Best Hazelnut Macarons Recipes

HAZELNUT-MOCHA MACARONS

Steps:

• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Grind 1 cup of the confectioners' sugar, the hazelnuts, and cocoa in a food processor until powdery, about 3 minutes. Sift mixture through a medium mesh strainer onto a piece of parchment paper, then discard any large pieces of nuts that didn't come through the strainer.
• With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and salt until they hold firm but not dry peaks, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the remaining 1 cup confectioners' sugar, a tablespoon at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed; this can take up to 3 minutes. Beat for an extra 30 seconds until the peaks are firm and shiny but still not dry. Fold the nut mixture gently into the egg whites with a large rubber spatula. Transfer mixture into a large piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain piping tip. Pipe 32 2-inch by about 1/3-inch thick rounds, evenly spaced, on each of the prepared pans. Set aside to air dry for 30 minutes before baking.
• Meanwhile make the filling: Put chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream, with espresso powder mixed in, to a boil. Pour cream over chocolate and shake bowl gently so cream settles around the chocolate. Set mixture aside until the chocolate is soft, about 5 minutes. Whisk gently until smooth, taking care not to incorporate too many air bubbles. Cool at room temperature until set up.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Bake macaroons until set and puffed, about 18 to 20 minutes. Take care not to overcook the macaroons or they'll crack. Cool cookies for 5 minutes then gently peel from paper. Let cool completely.
• Spread 1 teaspoon of mocha filling on a cookie and sandwich 2 cookies together.

HAZELNUT MACARONS

Steps:

• Place egg whites in a small bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes., Preheat oven to 350°. Place hazelnuts and confectioners' sugar in a food processor; pulse until nuts are finely ground., Add salt to egg whites; beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add superfine sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high until stiff peaks form. Fold in hazelnut mixture., With a pastry bag, pipe 1-in.-diameter cookies 2 in. apart onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until lightly browned and firm to the touch, 9-12 minutes. Transfer cookies on the parchment to wire racks; cool completely., For the buttercream, in a heavy saucepan, combine sugar and water. Bring to a boil; cook over medium-high heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, whisk a small amount of hot syrup into egg yolks; return all to pan, whisking constantly. Cook until thickened, 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Stir in espresso powder and vanilla; cool completely., In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat butter until creamy. Gradually beat in cooled syrup. Beat in confectioners' sugar until fluffy. Refrigerate until mixture firms to a spreading consistency, about 10 minutes., Spread about 1-1/2 tsp buttercream onto the bottom of each of half the cookies; top with remaining cookies. Store in airtight containers in the refrigerator.

CHOCOLATE-HAZELNUT MACARONS

Steps:

• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Put the hazelnuts, cocoa powder and 1 cup of the confectioners' sugar in the bowl of a food processor and process until the nuts are very finely ground and powdery, about 3 minutes. Sift with a medium-mesh strainer and discard any pieces of nuts that didn't pass through the strainer.
• Beat the egg whites and salt in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium-high speed until they hold firm but not dry peaks, about 2 minutes. While beating, gradually add the remaining 1 cup confectioners' sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed until the peaks are firm and shiny. Fold the nut mixture into the egg whites with a large rubber spatula until just blended. Transfer to a large piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip. Pipe 32 two-inch rounds on the prepared pans. Set aside to air-dry for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Bake until the tops of the cookies are puffed and set, 18 to 20 minutes. Take care not to overcook the cookies or they will crack. Cool the cookies for 5 minutes, then gently peel from the parchment and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, put the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Heat the cream to a boil in a small saucepot over medium heat. Pour the cream over the chocolate and set aside until the chocolate is soft, about 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth; let stand at room temperature until thick but still spreadable. Sandwich about 1 teaspoon of the chocolate mixture between two cookies and repeat with the remaining filling and cookies.

CHOCOLATE-HAZELNUT MACARONS

Steps:

• Grind the nuts: Pulse the blanched hazelnuts in a food processor until finely ground. (Don't walk away; if you overprocess, you'll have hazelnut butter.) Transfer to a bowl and repeat with the almonds.
• Mix the dry ingredients: Combine 3/4 cup of the ground hazelnuts and 1 cup minus 1 tablespoon of the ground almonds in a large bowl. Sift in the cocoa powder and confectioners' sugar.
• Make the meringue: Whisk the egg whites and granulated sugar in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. (Don't let the bowl touch the water.)
• Continue whisking until the sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. (If you can still feel the sugar, keep whisking.) Turn off the heat but leave the water in the saucepan.
• Using a rubber spatula, transfer the egg white mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
• Beat on medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 6 minutes. (If you turn the bowl over, the whites shouldn't move.)
• Finish the batter: Fold a few dollops of the meringue into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until incorporated. Gently fold in the rest until smooth and fluffy, scooping from the bottom of the bowl to the top.
• Pipe into rounds: Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Fit a pastry bag with a 1/2-inch plain tip and fill with the batter; press out the air. Pipe the batter into 1-inch rounds on the baking sheets, about 1 inch apart.
• Rest and bake: Tap the baking sheets on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles.
• Let sit at room temperature until slightly dry, 15 to 30 minutes.
• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Bake 12 to 14 minutes, or until you can slide a spatula underneath the cookies, switching the position of the pans halfway through. Pull the parchment and cookies off the pans; cool.
• Make the filling: Meanwhile, bring the water in the saucepan back to a simmer. Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set it over the water.
• Stir with a rubber spatula until the chocolate is almost completely melted. Remove the bowl from the pan.
• Heat the heavy cream in a saucepan until simmering. Stir the warm cream and praline paste into the chocolate.
• Fold in the butter, salt and chopped hazelnuts. Let the filling cool until spreadable, about 15 minutes.
• Sandwich the cookies: Spread the filling on half of the cookies with the back of a spoon and sandwich with the remaining cookies. Refrigerate the macarons, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for up to 1 week.

HAZELNUT MACARONS**

Steps:

• Grind the almonds, toasted hazelnuts (or buy ground meal), and confectioners' sugar together in a food processor until the nuts are finely ground and it looks like fine powder. Pass the mixture through a medium-coarse sieve. If there are large lumps remaining at the bottom of the sieve, place them back in the food processor and repeat. In the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam. Then gradually add the granulated sugar until you get a stiff, glossy meringue. But do not overbeat the meringue or it will be too dry and the macarons won't work. Add the dry mixture to the meringue. Give it a quick fold to break up some air and then carefully fold the mixture together. You want the whites to be incorporated and the mixture to be thick and lava like. Test the batter by placing a dollop on a plate. If it holds its shape but the top flattens on its own, it is ready. Otherwise, give the batter a couple more folds. The process should take less than 50 strokes; it is better to fold once and check rather than over do it.Fill the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip that has about a 1/2 inch opening (Ateco #807). Pipe 1 1/2 inch (or size you prefer) rounds onto parchment or silpat lined baking sheets at least an inch apart. Rap the sheets 2-3 times firmly on the counter. Let the macarons sit for about 20-30 minutes until the surface of the shells are slightly dry. While the macaron shells are sitting, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place baking sheets into the upper and lower thirds of the oven and immediately turn the oven temperature down to 300 degrees. Bake for 15-20 minutes (depending on size). Let cool completely before removing and placing on cooling racks. When cooled, spread ganache onto one macaron shell and sandwich with another. Rest in the refrigerator. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several days (or freeze) and eat at rm temp