Don’t laugh, but I had never had a macaron before until 2 years ago. Even then, I didn’t know there was a difference between a macaron and a macaroon. Thank goodness for Wikipedia, right? 
Well, once I sunk my teeth into the lusciously light and crunchy outsides and made it down to the flavorful filling, I knew I had to make some myself. It’s kind of like that thing you put off and off and off, thinking it’ll be way too hard and it’ll just be a throw-away recipe.
Boy, was I wrong and I’m still kicking myself for waiting that long to make them!
I followed Carrie‘s recipe almost exactly, but have a few tips.
- First of all, the macarons are made with almond flour. You’ll need to sift the flour before folding it into the recipe. However, when I sifted the flour there was a little under 1/4 cup of almond flour that was too grainy to fit through the holes of the sifter. I just threw that out, making the macarons nice and smooth.
- Secondly, the goal of anyone making macarons is to have those ‘feet’ on the bottom of the treat. These feet are created by allowing the uncooked macarons to dry before baking. This drying process creates a skin on top of the macarons, that rises up when baking. The first batch I created dried for 1 hour and had no feet. The second dried for 1 hour and 15 minutes and had a slight foot. The third dried for 1 hour 30 minutes and were perfection! So, the timing is key. When in doubt, let them dry longer.
- Finally, not that it’ll take you this long to eat them, but they’re best eaten within 2 days of making them. That way they’ll have maximum crunchiness. I’m sure they’ll last longer up North, but here in the South Carolina humidity, they don’t last long! 😀 Luckily, we didn’t have a problem with that. They were gone the same day we made them.
When I was first trying to decide what flavor to make, I thought of my husband. He absolutely loves chocolate and raspberry together. You might remember, I made a Chocolate Raspberry Forest Cake for him one year for his birthday. He LOVED it!
So, Logan was the inspiration for these goodies!
I even wrote a little love note for my hubby on these absolutely adorable petite love notes from Felix Doolittle. He now keeps it in his wallet. How cute is that?
Speaking of Felix Doolittle, how precious and gorgeous is all of his artwork!?
I was first introduced to Felix Doolittle by Melanie while at BlissDom and instantly fell in love. They carry a bunch of different paper products, including the goodies you see here:
They can all be personalized, too!
I’m pretty sure my favorites are these chef medallions (below). They are personalized stickers that you can stick on anything made by you! That’s how I packaged homemade Mother’s Day gifts this year. So cute and such a great conversation starter!
Also, when you receive your products from Felix Doolittle, they take such extraordinary care of packaging. The quality is exquisite. You open up your package and you’ll see, it’s so beautiful you won’t want to take it out! 😉
I guess what I’m getting at is that I’m in love with the Felix Doolittle products. The uniqueness and beauty is out of this world. Such simple designs too, which is right up my alley.
Oh, and you should also give these macarons a try. You’ll be glad you finally took the challenge!
Chocolate Raspberry Macarons
from Bakeaholic Mama
Ingredients
- 3 large egg whites
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup almond flour
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup raspberry jam
How-To
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the egg whites until foamy. Slowly beat in the 1/4 cup of sugar. Continue to beat on high until it forms stiff peaks. Don’t over beat.
- Meanwhile, sift the powdered sugar, almond flour and cocoa powder together in a bowl.
- Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the sifted dry ingredients into the egg whites until combined.
- Gently place the batter into a pastry bag with a large circular tip (I used this one).
- Squeeze 1 1/2″ circles spaced 2 inches apart on a parchment paper or silpat mat covered baking sheets. Slap the baking sheets on the counter once to remove any air bubbles. Allow the circles to dry for at least 1.5 hours, creating a skin on the top.
- Once ready, preheat the oven to 325F.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until the macarons have risen and are hard to the touch.
- Allow them to cool completely on the baking sheet.
- Once cool, spread a small amount of raspberry jam between two cookies and store in an airtight container.
Servings: about 15 macaron sandwiches
Now, are you ready to win some Felix Doolittle products of your own!?
No purchase necessary to enter. Prizes will only be shipped within the United States. Winner will be selected at random by rafflecopter using Random.org. All entries received after the giveaway closing day and time will not be considered. Entries that do not follow the entry requirements will not be considered. Winners will be notified via email and will have 24 hours to confirm receipt of the email. If the winners do not reply within 24 hours, another winner(s) will be selected. Giveaways will be mailed to the winners’ address. This giveaway has been sponsored by Felix Doolittle. I received these samples, compensation and was provided the opportunity to host this giveaway. All opinions stated are my own.
Macarons scare me. I have never attempted to make them and I have never even eaten one but they look amazing and I am sure I would love them! These look like a great one to try first!
I’ve never made them! But I’d love to try chocolate ones!
I’ve never made macarons before, but I would definitely love to make some chocolate ones! My hubby would love those!
I tried my first macaron at Mother’s Day brunch this year but it wasn’t very good 🙁 Now I’m determined to try making my own!
I hadn’t tried macarons until Nov. 2012! So sad it took me so long. I have made plain vanilla and chocolate macarons and they turned out great! I want to try Picky Palate’s cookies and cream ones soon, though
I’ve made macarons before, but I’ve never tasted one prior to making them myself, so i hope mine come close! 🙂
I have never made macaroons but these look so delicious that I may have to try them out for a friends upcoming baby shower!! Thanks for sharing!
I have not made them.
I tried them once about 8 years ago when I happened to be out of town and we went into a French bakery. They were chocolate and they were so wonderful.
I have never made macaroons, but I have had them! My best friend went to France and brought some back for me. YUM! (:
I have never made them because I’ve heard how finicky they are. They are incredibly delicious though! I really need to just get brave and try them! Chocolate is my favorite with pistachio a close second.
Like you, I have been overwhelmed with the thought of the difficulty of making macarons. You have inspired me to give it a try! I would probably start with these because chocolate and raspberry is a favorite combination for me as well!
These look so perfect!! Love this recipe!
i love macarons but not in next 100 years I will attempt to make them on my own.
I have never tasted nor tried making macarons. I would like to try either a mocha or coconut flavor.
i really need to make my first batch of macarons. I missed getting to meet you at FBF but hopefully I cant meet you at BlogHer Food.
These are so cute! I want to try macarons soon!
your macarons turned out so perfect! i made them twice and failed – maybe third time’s a charm?? it was so lovely to meet you this past weekend 🙂 I already miss you and baby Liam already! let’s meet up soon 🙂
I’ve never made them but I’ve tried them and they’re delicious!
I’ve made almond macs with passion fruit buttercream!
I’ve never made them, but I’ve ate some before. Chocolate was my favorite!
I’ve never made them, but I bet chocolate ones would be delicious!
your macarons turned out beautifully! And you’re not the last to try one (or make for that matter)… I only just tried one at Disney this past weekend!
I want to try to make oreo macarons! Thanks for the giveaway!
I have never tried to make macarons, but they are on my “to try soon” list.
I just tasted my first macaron in March when we visited New Orleans. It was at Sucre and the macarons were fabulous!
I have never made macarons myself but the best macaron I ever had was chocolate peanut butter!
I have never made them, but have always wanted to try. I’m a little apprehensive though because everything I read makes them sound super difficult.
I have wanted to make macarons for awhile now but have been so scared! Your tips section has made me a little less afraid. And I really hate to admit this, but I don’t even know if I’ve ever eaten one!!! Maybe, but I truly can’t remember. I just bought some at a French Bakery in Seattle’s Pike Place Market for a friend and am debating on eating one, she doesn’t even know I got them for her 😉 I know, that’s awful! These that you made look SO incredibly good, I don’t even think I could come up with a better combination, except maybe coffee and chocolate…
I love macarons. I’ve never made them because they seem so tedious to make. I recently bought 12 at payard in nyc. The flavors were salted caramel (SO SO GOOD), pistachio, banana chocolate, cacao nibs, raspberry lychee and passion fruit.
although my all time favorite is probably earl grey black sesame seed
I have never made macarons, but love them. I would say a recipe with chocolate would be something I’d like to try. They look pretty tricky.
I’ve never made or even tried macarons! I would love to try this chocolate raspberry flavor combo – it sounds delish. Also, peanut butter & chocolate wouldn’t be too bad either. 🙂
I have actually never tried them before, but I would love to. It’s on my baking wish list! I’ve love to try some snickers flavor. Sounds delish!
I have not tried to make them. I have been holding off until I buy this attractive silicone macaron baking set that I covet (or using that as an excuse not to attempt it). I have had them, real ones in Paris! Pistachio is my favorite.
Wow Caroline these look perfect! You are so right- sifting the almond flour really helps with a smooth perfect shell!!
Love love love salted caramel macarons!
I made them years ago but maybe I’ll try again!
I’ve always wanted to try macarons and macaroons! I’ve never had either…sad right? I know, but after seeing this recipe I might just go into a baking frenzy and then a macaron eating frenzy. Omnomnom!
I have never made or tasted macarons. I think the Chocolate Raspberry ones sound like a good choice to try first!
I’ve never made macarons but I’ve tried them. I’m not sure that they had a special flavor. They must have been vanilla.
I’ve never tried to make macarons myself but I do have the Macaron Cafe book on how to make various ones. I’ve tried a few brands, last weekend I was in NYC and just had to try and compare the Laduree and Macaron Cafe ones…not sure which one I like better – my go-to macaron flavors are pistachio, caramel, and chocolate! I have made almond macaroons though and those came out scrumptiously.
I have tried to make them before, a salted caramel variety but it failed miserably and I am still to worried to try again!
I had lemon macarons once that were divine!
I’ve tried making them a couple of times and I’m closer to getting them just right 🙂 I’ve made Duquesne Club Macaroons and Vanilla Bean ones that are quite yummy if I do say so myself…
I’ve never made them but now I think I’ll try!
I had to make macarons to try them because no where near me sells them! The first few times (when I didn’t really know what I was doing) they didn’t work out. I’ll never forget the first time they came out perfectly! They were chocolate with Nutella buttercream. I’ve been addicted since! 🙂
Lovely work! Would you be happy to link it in to the current Food on Friday which is all about French Food? This is the link . I do hope to see you there. There are already a lot of links for you to check out. Cheers