Chocolate Peanut Butter Macarons

Crisp and chewy macaron shells filled with crunchy peanut butter and silky chocolate buttercream. These chocolate peanut butter macarons are a sophisticated peanut butter cup as a cookie.

Chocolate peanut butter is a classic combination, and so chocolate peanut butter macarons were born! You can never go wrong with that sweet nutty flavour combination. So what better place to include this flavour combination than in a macaron! I know there have been a lot of macarons popping up on this blog recently, but they are so versatile that my mind keeps travelling to them...

I would describe these chocolate peanut butter macarons as a fancy Reeses peanut butter cup in the form of a macaron. Trust me you'll love them!!

Tips to Perfecting Macarons

Throughout my macaron posts on this blog I have covered a lot of different topics. This time I'll be covering the ingredients needed to create perfect macarons and which ones are best.

For other topics see...

• Crucial points when making macarons: Perfect macarons with salted milk tea caramel
• Frequently asked macaron questions and trouble shooting tips: Earl grey macarons
• Colouring macarons: Carrot cake macarons
• Creating character macarons: Tiktok frog macarons
• Creating macaron designs: Carrot cake macarons

If you are looking for a definitive guide to help you master your macarons I have an ebook which outlines the steps to make French and Italian macarons in detail. It includes photographic steps as well as a guide to the best ingredients and equipment needed to create that perfect macaron!

It also includes 6 exclusive recipes with detailed instructions to impress 😉

Buttercream tips

Unlike the other buttercreams on my blog this is an American-style buttercream. I usually steer clear from this kind of buttercream as it can become overwhelmingly sweet. Instead I opt for French, Italian or Swiss buttercreams. But, when there is cocoa powder involved it can mellow out the sweetness.

One of the problems with American buttercreams is the graininess. As they are made by beating butter and icing sugar if not beat properly the icing sugar may not dissolve, leaving a lumpy, grainy mouthfeel. American buttercream will never be as smooth as its Swiss or Italian counterparts, but with the proper technique you can still achieve a light, fluffy and delicious buttercream.

Keep these tips in mind when making this buttercream:

• Sieve your icing sugar and cocoa powder: Icing sugar and cocoa powder are both very prone to clumping, so it is important to sieve them before adding to your butter. This will help you achieve a smooth buttercream
• Beat your buttercream for as long as possible: Beating your buttercream is important as it helps with two things: creating air and dissolving sugar. The more air you add, the lighter and fluffier your buttercream. The more you beat the buttercream the less grainy it will be, this is because the action of beating helps the sugar to dissolve into the butter.

Ingredient Breakdown

The ingredients needed to make macarons is not that complicated. The shell is made of three main ingredients: sugar, egg whites and almond meal. However, it is important to choose the right kind of ingredient. As macarons are so finicky small variations in the kind of ingredient used can cause major differences in your resulting macaron!

Almond meal: Almond meal is the base of the macarons and different kinds of almond meal can cause changes in the shell. Always use a finely ground almond meal. If the grind of the almond meal is too coarse it can cause bumpy, uneven shells.

Egg whites: There is a lot of debate about the state of your egg whites before using them. From my experience there is not much difference between an aged egg white and a fresh egg white, or a room temperature and a fridge cold egg white. As long as you whip them up to a strong and stable meringue you shouldn't have any problems.

Icing sugar: When choosing icing sugar there are two types: powdered/confectioners sugar and icing sugar/mixture. Powdered/confectioners sugar is 100% sugar that has been ground to a fine powder. On the other hand icing sugar/mixture often has a little cornstarch added to the mix. I personally find that the extra cornstarch can help with stabilising the shell, so my go to is icing sugar/mixture!

Sugar: This is the sugar added to the egg whites to create a meringue. There is no need to use any fancy sugars, plain white sugar works great here!

Food colouring: Food colours with little moisture work best in macarons. I highly recommend powdered colours, but gel colours work great too!

Let's Get Baking!

I think you've probably learnt enough about macarons by now... So let's get baking! If you make these make sure leave a comment and rating down below, I would love to know how it went. Also tag me on instagram @catherine.justdessertsau and hashtag #cattycakes so I can see and share your creations.

Follow me on facebook, pinterest, youtube and tiktok for more of my baking creations and updates! Until next time... happy baking!

📖 Recipe

Chocolate Peanut Butter Macarons

Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

Crisp and chewy macaron shells filled with crunchy peanut butter and silky chocolate buttercream. A sophisticated peanut butter cup as a macaron

• Author: Catherine Zhang
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 12 macarons 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Macaron Shells

• 45 g Almond meal
• 5g Cocoa powder
• 45 g Icing sugar
• 37 g Egg whites
• 37 g White sugar

Buttercream

• 80g Unsalted butter, softened
• 30g Icing sugar
• 20g Cocoa powder
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract 

Assembly

• Crunchy peanut butter, to fill the centres

Instructions

Macaron Shells

1. In a medium sized bowl sieve the almond meal, cocoa powder and powdered sugar together
2. If there are large chunks of almond meal remaining in the sieve dispose of them
3. In a large clean bowl add the egg whites, and using an electric mixer beat until foamy
4. Slowly add the sugar and beat until stiff peaks
5. Fold the sieved almond meal and powdered sugar into the meringue in 3 additions, scraping around the bowl and down the centre
6. Press the batter around the bowl and before folding it into the centre
7. Continue until you notice that the lines that form when the batter falls back into the bowl slowly start to disappear
8. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a round tip and pipe out 1.5inch circles
9. Allow to dry for 1-2 hours
10. Bake in a preheated oven at 140°C for 10-15 minutes (I find that it's usually done at 13, but it depends on your oven so make sure to check! If you give your macarons a wiggle they shouldn't be moving, that's when they're ready)
11. Remove from oven and let cool

Chocolate Buttercream

1. Add butter to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium-high for 3 minutes until smooth and silky
2. Sift in the cocoa powder and icing sugar
3. Add the vanilla extract
4. Continue to beat for 5 minutes until light and fluffy
5. Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a round piping tip
6. Match similar sized macaron shells with each other
7. On the flat side of one shell pipe a ring of buttercream around the circumference
8. Fill the centre with peanut butter
9. Top with a matching shell
10. Place in airtight container in the fridge for a day to mature (gives deeper flavour and chewy texture!)

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