These melt-in-your-mouth German Chocolate Macarons are a delicious example of the classic French treats—meringue-based cookies, light and airy inside and with a delicate crispy shell, sandwiched together with rich buttercream frosting. This particular recipe stands out with its luxurious filling—a tantalizing combination of shredded coconut, buttery caramel, and toasted pecans along with a smooth, creamy chocolate buttercream.
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Macarons rely heavily on the incredible properties of egg whites to achieve their signature texture — a crisp exterior and a soft and chewy interior. And these German Chocolate Macarons are no exception. With egg whites whipped into a fluffy meringue that forms the base of the cookies, the end result is a cookie with that distinctive macaron “foot” and delicate crunch giving way to a melt-in-your-mouth middle. When sandwiching a decadent chocolate-coconut filling, you have an egg-powered cookie that hits all the right notes of sweet and nutty flavors.
Egg Whites Are Key
So why are egg whites so integral to macaron success? When egg whites are whipped with sugar, their protein molecules stretch out, trap air bubbles, and form a strong three-dimensional web that sets during baking. This is what gives the cookies their structure. As they bake, the water in the egg foam evaporates leaving behind a light and airy cookie. If you have to use skip the egg whites in this recipe, use an egg white substitute like aquafaba.
Why You’ll Love This Dish
Not only do these German Chocolate Macarons showcase those brilliant egg whites, but they have a delightful flavor as well. Filled with chocolate buttercream punctuated by shredded coconut and toasted pecans, these delicate sandwich cookies are pure bliss. Biting through the crisp shell to reach that rich, almost fudgy filling is an experience every cookie connoisseur should have.
Ingredients You Need
Here are the key ingredients you’ll need. I’ve included some tips for the best results:
- Egg whites: Make sure they’re fresh for optimal whipping. Pasture-raised is ideal.
- Granulated sugar: You can use regular granulated sugar, but superfine sugar is even better.
- Confectioners’ sugar: Also called powdered sugar. Sift it to remove any clumps for best results.
- Almond flour: Super fine blanched flour provides the best texture. Bob’s Red Mill makes a good one.
- Butter: High fat, European-style butter like Plugrá gives the richest flavor, but any good unsalted butter will do.
- Chopped chocolate: Use high-quality dark chocolate chopped into small pieces.
- Shredded coconut: You can use sweetened or unsweetened coconut depending on how strong your sweet tooth is.
- Pecans: Chopped pecans add crunch. Toast them first for more flavor.
- Caramel sauce: Store-bought works well. Homemade is divine if you have the time!
How to Make It
Macarons are a bit intimidating, but they are actually a lot easier to make than you think. The process has a number of steps, but I promise it’s easier than it looks! Here are the basics:
- Heat the egg whites and sugar together over a double boiler, whisking constantly, until the sugar is dissolved.
- Whisk the egg white-and-sugar mixture in the bowl of stand mixer or in a large bowl using a hand-held mixer, until stiff peaks form. This will take several minutes.
- Gently fold the powdered sugar and almond flour into the meringue.
- Transfer the mixture to a piping bag onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat and let them sit on the countertop, uncovered, for about 30 minutes to dry out a bit.
- Bake until done and then let cool completely.
- While the shells cool, make the buttercream frosting and the coconut-pecan filling.
- Assemble the cookies by piping a ring of the buttercream on the flat side of a cookie shell and dolloping a spoonful of the coconut-pecan filling in the middle of the frosting ring, and then adding a second cookie shell to complete the sandwich..
- Chill overnight for the best texture.
What to Serve With It
These cookies are perfect on their own. You don’t need to serve them with anything more than a glass of cold milk or a cup of hot coffee.
Have more eggs to use up? Try making some rich, chocolatey chocolate banana muffins.
German Chocolate Macarons
Ingredients
- For the shells
- 90 grams egg whites
- 90 grams granulated sugar
- 95 grams confectioners’ sugar
- 95 grams almond flour
- For the filling
- ½ cup 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- ¼ cup chopped chocolate melted and cooled
- ½ cup shredded coconut toasted
- ¼ cup finely chopped pecans
- 1 tablespoon caramel sauce
Instructions
- To make the shells
- To make the shells, line two large baking sheets with a silpat mat or parchment paper. Fit a piping bag with a small, round tip (I like a Wilton #10 or #12).
- Make a double boiler by placing a heatproof bowl over a small saucepan of simmering. Make sure that the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the simmering water but rests above it.
- Add the egg whites and granulated sugar to the bowl and whisk continuously until the sugar has fully dissolved. This will take 4 to 5 minutes. To test if the sugar is dissolved, dip a fingertip into the mixture and rub the finger against your thumb. If the sugar has dissolved, you won’t feel any graininess.
- Transfer the egg whites and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until they form stiff peaks. This will take a few minutes.
- Sift the powdered sugar and almond flour through a fine-mesh sieve into the egg whites. Fold in the mixture gently with a rubber spatula to incorporate the flour and sugar into the egg whites without deflating them. Make sure to scrape all the way to the bottom of the bowl while you fold.
- Smush the batter against the sides of the bowl and fold it back together until the meringue flows smoothly. When the meringue is ready to pipe, you should be able to draw a figure 8 without the stream breaking.
- Transfer the meringue to the piping bag fitted with the round tip. Pipe 1-inch macarons about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
- Once you’ve finished piping a sheet pan full of macarons, lift the pan a few inches off the counter and drop it straight down to release any air bubbles. Repeat lifting and dropping 4 to 6 times, or until it appears that any large air bubbles have popped.
- Allow the macarons to sit, uncovered, at room temperature for about 30 minutes to dry them out.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Bake the macarons one tray at a time for 14 minutes, turning the tray half way through cooking. Repeat with the second tray.
- Allow the macarons to cool fully before removing them from the tray.
- To make the filling
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the butter is light and fluffy.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add the powdered sugar. Once all of the powdered sugar has been added, add the chocolate and mix to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and turn turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat until the buttercream is light and airy, about 2 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with your choice of tip.
- In a small bowl, stir together the coconut, pecans, and caramel and set aside until ready to use.
- To assemble
- Place the macarons in similar sized pairs. Pipe a small ring of chocolate buttercream onto the flat size of one of the macarons. Fill the center with the coconut-pecan mixture and gently press another macaron on top, just until the icing reaches the edges. Transfer the macarons to an airtight container and place them in the fridge to age overnight. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Notes
It’s important to use an oven thermometer to ensure that your oven is at the correct temperature.
If you want to be very precise, you can buy silpat liners with pre-drawn circles to guide you in piping the batter for the shells.
Made my first macarons using this recipe, and they turned out great! I was a bit hesitant at first because I’ve just started baking, and I tend to worry about things going wrong. However, the instructions were very clear, which helped a lot! Thank you for sharing the recipe. BTW, the photos are really nice.
Thanks so much for using grams! I absolutely hate using cups when baking, especially for a recipe like this. I made these macarons for my son’s school teachers, and they were all thrilled with them. So was I! Thank you.
This was my first time making macarons and I’m so happy that it turned out really good. The exterior was crispy and the interior was chewy and flavorful. My favorite was the filling because it had the perfect balance of chocolate, coconut, and pecans. Definitely my new favorite dessert!
I rarely make macarons because I find it challenging hahaha! But I tried this and made a small batch and I loved it! The sweetness was just perfect for my taste and the filling was amazing!
The winning element for me is the filling with that rich chocolate buttercream and coconut-pecan. Toasting the pecans beforehand gave them a lovely crunch. Such a great contrast with the soft filling.