A couple of weeks ago, I was having a conversation with a friend when he mentioned he isn’t really a cookie guy. After I picked my jaw up off the floor (who doesn’t like cookies?!), he said that his sweet treat of choice was a brownie. Now, I’m not often getting inspiration from everyday conversations that I have, but this one sparked something and now we have brownie batter macarons!
Let’s talk a little bit about these, shall we?
We’ve got a nice delicate chocolate shell. A little cocoa powder is all we’re adding to the shell ingredients. The filling though? That’s the star of the show. Edible brownie batter. Pretty typical brownie batter ingredients, but this time we’re heat-treating the flour (we don’t want to consume raw flour) and using milk instead of eggs. Trust me when I say you won’t be able to taste the difference.
It’s rich, chocolatey, and if you ever find yourself wanting brownies without having to wait for them to bake, look no further.
If my friend was in town, I’d make sure he was first in line to try these, but he lives clear across the country and no way are these traveling that far. Instead, these will be shared among friends, family, and my coworkers during our weekly cookie Wednesday.
Love chocolate and brownies? You’ll love these too. Get baking, friends!
Brownie Batter Macarons
Ingredients
- Macaron Shells:
- 275g almond flour
- 240g powdered sugar
- 10g dark cocoa powder
- 210g egg whites
- 210g sugar
- Brownie Batter:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 cups heat treated all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
Directions
- Step 1 Macaron Shells:
- Step 2 To start, put the almond flour, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder in a food processor and blend thoroughly. Sift into a bowl to ensure there are no lumps.
- Step 3 In the bowl of a stand mixer (make sure it’s clean and dry), beat the egg whites until foamy. Slowly add the sugar, about 2 tbsp at a time, beating on a medium speed. Once the sugar has dissolved, increase speed to medium high and beat until a thick glossy meringue forms. The mixture should form stiff peaks and you should be able to tip the bowl over your head with none of the mixture coming out.
- Step 4 With a large, flat rubber spatula, gently fold 1/3 of almond flour/powdered sugar mixture into egg whites until combined. Repeat until all of the almond mixture has been added. Fold to combine until you see no streaks of almond flour in the batter. The batter should be pretty fluid, a lot of people describe as a lava-like consistency. It should run smoothly off the spatula when you pull it out. This part comes with practice. Once you know the consistency, you’ll just be able to feel when it’s ready.
- Step 5 Pipe the batter into circles onto parchment or silicone lined baking sheets. Bang the tray a few times on a table to remove air bubbles and allow to sit for about 30 minutes before baking. To see if they’re ready for baking, touch your finger to them. If you get batter on your finger, they need to rest longer.
- Step 6 While resting, preheat your oven to 300°F with a rack placed in the lower third of the oven. Bake, one sheet at a time, for 15-18 minutes (this depends on your oven, my old one was fine at 15 minutes, this one needs 17-18). The shells should cool completely before you remove them from the parchment/silicone.
- Step 7 Brownie Batter:
- Step 8 In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in the milk and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
- Step 9 Add the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Mix until fully combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for an additional 30 seconds.
- Step 10 Assembly:
- Step 11 Pair up the macaron shells. Pipe the brownie butter onto one half of each pair and sandwich together.
