Almond Macarons Filled with Nutella
23 comments » 
So to recap, last week I made the fabulous Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons, as they raked in the most votes in my readers’ choice poll where I asked which cookie you all would like to see me make. I’m so glad I made them – they tasted fabulous, looked great, and everyone who tried one was blown away. Even better, I loved the comments from those of you who ran off to try them after seeing them here. Thanks so much for coming back and letting me know that you tried them! The only pickle with the poll seemed to be a matter of spelling: macaroon vs. macaron. As a result, I promised to make Macarons this week, and here they are!
There are so many colorful variations of this wonderful cookie and its fillings, but for my first try out of the gate I decided to go the simple route with a basic almond macaron recipe and, thanks to the suggestion of Stephanie, filling the cookie sandwiches with Nutella.
I probably let these bake a minute or two too long, as you can see there are just slightly darker than the “light golden brown” that the recipe says I should be going for. I meant to keep an eye on the oven, I really did. After I put them in the oven I went back to my laptop to do a quick email check, saw that Michael Jackson was rushed to the hospital not breathing, and well, I got a little caught up in the story. Before I knew it, the oven timer was going off. Oops!
Notes on the Recipe:
♦ This is one of those recipes where you truly have to go by “feel”. Much like needing to judge when yeast dough needs more flour or water, you’ll have to judge when this needs more egg whites and when to stop. I didn’t put in enough at first, and could tell that the mixture was still too “paste-like” so I started adding more, a little at a time. Finally it looked creamy to me without being runny, so I stopped.
♦ I piped these into mounds, but they spread out a bit. Judging from pictures I’ve seen, I would have liked for them to stay a bit on the high side. As a result, the next time I make these I will use a bit less egg white so the mounds will hopefully keep their shape.
♦ I cut down this recipe drastically. I used 1/5 of the original recipe and it yielded me 15-20 macarons, depending on size (I played around with a few different sizes).
♦ I am in awe of the endless possibilities with macarons. Colors and flavors galore! I can’t wait to do more experimenting.
Cookies from the Top 10 I have made:
Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons
Chocolate Chip Cookies (Thick & Chewy)
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Peanut Butter Cookies
Sugar Cookies
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Peanut Butter Blossoms
1 Year Ago: Basic Pizza Dough (the best you will ever make at home!)
Almond Macarons
Yield: About 60 cookies, 2 inches in diameter
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
2 pounds (910 g) almond paste
1 pound (455 g) granulated sugar
6 to 8 egg whites (¾ to 1 cup or 180 to 240 ml)Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 410°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
2. Place the almond paste and sugar in a mixing bowl. Using the paddle attachment at low speed, blend in 1 egg white at a time, being careful not to get any lumps in the batter. Add as many egg whites as the batter will absorb without getting runny; this will vary depending on the firmness of the almond paste and, to some degree, the size of the egg whites.
3. Beat for a few minutes at high speed to a creamy consistency.
4. Place the batter in a pastry bag with a No. 6 (12-mm) plain tip. Pipe the batter in 1½-inch mounds onto sheet pans. They will spread slightly, so do not pipe them too close together.
5. Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes or until light brown.
6. Let the macarons cool attached to the parchment paper. To remove them from the paper, turn them upside down and peel the paper away from the cookies rather than the cookies from the paper. If they are difficult to remove, brush water on the back of the papers, turn right-side up, wait a few minutes, then try again. Macarons can be served as is or dipped in melted coating chocolate or sandwiched together with ganache, buttercream or jam.
(Adapted from The Professional Pastry Chef
by Bo Friberg)
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oooooh. these are calling my name. they look delicious!!!
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Great job – they look delicious!
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They look perfect and very addicting with that Nutella filling – yum!
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Wow, these look great and very delicious! I’ve seen and tasted other French macarons with fruit fillings like blueberry, lemon, lime and even kiwi. Also, I’ve tasted some with a chocolate ganache filling and also a few scented with fresh herbs like lemon verbena, lavender or with flower essences like rose and violet. I’ve even some with earl grey flavoring and tirmisu but haven’t tried those yet!
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I have never had one of these. But after looking at your pics. There is no way that I could deny myself these any longer. Will have to put these on the to do list
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What a great recipe! Like you say, there are endless variations possible and the range of colours and flavours available is infinite!
These must be delicious… anything with Nutella wins me over
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I had a jar of Nutella in my hand in the grocery store just yesterday, but put it back in order to stay in budget, but now I’m feeling endless possibilities for Nutella as a cookie filling. . . thanks for the inpiration.
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Your macarons look terrific! I made some a few months ago and also used Nutella to fill them. So delicious!
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not too bad for a first attempt. they definitely take practice to get right!
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Love the look of these:
Check out my attempt here:
http://www.eatlivetravelwrite.com/2009/06/i-heart-macarons.html
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Hmmm. This look fantastic. I love pretty much anything with Nutella but the cookies sound yummy too.
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oh boy, these look terrific! but can you be more specific about what this almond paste is? i live in israel and have never heard of such a thing. can it be replaced?
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Michelle on February 14th, 2011 at 8:16 pm
Hi Tamar, I have yet to see a replacement for almond paste in macaron recipes, but you can make your own if you access to some common ingredients. Here is a recipe:
http://www.mysisterskitchenonline.com/2008/12/10/you-mean-i-can-make-my-own-almond-paste/
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not trying to be mean but these look more like macaroons than macarons O-O
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Natalie on January 16th, 2012 at 9:31 am
No… those definitely look more like macarons! You might be getting them mixed up
macaroons = those cookie clump thingies, macarons = the french cookie sandwich thing. 
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Actually most authentic French macaron recipes don’t contain almond paste at all. They contain almond flour, which is often pulsed (in a food processor) with confectioner’s sugar to form a finer grain. This mixture is then combined with egg whites and meringue to form the batter. French macarons should actually have a little ruffle (called a “foot”) on the bottom in order to be called macarons. They’re not the easiest to accomplish at home as there are many factors that can destroy that little foot- humidity, oven temp, human error, etc. But the flavor possibilities are indeed endless.
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I’ve never tried making macarons using almond paste, I always use almond flour. That might account for why the batter spread so much. And I’ve never seen this method for making the batter either. Perhaps a different recipe will produce better results for you? Personally I prefer the French meringue method to the Italian and they always come out well for me :]
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Thank you! I have wanted to make these but was apprehensive. Not anymore:)
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Those cookies look great and very, very tasty!
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