Hazelnut Macarons
Hazelnut Macarons– soft, hazelnutty, fudgy, and very delicious! If you’ve never made macarons before, give this recipe a try—you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how fun making macarons can be!
If you love these Hazelnut Macarons, you’ll want to try some of my other macaron recipes such as this Coffee Macaron or this sweet Dulce De Leche Macaron recipe and these delicious White Chocolate Raspberry Macarons.
Macaron Filling
This recipe for Hazelnut Macarons is very indulging, rich, and decadent, particularly the macaron filling. You kind of want to close your eyes and just enjoy it in silence.
The macaron shells start out with a simple gluten-free Italian Macaron Batter except I added some cocoa powder and chocolate cocoa nibs (you know, just pure chocolate) to make it extra chocolatey. The addition of the chocolate nibs makes these hazelnut macarons have a slight crunch, similar to that of a Ferrero Rocher candy.
Let’s talk about the macaron filling because that is what makes this dessert above and beyond! Rather than having to make a macaron filling from scratch, I simply used Nutella! If you love hazelnut and chocolate – you will absolutely love this one.
Think of a Ferrero Rocher, but in a macaron form!
Macaron vs. Macaroon
Macarons and macarons are often mistaken for one another in the name. In actuality, however, these two desserts are very different!
A macarOn is a meringue-based cookie made with almond flour, egg whites, and white sugar. The fun part about macarons is how versatile they can be. Even though the technique to make the macaron cookie is the same, the flavor profile can be changed completely by changing out the filling. Anything from chocolate ganache, to buttercream, cream cheese frosting, or jam will do the magic.
Although, the perfect filling will yield an ideal amount of moisture to the macaron making it velvety smooth, with the slight crunch from the outside, yet light and airy.
A macarOOn though is a coconut-based cookie made with grated coconut, egg whites, and powdered sugar. The texture of a macaroon is sort of dense, sticky and the addition of the coconut flakes makes it lumpy. Between the coconut and the powdered sugar, the cookie tends to be very sweet.
Tips for Making This Nutella Dessert
- Proper recipe: Make sure you use a recipe like this one that makes the perfect macaron cookie.
- Macaron filling: The filling in this Hazelnut Macaron is straight-up Nutella, kind of hard to mess it up 😉
- Store it properly: To get the best flavor, this Nutella dessert confection should be consumed with 24 – 72 hours of it being made, at the peak of their flavor. If you need to store it, place the macarons in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
If you have not succeeded with macarons so far, try my favorite and very popular post on my site: Italian Meringue Method of Macaron Making for any troubleshooting questions you might have when it comes to macarons. The post is a very comprehensive guide to your best chance of success.
Read the comment section to see how many other people have already succeeded to give you a confidence boost!
How To Make This Hazelnut Macaron Recipe
For detailed recipe instructions, see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Start by making the macaron shells. Use this recipe for basic macaron shells, replacing 50% of the almond flour with hazelnut flour and adding cocoa powder to sifted ingredients.
How To Add The Macaron Filling
- Fill a piping bag with the Nutella filling and pipe about a tablespoon of the filling onto the first half of the macaron shells, then top with the second cookie. Press gently to adhere.
Try These Other Amazing Macaron Recipes:
Hazelnut Macarons
Hazelnut Macarons- soft, hazelnutty, fudgy and very delicious! This recipe uses the Italian Meringue Method of macaron making, with an addition of cocoa powder and replacement of hazelnut flour for 50% of the almond flour in the recipe.
Ingredients
Macaron Cookie
- 106 g almond flour (106 g = 3/4 cup 3 tbsp )
- 106 g hazelnut flour (106 g = 1 cup 1 tbsp)
- 212 g powdered sugar (212 g = 1 3/4 cups + 1 Tbsp + 2 tsp)
- 82 g egg whites, room temperature (82 g = 1/4 cups + 1 1/2 Tbsp) - this will be folded into the almond mixture and form a paste)
- 90 g egg whites, room temperature (90 g = 1/4 cups + 2 Tbsp) -this will be whipped with the Syrup
- 236 g granulated sugar (236 g = 1 Cup + 2 Tbsp)
- 158 g water (158 g = 2/3 cup )
- 30 g cocoa powder (30 g = 4 sifted tbsp)
Topping
- 3 tbsp cocoa nibs
Filling
- 1 1/2 cups Nutella
Instructions
How to make Chocolate Hazelnut Macaron
Make The Syrup
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1. Mix the 158 g water and 236 g granulated sugar in a small saucepan and set over medium heat. Gently mix the mixture until the sugar is dissolved.
2. Place the probe of the thermometer into the syrup and cook until it reaches 248F degrees. (see Note 1 at the bottom).
3. Remove from heat immediately when the temperature is reached.
* If the syrup has crystallized, discard and start over. Use the syrup cooking time (it might take about 10-15 minutes) to sift the dry ingredients and prepare the egg whites.
Sift The Dry Ingredients and Prepare The Egg Whites
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1. Sift the 106 g of almond flour and 106 g of hazelnut flour, 30 g of cocoa powder and 212 g of powdered sugar twice into a large bowl.
2. Heat 172g of egg whites in the microwave in 5-7 second intervals, mixing after each, for about 30 seconds or until the egg whites are barely warm to the touch.
3. Add 82 g of egg whites to the sifted mixture. Pour the rest of the egg whites into a grease-free bowl and add a 1 tablespoon of sugar and set aside.
4. When the syrup is at about 240F, with a sturdy wooden spoon quickly mix egg whites with the sifted mixture until paste forms.
Make The Italian Meringue
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1. When the syrup is at about 243F to 244F, start to whip egg whites and sugar on medium speed, getting them ready for when the syrup reaches 248F and you can pour it into the fluffy egg whites.
2. Once the egg whites are foamy and the syrup is at 248F degrees, remove the syrup off the heat, increase the mixer speed to high and slowly pour the syrup into the egg whites between the whisk and the bowl. Continue whipping until the bowl is cool to the touch and the meringue has reached stiff peaks.
Make the Chocolate Macaron Batter
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1. Fold the whipped meringue into the almond/sugar paste in 3 additions, trying to reach the "lava" stage when the batter flows off the spatula into the bowl like lava, or when the batter dropped into the bowl takes about 30 seconds to dissolve into the rest of the batter, or when you're able to draw a figure 8 with the batter falling off the whisk. Stop immediately once you reach this stage as overmixing the batter will ruin the macarons. It is better to under-fold, then over-fold.
Pipe The Chocolate Macaron Batter
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1. Fill the prepared piping bag fitted with the 1/2 inch round plain tip with the macaron batter. You can drape the empty bag over a tall glass to make it easier to fill the pastry bag.
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3. Rap the sheet against the counter 5-10 times to remove any large bubbles. If you use a softer surface to avoid the loud noise that comes with rapping the sheet on the counter, increase the number of raps.
4. Next, use a pin or something sharp to pop any remaining bubbles that have risen to the surface of the macarons, but haven't popped.
Bake the Hazelnut Macarons
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1. Place into a preheated to 350F oven and immediately reduce the heat to 325F. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before removing off the parchment paper.
2. Bake the rest of the macarons in the same fashion, preheating the oven to 350F each time a new baking sheet is placed in the oven.
Pipe The Nutella Macaron Filling
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1. Fill a piping bag fitted with a 1/2 inch round piping tip with the Nutella filling and pipe about a tablespoon of the filling onto the first half of the macaron shells, then top with the second cookie, matching them by size and shape.
2. Press gently to adhere.
Mature Hazelnut Macarons
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Place the macarons into a container fitted with a lid and refrigerate or leave at room temperature for 24 hours before eating. This allows the flavors to mend and for the macaron to reach a fudgy and soft inside.
Recipe Notes
Note 1: If there are sugar splatter on the sides of the pot when making syrup, wash it down with a wet brush to prevent formation of large sugar crystals. If the syrup crystalizes, discard the syrup and start over.
Note 2: If the egg whites do not look smooth and look lumpy or "curdled" instead when whipping them, discard and prepare fresh set of egg whites for this step (about 90 grams), remembering to heat the egg whites.
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Marina | Let the Baking Begin
Hi! Can this recipe be made using the French method? It sounds delicious but I’m too lazy for the Italian method
I wouldn’t switch this to a french method, as these specific ingredient amounts are made for this specific technique. Changing anything can make it not work. Macarons are too complicated to change the recipe if you don’t have a thorough understanding of the techniques and effects that ingredients and their amounts can have on the final outcome.
Hi, I’ve tried your recipe for the basic italian merginue macaron and I thought it was a bit too sweet for my liking. I want to make this hazelnut one and I’m wondering if I can decrease the sugar or would that affect the outcome of the macaron?
Hi Cindy, typically you don’t want to mess around with the macaron recipes. Changing anything about the recipe can affect the outcome, so I wouldn’t change it. If you do find another recipe online that has less sugar and good reviews, you can try using that macaron recipe just with the Nutella as the filling.
I have not yet made these macarons but I had a question about the filling. Is it just nutella? If so, how easily does the filling fall out?
Hi Olivia, since we are not adding too much Nutella the filling tends to stay inside just fine.
I ambitiously made these as my first macaron to ever make! They didn’t really turn out, not sure if I under mixed or over fixed. I found it really hard to combine the egg whites with the nut flour “paste”
They didn’t really dehydrate well when tested for the 15minutes prior to baking.
Again, I’m a complete macaron amateur so I blame myself and not the recipe. The flavour was amazing and I’ll definitely try to make them again! Any tips or trips would be appreciated.
Xx
Hi Lynzey,
Could you share a little more about what went wrong so that I can help you troubleshoot it? Also, I strongly recommend that you read this post HERE that might answer a lot of questions about macarons.
I had a question you mentioned that if you use a Silpat you need to increase time, so my question how much longer do you need to bake Macarons for?
I’d cook it a minute or two longer.
Do cocoa nibs taste any better after baking them? I had bought them, tasted & tossed in the bin! Few years later thought try them again, same thing the taste is HORRIBLE! Any suggestions? I use the French method but am going to try your Italian meringue method. I love the ease of the French method & they always turn out beautifully.
Hi Bea,
The cocoa nibs are just small pieces of sugarless chocolate, so it is bitter in taste like a high chocolate ratio chocolate. They’re not essential to the flavor of the macarons. If not added too much, it should provide a little bit of a crunch, but not overpower the flavor of the whole macaron.
The texture of the Italian meringue macarons is typically a little more “meaty” than that of the French. I hope you love this recipe!
HI Marina,
Thank you for the Hazelnut macaron recipe. Before I try this my question is — the recipe calls for 30 grams of cocoa. Do you subtract 30 grams from the 212 grams of powdered sugar resulting in 182 grams for powdered sugar in order to compensate for the added cocoa?
Thank you so much!
Libby
Hi Libby
Do not subtract the cocoa amount from the powdered sugar amount. Use the recipe as written and it should work well.
Good luck, Libby!