My relationship with macarons is that I enjoy making and decorating them than eating them. And this actually makes everyone happy considered making good macarons could be quite intimidating. And people do in fact enjoy eating macarons way more than making them.

A win-win situation.

Being said that, I would still encourage anyone to go ahead and try to make them. For me, all it takes to perfect macarons is practice. And I’ve shared some tips and experiences in case you want to go for it.

Recently I’ve seen a lot of chocolate and peanut butter desserts around the social media. I have no idea why chocolate and peanut butter are such good friends. I guess sometimes the stars align and things just work like magic. And I figured maybe I could try this perfect combination in macarons.

The recipe starts with my basic macaron recipe. I added a little cocoa powder to the shells for the color mostly, because most of the chocolate flavor came from the chocolate ganache. Right! I put not only peanut butter frosting, but peanut butter frosting and chocolate ganache between the macaron cookies. Look at how cute they are! And I can assure you they taste as amazing!

Ingredients (around 30 sandwich cookies):
Chocolate Macaron Shell
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup almond flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 egg whites
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Peanut Butter Buttercream
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
Chocolate Ganache
100 grams dark chocolate, cut into chunks
1/3 cup heavy cream
Garnish
2 tablespoons finely chopped peanuts

Directions:
Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Put a master template under the parchment paper or draw about 12 1 1/2-inch circles in rows on the paper, about an inch apart.
Process powdered sugar, almond flour and cocoa powder in a food processor until finely ground. Sift the mixture through a sieve. If there are more than 2 tablespoons of large chunks left in the sieve, grind them and sift again. Set the mixture aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat egg whites at medium speed until frothy. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Increase the speed to high and beat until very stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes.
Sift the almond flour mixture over the egg whites. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the almond flour mixture into the egg whites until the mixture slightly loosens and falls in a ribbon from the spatula.
Fit a pastry bag with a 1/2-inch round tip and fill the bag with the batter. Using the template as a guide, pipe circles onto the parchment papers.
Tap the bottom of each sheet on the work surface to release trapped air bubbles. Let the cookies stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. This allows the cookies to develop their crusts.
To prepare buttercream, beat peanut butter and butter for a few minutes in a standing mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Turn the mix one low speed, add powdered sugar and beat until the sugar incorporates with the butter. Go back on medium speed and beat the buttercream until it becomes light and fluffy.
To prepare ganache, microwave heavy cream until it’s hot. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate pieces in a bowl. Let it sit for a few minutes, then mix until chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Let cool.
Preheat oven to 325F. Bake the macarons for 8 to 10 minutes, until set but not browned.
Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks and let the macarons to cool completely on the pans. Once cooled, gently lift half of the cookies from the parchment paper and turn them upside down.
To assemble, spoon or pipe a teaspoon of ganache onto each of the upside-down cookies, followed by a teaspoon of peanut butter buttercream. Top with the remaining cookies.
To garnish, drizzling ganache on top of the each macaron, followed by a sprinkle of chopped peanuts.