These mint macarons are here to impress! Light and crisp, with a satisfying chew in the middle, these delightful little cookies are filled with minty chocolate ganache. Or you’d prefer a boozy filling, I also included minty Baileys ganache!
Also, in this macaron recipe, we’ll talk in depth about how to pair and fill macaron shells, how to mature and store them properly. Keep reading…
Table of Contents
What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re stressed? For me, it’s baking. But definitely not macarons!
- Chocolate brownies, sure.
- Indulgent chewy cookies, yes!!
But never ever french macarons!
Because if those finicky macarons come out less than perfect, it’ll just make a bad day worse! You know what I mean, right?
Anyhow, I still love baking macarons. Because it brings SO much joy when you pull out a tray full of perfectly round and smooth macarons with beautiful feet. Pure bliss!
If you’ve ever baked macarons, you know what I mean, right?
But if you’re new to baking macarons, I highly recommend starting with my basic macaron recipe.
How to make mint macarons:
- Make the meringue – make sure to whip your meringue until stiff peaks and it balls up inside your whisk.
- Sift the dry ingredients to aerate and remove large chunks.
- Mix meringue with dry ingredients until perfect consistency – runny enough to draw a figure eight.
- Pipe 1.5-inch circles on 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and bake.
How to fill macarons:
Before you fill macarons, we need to pair them. This basically means we’ll find equal size macarons and put them together.
When ready to fill, place one shell upside down and other pair next to them, as pictured below. Pipe a dollop of ganache filling on bottom shell and place the other shell on top. Gently press to distribute the filling evenly. Voila, your mint macarons are ready!
Well, almost. Let’s talk about maturing…
What does maturing macarons mean?
Many macaron recipes direct you to fill the macarons and store in the fridge for at least 24 hours to mature. But what does that mean?
Maturing macarons basically means letting the filled macarons rest in the fridge to allow the filling seep into the shells, softening and flavoring it. This’s especially important if the macaron shells have no flavoring.
That’s being said, I have no problem devouring a few macarons right away, with and without filling!!
To mature filled macarons, place them in an airtight container and place it in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
Bring the macarons to room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.
How to store macarons:
Once the macarons matured in the fridge for 24 hours, you can either keep them in the fridge or you can also freeze them!
- Refrigerate in an airtight container for 3-5 days, depending on the filling.
- Freeze in airtight container for up to 1 month.
You can also freeze unfilled macarons shells in airtight container for up to 3 months.
Mint French Macarons with Minty White Chocolate Ganache Filling
Ingredients
For macaron shells:
- 100 g fine almond flour Note 1
- 65 g powdered sugar Note 2
- 70 g egg whites Note 3
- 75 g fine granulated sugar Note 4
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar Note 5
- ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 drop green gel food coloring
Filling #1 – Mint White Chocolate Ganache:
- 8 oz white chocolate chips
- ½ cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream
- ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
Filling #2 – Minty Baileys Ganache:
- 8 oz white chocolate chips
- ¼ cup (60 ml) heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup (60 ml) Mint Baileys
- ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
Instructions
To make macaron shells:
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, or teflon sheet, or silicone mat.
- To prepare dry ingredients, sift together almond flour and powdered sugar twice. (Note: If you have up to 2 tablespoons of chunky dry ingredients left in the sifter, you don't have to replace it. Simply discard those chunky bits.)
- To make meringue, in a clean mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, combine egg whites, granulated sugar, cream of tartar and salt and beat the mixture on medium speed until soft peaks form. (I set it to speed 4 on my KitchenAid stand mixer. It takes 30-40 minutes to whip the meringue, but it's well worth it for nice and full shells.)
- When the meringue reaches soft peaks, add peppermint extract and a few drops of green gel food coloring.
- Continue beating the meringue at the same medium speed until hard peaks form. Visual cues: Meringue should ball up inside the whisk, and when you lift the whisk, the meringue should hold a pointy end and have sharp ribs.
- To make batter, sift almond flour mixture into the meringue. Using a silicone spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the meringue until fully incorporated. Then continue to fold the batter until it’s runny enough to draw a figure eight. To test, take a small amount of batter and drop it into the bowl. If the small peaks dissolve into the batter on its own in about 10 seconds, the batter is ready. If not, fold couple more times and test again. Be careful not to over-fold the batter. (TIP: Making french macarons is all about the technique. This is one of the most crucial step. Let me try to describe the folding motion as best as I can: run the spatula clockwise from the bottom, up around the sides and cut the batter in half. If you’re beginner macaron-baker, I suggest to count every fold. It takes roughly about 50 folds to reach the proper consistency. After 50 folds, start testing the batter, and continue testing after every couple folds.)
- To pipe macaron shells, transfer the batter into a pastry bag, fitted with a round tip. (I use this Wilton 2A tip.)
- Hold the pastry bag at straight 90° angle and pipe about 1.5-inch rounds about an inch apart on prepared baking sheets. (TIP 2: Download my free macaron template. Simply pipe the batter to fill inner circle.)
- Tap the baking sheets firmly on the counter (or slap the bottom of the baking sheet with one of your hands) a few times to get rid of any air bubbles. You can also use a toothpick to burst some large air bubbles. This step ensures smooth tops.
- Let the macarons rest on the counter for 15 minutes before baking.
- To bake, bake the macarons for 15-18 minutes, one baking sheet at a time, on the middle rack. It’ll take longer for larger macarons. To test for doneness, touch a macaron lightly and try to move it. If it slides and wobbles, bake a minute or so longer. The cooked macarons should be firm to touch and the base shouldn’t move.
- Cool the macarons complete and then remove the shells from the baking surface. (TIP: Don't remove the shells while warm, you may risk breaking the shells, or the bottom might get stuck to the baking surface.)
To make the filling:
- Bring heavy cream to a simmer, not a boil. (If you're making filling #2, heat the cream and Baileys together.)
- Pour the hot cream over the white chocolate chips and let stand for 2 minutes. Then mix until smooth with a rubber spatula.
- Using an immersion blender, blend the mixture until silky smooth, which means the mixture is emulsified. Cover with a plastic wrap, making sure it touches the surface of the ganache. Chill the ganache in the fridge until nice and thick, about 1 hour.
- Transfer the buttercream into a pastry bag with round tip.
To assemble macarons:
- Pair the macaron shells by size and arrange them on a wire rack. Line them up so that bottom shells are upside down.
- Pipe a dollop of filling on bottom shells. Place the top shell over the filling and press lightly so the filling spreads till the edges.
- Refrigerate the filled macarons in an airtight container for at least 24 hours to mature, which allows the filling to soften and flavor the shells.
- To serve, bring the macarons out about 30 minutes prior to serving.
Tips & Notes
Nutrition
This mint macarons recipe was originally published on April 7th, 2014, and last updated on March 2, 2020.
Hi Shinee
I have never made macarons, but will be trying them tomorrow as a 50th birthday gift for a friend. However, I would like to make two different flavours to be gift-boxed.
How do I halve one batch and flavour each half differently? At what stage do I add the flavouring and colourant? I would like to make the mint macarons as you’ve shown on this post, as well as salted caramel macarons ( I will leave these white/cream and sprinkle rock salt on top of the unbaked macarons).
Hello! Once you measure out the almond flour and powdered sugar, do you compensate for any flour/sugar that did not fully sifted well? I have been following your recipes for a few weeks and I love them! I just always seem to have flour/sugar that won’t sift so I’ve been adding more, and the mixture is always thick, but bakes well. My question is, once you measure and sift, do you have any remaining flour/sugar bits that you can’t sift and just throw them away? Or add more to make a full 1cup and 3/4 cup? Thanks!
Hi, Victoria! I don’t compensate for the leftover chunky dry ingredients after sifting. Up to 2 tablespoons is fine, but if you get more than that you would want to add a bit more of dry ingredients. I used to have a lot of chunky pieces left in the sieve, but since I switched almond flour brand I no longer have that issue, everything goes through the sieve. Hope this helps.
Hi Shinee, I made these for my son who loves mint- the whole family loved them and although I was nervous, they worked perfectly. I am wondering if the recipe can be doubled? Also I have heard filled macaroons freeze well – have you ever tried freezing this recipe? For the lady having trouble, I’ve read on other sites to lay out the almond meal on a tray to dry out for a day (or two) use egg whites at room temp, and even drain through a sieve overnight to remove water content, and wipe out egg white whisking utensils with a vinegar wash to remove any oils. Thank you, Sandie
Yay, I’m so happy you made these, Sandie! I bet your son was happy too. So yes, filled macarons freeze beautifully! I freeze mine all the time now. I put in two layers of ziplock bags to prevent freeze burn.
For the ganache can I use heavy whipping cream instead of heavy cream?
Yes, definitely. Thanks, Je.
Hello! For the ganache, can I substitute semi-sweet or dark chocolate instead? If i did, are there any other changes that need to be made to the ganache instructions? Thanks!
Hi, Megan. Yes, you can use dark chocolate. No change is necessary. Hope you’ll enjoy!
I’ve done tons of macaron recipes but I always fail. I don’t know what I did wrong. I had the ingredients, but for some my macarons never have the feet, or are too bumpy, or come out just flat. What am I doing wrong? I made sure my egg whites were properly whisked, really I’m on the verge of giving up. What can a girl do after trying forever
Hi, Bryanna! Don’t give up yet, you’ll get there. 🙂 I know how frustrating it is when you get a failed macarons, but have you seen my French Macaron 101 guide? It has a troubleshooting guide with visuals for different issues. There’re so many little things could be affecting, so I’d suggest looking at that post very quick and see if you can spot the problem. If not, let me know and we can discuss further.
Hi, so for Mother’s Day I tried making these but I’m so far at the folding step and it’s like a paste but I’ve folded it over 100+ times. Is it a gonner? What should I do? Should I try finishing it out and see how it goes, considering I’ve spent a good 2 hours already because the of the moisture in the air the egg whites would not turn into stiff peaks they would get to medium but not stiff stiff so I gave up and mixed in the almond flour and the powered sugar and it’s giving me a paste that looks grainy but when you pinch it it isn’t grainy at all almost like it’s all air bubbles.
Oh no, so sorry to hear you’re having a trouble. If it’s not getting any more runny, then I guess you could try baking it now. Yeah, meringue doesn’t like humid weather, hope you give it another try on a dryer day.
It’s been raining ever since and I did actually bake them, they turned out great besides how ugly and big they were cause the batter was so hard to pipe out. It’s a great workout though ????
hi I am so exited they seem just so delicious, and I am about to do your recipe but I have a question….
100gr of almonds and 100gr of powder sugar ? or 1cup of almonds and 3/4cup of powder sugar ?
Hi, Fenanda! Excited that you’re going to try these macarons. What is your question? 1cup of almond flour= 100gr almond flour, and 100gr of powdered sugar = 3/4 cup powdered sugar.
I made these macarons and they came out hollow. I know I didn’t over mix my batter and I was sure I didn’t beat my meringue wrong. Can you tell me what happened?
Hi, Sarah! It might also be due to high oven temperature. Have you checked your oven temp with an oven thermometer? What could happen is that the macarons get raised in too hot oven too quickly setting the outter shell, then the inside isn’t cooked long enough and it collapses. That’d be my only other guess.
Can you add some very finely shaved pieces of chocolate into the macaron batter to make it a mint chocolate chip macaron? My friend is having a birthday and she loves that ice cream flavor.
Hi, Michelle! I’ve never tried that so I can’t be sure. I don’t see why it wouldn’t work though. Let me know how it turns out if you try it.
Out of curiosity, did it work?