Almond Chocolate Coconut Macarons

Of course, the shells always require quite a bit of time and effort, but luckily the ganache filling is incredibly simple and quick to make. Read my 6 Essential Macaron Rules below for my best tips, and never hesitate to reach out with any questions! Trust me, you're going to want to ditch the halloween candy this year and make these insanely delicious almond chocolate coconut macs instead!

For more unique macaron recipes, try Chai Macarons, Salted Caramel Macarons, Birthday Cake Macarons, and Red Velvet Macarons with Mascarpone Frosting.

Ingredient Notes

• White Vinegar: To ensure that your meringue remains stable, clean and wipe down all appliances with white vinegar.
• Powdered Sugar: You’ll need powdered sugar for the macaron shells.
• Almond Flour: Be sure to use extra fine almond flour to get those super smooth shells!
• Egg Whites: You’ll need about 3 egg whites for the shells. Don’t worry about bringing them to room temperature because you’ll just heat them up over a double boiler to make a swiss meringue! 
• Granulated Sugar: The sugar is going to be added to the egg whites when making the swiss meringue for the shells. It will only take a couple minutes for the sugar to dissolve into the egg whites, so whisk frequently and watch carefully!
• Almond Extract: Add a touch of almond extract to the meringue before folding in the dry ingredients. Remember, a little goes a long way!
• Chocolate: You'll need chocolate for both the ganache and to drizzle on top.
• Coconut Milk: You'll need about ¼ cup of coconut milk for the ganache filling. Alternatively, you could use heavy cream and simply add ¼ teaspoon of coconut extract to the ganache. 
• Neutral Oil: Add about a ½ teaspoon of neutral oil to the chocolate for drizzling so it does not look chalky as it dries.
• Coconut Flakes: I added toasted coconut flakes on top of the drizzled chocolate. If you'd like more coconut, you could mix some in with the ganache. 

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.

Step by Step Instructions

Here are step by step photos and instructions on how to make this almond chocolate coconut macaron recipe! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.

STEP 1: Make the macarons. Make the macaron batter by sifting dry ingredients together, then making the separate egg white mixture over a double boiler and whipping into a meringue until stiff peaks form. Fold the dry ingredients into the meringue in three batches, mixing the batter until it deflates slightly. Transfer batter to a piping bag, pipe macaron circles onto a prepared baking tray, rest for 30-40 minutes, and then bake for 8-12 minutes.

STEP 2: Make the ganache. Heat the coconut milk in the microwave for about 15 seconds or so. Pour over the chocolate and let sit for a few seconds. Stir the coconut milk and chocolate together. If there are still solid pieces of chocolate, melt in the microwave in 10 second intervals until completely smooth. Be careful of over heating the chocolate, this will make your ganache split. Place in the fridge until cool and viscous, but not too thick that you can't pipe it. Assemble the macarons by pairing them into twos, spreading ganache on one macaron, then sandwiching the other end together.

Expert Baking Tips

• The flavor of macaron shells develop more by the second day, so I recommend making them the day before and chilling them overnight, then assemble the next day. 
• If you have trouble peeling the macarons off of the parchment once they have cooled, pop them into the freezer for a few minutes and they should come off easily. 
• Macarons will last for a few days at room temperature and up to a week in the fridge. I prefer to store them in the fridge not only so they will last longer, but also because I find that they taste even better cold.  

My 6 Essential Macaron Rules

1. Wipe down all bowls and appliances with white vinegar. This will ensure that everything is spotlessly clean and nothing will hinder the stability of the meringue. 
2. Beat the meringue until STIFF peaks form. The best way to test this is to turn the bowl upside down to make sure that the meringue is stable enough and does not move at all. 
3. SIFT SIFT SIFT! You need to sift the powdered sugar and almond flour to get those smooth macaron shells!
4. Mix the batter with a silicone spatula by circling around and straight through the middle. Once all of the dry ingredients are incorporated, deflate the macaron batter by spreading it against the sides of the bowl. This will ensure that the shells do not come out hollow.
5. Test the consistency of the batter frequently by drawing a figure eight with the silicone spatula. You should be able to draw a figure eight a few times in a row without the batter breaking. This is how you know the batter is ready to be piped onto a baking sheet. 
6. Allow the macarons to rest long enough before going into the oven. I would recommend 30-40 minutes of rest time before baking. As they rest, a skin forms on the surface, which is what forces the macarons to bake upwards and grow feet!

All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale. 

If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.

But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!

Happy baking! x