar, ⅛ teaspoon salt, and 1 and ½ teaspoons of espresso powder. Transfer everything to a food processor and pulse for about 15-30 seconds, then sift everything together in one bowl. Set aside until needed.

MAKE THE MERINGUE

Use a hand-held mixer or the whisk attachment in your stand mixer to whip the room temperature egg whites and cream of tartar for about 1 minute or until starting to thicken and increase in volume. 

With the mixer running, add the sifted granulated sugar, about 2 teaspoons at a time, and mix for 20 seconds after each addition. Once all of the sugar is added, mix until the meringue reaches medium-stiff peaks. When you lift the mixer out of the bowl and flip it upside down there should be a peak that sticks up with a very slight droop at the tip. 

MACARONAGE

Macaronage is the process of combining the dry ingredients and meringue to make a macaron batter. 

In 3 additions, gently fold the meringue into the dry ingredients by wiping around the sides and bottom of the bowl. It will be thick and pasty after the first addition. Wipe any batter or meringue off of the spatula as needed. 

After the last addition, continue to fold by wiping the sides and the bottom of the bowl. Take your time and check often for signs it's getting close to the right consistency. It should be smooth and flow off of the spatula in thick ribbons without breaking. 

PIPE THE COFFEE MACARON BATTER

Add the macaron batter to a large piping bag fitted with a small round piping tip. 

Hold the bag straight up and down with the tip right in the center of the circle on your template. Gently squeeze the batter out from the center until it fills the circle. Stop squeezing and lift up with a quick twisting motion. See here: How to Pipe Macaron Batter

Once you've piped all of the shells, lift the pan up and drop or bang it firmly on your counter several times. You can also just hit the bottom of the pan with your hand several times if you don't want to drop it on your counter. 

DRY THE SHELLS

Let the shells dry out for 30-45 minutes, or until they form a skin on the surface. You should be able to gently touch the tops without wet batter sticking to your finger. 

BAKE

Arrange your oven rack to the middle position and preheat your oven to 300°F/150°C. Bake the macarons, one baking sheet at a time, for 15-17 minutes. 

Remove from the oven and let the macaron shells cool completely on the baking sheet for at least 30 minutes before touching or removing them. 

MAKE THE COFFEE BUTTERCREAM

In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the softened butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, instant espresso powder, cocoa powder, and cream (or milk), and mix until the frosting is smooth.

Add the frosting to a large piping bag and pipe a dollop of the frosting onto the bottom of one macaron shell. Gently top with a second shell.

HOW TO STORE MACARONS

Macarons taste best a day or two after they've been filled and stay fresh for one week in the fridge. Store them in an airtight container and keep in the fridge, you can also freeze the shells, filled or unfilled, for up to 2 months.  

To freeze: Place the macarons in a single layer on a baking sheet and set the sheet flat in the freezer until the shells are completely solid. Then transfer to a sealed container that will protect them from getting squished. Keep frozen for 2 months.