Coffee Caramel Macarons with Hazelnut

Tap the tray hard. Twice. Watch the bubbles race to the surface — that’s when you know they’ll have feet. Coffee and hazelnut macarons sound fancy until you realize it’s just meringue, powder, and a caramel-butter filling that tastes like it took three hours. Takes 1 hour 15 minutes total. Most of that’s waiting.

Why You’ll Love This Macaron Recipe

Homemade hazelnut macarons with dulce de leche actually work. The coffee cuts through the sweetness instead of disappearing. Texture’s right — crispy shell, slight give, the filling’s almost mousse-like. You’ll want to make them again immediately after finishing the batch. Store them in the fridge and they taste better the next day. Not sure why. They just do. The salted butter and fleur de sel in the filling saves this from being too saccharine.

What You Need for Coffee Caramel Macarons

Light honey. Not dark. Dark’s too heavy. Hazelnut powder — finely ground matters because it affects how the shells set. Ground coffee. Not espresso powder. The coffee stays visible, tastes sharper. Room temperature egg whites. Cold ones don’t whip right. Caster sugar for the meringue. Dulce de leche straight from the jar works. Don’t make it from scratch. Not worth it. Salted butter, softened — not melted. Big difference. Fleur de sel. Coarser than table salt. Stays on top of the filling instead of dissolving.

How to Make Hazelnut Macarons with Ground Coffee

Beat the egg whites until they’re foamy, then start adding the caster sugar slowly. Keep beating. You want stiff peaks — glossy, shiny, holds its shape. This takes a few minutes. Don’t rush it.

Sift the honey with the hazelnut powder and ground coffee in a separate bowl. The coffee floats on top at first. Mix until it’s all the same color. No streaks.

Fold the meringue into the dry ingredients with a spatula. This part matters. Fold gently but not timidly — if you’re too careful, the batter stays lumpy. You want it shiny. It should flow off the spatula slowly, thick enough to pipe but not stiff. Takes maybe 30 folds. You’ll feel when it’s right.

How to Get Perfect Macaron Shells with Feet

Preheat to 170°C (340°F). Line two baking trays with parchment. Draw 24 circles about 4 cm across on the parchment, then flip it over so the pencil marks are underneath. This stops the graphite from getting into the shells.

Transfer the batter to a piping bag with a 1 cm round tip. Pipe into the circles — don’t overthink it, they don’t need to be perfect. Tap the trays hard on the counter a couple times. You’ll see the bubbles rise. This is crucial. Bubbles = no feet. You’re forcing them out.

Rest them for 25 minutes. Don’t touch them. A skin forms on top, matte and slightly firm. This is what creates feet in the oven.

Bake one tray at a time for about 25 minutes. They might need rotating halfway through if your oven has hot spots. They’re done when they don’t jiggle at the base and the feet are visible and slightly crispy. Cool on racks completely — about 1 hour. Don’t rush this.

Coffee Caramel Macaron Tips and Common Mistakes

The biggest mistake is not tapping the trays after piping. No taps = no feet. Flat shells. They’ll still taste good but they won’t look right.

Folding matters more than you think. Under-fold and the batter’s grainy. Over-fold and it spreads too thin. The batter should be glossy and almost flow — that’s the target.

The resting time before baking isn’t optional. 25 minutes minimum. This skin is what separates macarons from meringue cookies.

Filling goes in after everything’s completely cool. Hot shells melt the butter filling. Useless. Whip the dulce de leche with the softened butter and fleur de sel until pale and fluffy — it’ll be less dense. Chill it 25 minutes. Beat it again briefly before piping. This creates peaks that hold better.

French macarons with ground coffee and hazelnut do better cold. Refrigerate at least 8 hours. You can freeze them if you want. Bring them to room temperature 30 minutes before eating.

Coffee Caramel Macarons with Hazelnut

By Emma

Prep:

50 min

Cook:

25 min

Total:

1h 15min

Servings:

24 servings

Ingredients

• 90 g honey, light and liquid
• 91 g hazelnut powder, finely ground
• 5 ml (1 tsp) ground coffee
• 3 egg whites, room temperature
• 65 g caster sugar
• 110 ml dulce de leche
• 60 g salted butter, softened
• 1 pinch fleur de sel

Method

1. 1 Beat egg whites with a whisk until foamy. Slowly add caster sugar, beat until stiff peaks, glossy meringue forms.
2. 2 In a bowl, sift honey with hazelnut powder and coffee grounds. Mix well.
3. 3 Fold wet meringue into dry ingredients gently with spatula. Mix until batter is shiny and flows slowly off spatula but still thick enough to pipe.
4. 4 Preheat oven to 170°C (340°F). Line two baking trays with parchment. Trace 24 circles about 4 cm diameter on parchment under sheets then flip parchment over.
5. 5 Transfer batter to piping bag with 1 cm round tip. Pipe round shapes inside traced circles. Tap trays hard a couple times on counter for bubbles to rise. Rest 25 minutes for shells to develop a matte, slightly firm skin.
6. 6 Bake one tray at a time for about 25 minutes. Rotate halfway if needed. Let cool completely on racks about 1 hour before removing from parchment carefully.
7. 7 Mix dulce de leche with softened salted butter and a pinch of fleur de sel in a bowl. Whip with electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Cover, refrigerate 25 minutes to thicken.
8. 8 Beat filling again briefly until firm peaks form. Transfer into piping bag with plain tip.
9. 9 Pipe filling onto bottoms of half the cooled shells. Sandwich with remaining shells gently pressing.
10. 10 Store macarons in airtight container in fridge at least 8 hours or freeze if wanted. Bring to room temp 30 minutes before eating.

Nutritional information

Calories

150

Protein

3g

Carbs

17g

Fat

9g

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Frequently Asked Questions About Macaron Recipe

Can I use almond flour instead of hazelnut powder? Yeah. They’ll taste different — more neutral. They’ll bake the same way. Hazelnut powder’s slightly denser so you might get a thicker shell, but close enough.

Why did my macarons not get feet? Didn’t tap the trays. Or the resting time was too short. Both create flat shells. The feet come from air bubbles escaping from the base during baking.

How long do these hazelnut macarons with caramel filling last? A week in the fridge if you keep them in an airtight container. They taste better days 2 and 3. Freeze them for a couple months. Thaw in the fridge overnight.

Can I make the filling ahead? Make it days ahead. Just keep it covered in the fridge. Whip it briefly again before piping. If it gets too stiff, let it sit at room temp for 5 minutes.

What if my meringue won’t whip to stiff peaks? Even one drop of egg yolk ruins it. Your bowl or whisk had fat on it. Start over. Wash everything with dish soap. Dry completely.

Should I use liquid honey or set honey? Liquid. Set honey’s harder to mix with the powder. Warm it gently if you need to. Don’t make it hot.