Caputo’s Chocolate Chip Macarons

Once is all it took. I saw them, made them, ate them and I thought, “I can Mac That.”

We saw Tony Caputo’s Market Dark Chocolate Chip cookie recipe on Female Foodie,  a terrific site authored by Brooke Eliason and her team, and we were hooked. We let those sweet dough balls sit in the fridge for 7 whole days before we baked them.  (FYI: Orson Gygi’s plastic covers for my baker’s half-sheet helped keep my family out of them.)

So we wanted to re-create the flavor of these cookies, but of course, in macaron form. So we deconstructed the cookies and figured what we needed:

• Basic Sweet Mac Shop Shells (recipe below)
• Filling: Using our standard American Buttercream recipe (below), measure out 1 cup of buttercream.  Add 1 teaspoon of brown sugar to the buttercream.
• Cookie Crumble (other cookies may be used, but your results won’t be as incredible)
• Melted dark chocolate Van Leer chips

Let’s start from the top to the bottom.  We baked Brooke’s cookie recipe only to destroy few of them with all the goodness they hold. We then made our famous Sweet Mac Shop shells, then dipped the tops in dark chocolate Van Leer chips. And as it shows in the video above, sprinkle the crushed cookie crumbs over the top and add a flourish of Fleur de sel finishing salt.  Set aside.

Here is the other part of the process (kind of a repeat of the lid):

Pipe a rim around the bottom cookie with brown-sugar buttercream.

Add cookie crumbs to the middle, inside the well made by the piping.  Add a drizzle of melted dark chocolate Van Leer chips, and sprinkle of Fleur de sel.  Add decorated lid.

Could it really be that easy? Yes. Yes it could. Was it completely mouth watering and just as delicious? Yes, yes it was. This recipe would also be delicious with our Shelf stable butter cream.  This recipe would also be delicious with a tall glass of milk, a chair on the beach and… nevermind.

We have to give a shout out to one of our favorite foodies.  Brooke gave us the confidence by showing this step step by step on her Instagram page.

SweetMacShop Macaron Shells

Here is our famous recipe for macaron shells. Please read through carefully before beginning. Cook time: 20 minutes.

Print This Sweet Recipe Pin Recipe

Equipment

• baker's half sheet pans: high quality baking sheets with rimmed edges
• KitchenAid stand mixer
• parchment paper or silpat baking mats (with macaron template)
• oven thermometer
• piping bag
• Wilton Tip #12
• food scale that will measure in grams or ounces
• scribe (a sharp, pointed tool), or a toothpick
• digital minute timer

Ingredients

  

• 160 grams egg whites room temperature
• 88 grams granulated sugar
• 256 grams powdered sugar
• 200 grams almond flour
• 1 tsp. clear vanilla extract

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 285 for steel pans, or 300 for aluminum pans. Preheat for at least 10 minutes.
• Measure out your granulated sugar in a small bowl; set aside.
• Measure powdered sugar, almond flour together, then use a sifter to combine. This will make them smooth and lump-free. Set aside.
• Place your bowl on the surface of your food scale. Hit the "tare" button to zero out the weight of the bowl. Now measure the room temperature egg whites into the bowl of your KitchenAid stand mixer.
• Add the clear vanilla extract.
• Place bowl on mixer stand (this recipe is for the KitchenAid mixer), and attach the wire whisk beater. Set timer for one minute. Turn mixer to Speed 4, and slowly add sugar to egg whites, shaking it in a little at a time during that first minute.
• When timer goes off, set mixer to Speed 6, and set timer for 2 minutes.
• When timer goes off, set mixer to Speed 8, and set timer for 1 and 1/2 minutes (90 seconds). Coloring may be added just before this last mixing. Egg whites should look silky, yet stiff enough to hold the peak.
• Now we'll make the macronage: blend in dry ingredients, by moving a flexible spatula around the bowl, then cutting down through the middle, making sure to scrape the bottom for the flour and incorporate it into the meringue. You know you are done when the batter rolls off the spatula in a continuous ribbon. Batter will be thick…but can flow like a ribbon.
• BAKER'S NOTE: I have several videos of making macronage in my Instagram Highlights.
• Insert Wilton #12 tip into the small opening of your piping bag. Scoop the macronage into the bag, filling only half-way full, leaving room to twist the top closed in order to keep the batter from spilling out the top. Pipe the macrons by applying pressure until the batter flows out and just reaches the inner rim of the marked circle on your mat. Immediately release pressure and swirl tip to incorporate point back into the center of the cookie. See my tips on Instagram Highlights.
• NOTE: if you will be using parchment paper — search for online — then download a template of circles and place underneath your parchment paper. You'll remove this before baking.
• Once the full pan is piped, gently (or aggressively–no judgement here) bang the pan down onto the counter to release air bubbles. I usually place a towel on the counter before banging the pan. Use your scribe or toothpick to pop any large bubbles, in order to create smooth shells.
• PREP FOR BAKING, METHOD ONE: Place your parchment paper or silpat mat on the bottom of an upside-down baker's half sheet. Pipe your circles. Let rest about 5 minutes, bang (see above) then place them to bake in a pre-heated oven.
• PREP FOR BAKING, METHOD TWO: Place your parchment paper or silpat mat on the inside of a baker's half sheet (like normal). Pipe your circles. Let rest until your finger can glide across the top of the mac without stickiness, often up to 30 minutes. Bang (see above), then place them to bake in a pre-heated oven.
• Bake for 20 minutes.
• Once out of the oven, DO NOT — I repeat — do not remove from pan until they are completely cooled.
• This recipe yields 36-42 completed cookies (about 72-84 shells).

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!