Chocolate Cranberry Macarons

These chocolate cranberry macarons are perfect for when your taste buds are looking for a combination of sweet and tart! Filled with chocolate ganache and cranberry tart, they're the best part of my favorite trail mix wrapped up in french pastry shells. Macarons may be challenging, but these are definitely worth the time and effort!

Macaron Shell Tips:

• Don’t try to make these when it’s hot and humid outside! If it’s too warm/humid, the macarons won’t set properly after piping and they may crack.
• Weigh your ingredients with a scale instead of measuring. Accuracy is very important! This is why my recipe is only in grams.
• Wipe your meringue bowl with vinegar and let it dry before adding your egg whites to it to make sure it's super clean.
• Age your egg whites by weighing them into your vinegar-cleaned bowl, covering, and refrigerating overnight. Then, take them out and let them adjust to room temperature about an hour before making the meringue.
• Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just the right amount. This is vague, tricky, and will take practice to get the perfect consistency down. A lot of recipes say to fold until they batter is glossy and can smoothly form a ribbon without breaking, which is a good explanation!
• Use a silicone baking mat. Parchment paper works too, but the bottoms might not bake or stick as evenly as on a silicone mat. Macaron mats also have little circles on them to help get equal shell sizes!
• Make sure your oven is at the right temperature – you don’t want the shells rising too quickly or too slowly. Chances are, your oven isn’t at the temperature it says it’s at (mine runs ~50 degrees cooler), so I always have my oven thermometer in mine to make sure it’s where it needs to be.
• Don’t put the shells in the oven before they’re ready. You should be able to smoothly run your finger across the tops without them sticking at all. The time they need to set will differ based on your kitchen’s temperature/humidity, but I always wait at least 30 minutes.

Storage:

• Store assembled macarons or each separate component in the fridge for up to 1 week. Macarons reach their peak a day or two after they're made.
• The shells, curd, and ganache can be stored separately and assembled later. If you're going to wait longer than a few days to assemble them, store everything in the freezer. You can also store the completed macarons in the freezer for up to 1 month.

More Recipes You'll Love:

• Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Toasted Meringue Frosting
• Dirty Chai Macarons
• Spiced Carrot Sheet Cake
• The Best Homemade Chunky Applesauce

Feel free to send me a message if you have any macaron questions.

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