These Nutella Macarons are filled with a delicious and easy Nutella buttercream and finished off with a chocolate drizzle and bits of crushed hazelnuts.
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutella Macaron Recipe
- Almond Flour – Use blanched, finely sifted almond flour, even though you will be sifting the flour again
- Powdered Sugar – Sift the powdered sugar together with the almond flour because this will help the almond flour sift more easily
- Egg Whites – Make sure egg whites are at room temperature since this will help the meringue whip up faster
- Granulated Sugar
- Egg White Powder – Using egg white powder will help strengthen your meringue, which will help if your shells are very fragile
- Vanilla Extract
- Gel Food Coloring – Use gel instead of liquid food coloring so that you’re not adding extra moisture to your batter, which can affect the texture of your macaron shells
How to Make Nutella Macarons
- Sift the powdered sugar and the almond flour together. Sifting just once should be enough.
- Whisk egg whites and granulated sugar until your meringue has stiff peaks. The peaks should stand straight up and the meringue should clump up inside the whisk.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the meringue. Fold the ingredients in three parts so that you’re folding the batter a bit a time, which makes the folding easier. The batter may be thick at first, but will soften once you continue folding.
- Pipe the macarons. Using a silicone macaron mat will help keep the size of the macarons uniform and the silicone helps to keep the round shapes.
Nutella Macaron Filling
This Nutella buttercream is so simple to make. Adding the Nutella makes the buttercream very silky and smooth.
- Salted butter – I always use salted butter but you can use unsalted and add a pinch of salt to the buttercream
- Nutella
- Powdered sugar – No need to whisk unless your powdered sugar is very clumpy
- Heavy whipping cream
Macaron Troubleshooting
Macarons are very finicky cookies and you can run into many issues, especially if you’re just starting out baking them. Below are a few of the most common problems you may run into:
Why did my macarons crack?
Cracked macarons usually mean that the batter didn’t dry enough before baking. Let the macarons dry until they form a skin. The tops will become matte and the batter will no longer be sticky.
Why are my macarons hollow?
If your macarons are very hollow, try increasing the temperature a few degrees. If the temperature is too low the batter will be under baked and the inside will collapse leaving a big gap. If your macarons have a very small gap, this will usually fix itself once you fill and refrigerate the macarons.
Why is my meringue runny?
Runny meringue is a sign that you haven’t whipped it enough. The meringue should clump up inside the whisk and the peak should stand straight up. If the peak falls to the side, you need to keep whisking.
Why are my macarons flat?
Flat macarons are a sign that the batter has been over mixed. Fold the batter until it falls in ribbons from the spatula without breaking and sinks back into itself within 30 seconds.
Why do my macarons stick to the silicone mat?
If your macarons are sticking to the silicone mat this means they are under baked. Make sure that your oven temperature is correct by using a thermometer. If you’re baking at the right temperature, leave the macarons in the oven for an additional 1 or 2 minutes at a time to test the appropriate baking time for your oven.
More chocolate macarons to try
Macaron resources
Nutella Macarons
These Nutella Macarons are filled with a delicious and easy Nutella buttercream and finished off with a chocolate drizzle and bits of crushed hazelnuts.
Servings: 18 macarons
Calories: 130kcal
Equipment
- Kitchen scale
- Strainer
- Whisk
- Stand mixer
- Spatula
- One 16 inch pastry bag
- Two 8 inch pastry bags
- Round piping tip (Wilton 12)
- Two silicone baking mats
- Two half sheet pans
- Oven thermometer
- Small glass bowl (for melting chocolate wafers)
Ingredients
Macaron shells
- 90 grams powdered sugar
- 80 grams almond flour
- 70 grams egg whites
- 70 grams granulated sugar
- 2 grams egg white powder (optional)
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 3 drops brown gel food coloring
Nutella buttercream
- ¼ cup salted butter (½ stick, softened)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp Nutella
- 1 tsp heavy whipping cream
Chocolate drizzle
- 9 melting chocolate wafers
- hazelnuts (chopped)
Instructions
Prepare dry ingredients
- Sift powdered sugar and almond flour using a whisk to break down any clumps. Set aside.
- Line sheet pans with silicone mats.
- Insert the piping tip into the 16 inch pastry bag.
Make the meringue
- Whisk the egg whites on medium speed (speed 4) until you start to see small bubbles (this can take as little as 15 seconds sometimes).
- Slowly add 3 tbsp of granulated sugar, 1 tbsp at a time.
- Whisk until you start to see tracks in the meringue.
- Increase speed to 6 and continue slowly adding the remainder of the granulated sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, until you’ve added all the sugar.
- Once you have soft peaks, stop the mixer, scrape the sides of the bowl and add the vanilla.
- Whisk for about 2 minutes, or until medium peaks, and add 3 drops of brown gel food coloring.
- Whisk for another 5 minutes or until stiff peaks.
Combine ingredients
- Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the meringue and fold the batter until you can't see any of the dry ingredients.
- When folding the batter, slide the spatula under the batter, lift it in a U motion, go over the top of the batter, and slide it under again. This way you make sure to get the batter at the bottom of the bowl.
- Once fully combined, add in another 1/3 of the dry ingredients and repeat the process of folding.
- Add in the last 1/3 of the dry ingredients and fold until fully combined.
- Once all of the powdered sugar/almond flour mixture has been added, continue folding a few more times to make sure all the ingredients are combined well.
- Now you need to deflate some of the air in the batter by taking the spatula and smearing the batter on the sides of the bowl two or three times, and then folding once or twice.
- Continue this process of smearing some of the batter on the side of the bowl and folding once or twice until the batter starts to run off the spatula in ribbons.
- You can test the consistency by lifting the spatula and letting the batter run down. If it falls in ribbons and sinks into itself within 30 seconds, it's ready.
Pipe the shells
- Transfer the batter to the 16 inch pastry bag.
- Holding the pastry bag at a 90° angle, pipe the macarons into ¾ inch circles about 1 inch apart.
- Tap the tray against the counter about 8 times to release any air bubbles.
- Let the macarons rest until they form a skin and are no longer sticky.
- While the macarons are resting, preheat the oven to 310°F.
- Bake the macarons for 14-16 minutes.
- Macarons are ready when they no longer shift if you touch the tops.
- Allow the macaron shells to cool for at least 15-20 minutes before drizzling with chocolate.
Prepare the chocolate drizzle
- Place 9 chocolate wafers in a small glass bowl and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds.
- Remove from microwave and stir with a spoon until the chocolate has completely melted. If it needs more time, microwave for another 10 seconds, remove from microwave, and stir until melted.
- Immediately transfer the chocolate to an 8 inch pastry bag, cut a small opening at the tip, and drizzle on half of the macaron shells. This needs to be done very quickly as the chocolate will start to set inside the bag if it cools down too much. Drizzle about 3 shells at a time and sprinkle some chopped hazelnuts.
- While the chocolate drizzle is drying, prepare the buttercream.
Nutella buttercream
- Using the stand mixer, whisk the butter and Nutella until smooth.
- Add half of the powdered sugar and whisk until fully combined.
- Add the remaining powdered sugar and whisk until you no longer see any sugar.
- Add heavy cream and continue to whisk until the buttercream looks smooth and creamy.
Assemble the macarons
- Fill an 8 inch pastry bag with the buttercream and cut a ¼ inch opening at the bottom of the bag.
- Pipe the buttercream in the middle of the macaron shell.
- Place the decorated shells on top of the filled macaron shells and refrigerate for at least 24 hours so that the macarons can mature.
Notes
*Calories reflected are for macaron shells only
Mixing bowl should be clean and grease free
Weigh all ingredients in grams for accuracy
Use room temperature egg whites (to bring eggs to room temperature quickly, put them in a bowl filled with hot water for about 5 minutes)
Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar together because almond flour is moist and doesn’t sift well alone
Mix the egg white powder and the granulated sugar before adding to the egg whites to fully dissolve the egg white powder
Whisk the meringue until you have stiff peaks
Let macarons dry before baking so they don’t crack
Work very quickly with the melted chocolate wafers because the chocolate will start to set inside the pastry bag as soon as it starts cooling down
Let the macarons mature at least 24 hours in the refrigerator before eating.
Nutrition
Serving: 1macaron | Calories: 130kcal