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 Shinhee, I tried making macarons for the first time and the taste was spot on but for some reason I couldn’t quite get the folding part and the batter was a little too thick I think! I am motivated however to try again soon! thanks for the tips and great recipe!
Hi, Lisa. Thank you for trying my recipe and reaching out!! How many grams of egg whites did you use? Make sure to weigh all the ingredients on a scale. And if you already have done that, I’d increase the egg white amount by 2g and try again. Here’s the video on macaronage (folding the batter) technique.
These did not turn out well for me. I have made macarons successfully several times before and I use a scale to measure carefully. I realized after that every other recipe I have used calls for about twice a much (by weight) powdered sugar than almond flour… this recipe calls for equal amounts?? They didn’t taste good and the batter was too thick. They cracked. Possibly my fault somewhere but, esthetics aside, they should at least taste good!
Hi, Jess. Such bummer my recipe didn’t work out for you. And I’m quite surprised that you didn’t even like the taste. I pride the flavor of my shells, because while they have reduced sugar amount, the texture also comes out perfect.
I have dozens of flavored shells, and my base recipe has been successfully made by hundreds of people all around the world, so I’m pretty confident about my recipe. That being said, I highly recommend sticking to one recipe. You said you’ve successfully made macarons before, so I’d stick to that one and then make minor changes to add different flavorings.
But I appreciate your feedback.
Just made these for my first time ever making Macarons. They were great. I followed everything you said and there was no problems. I even made at high altitude and no problems. Thanks for a great recipe. I was always so intimidated by them before.
Yay, so glad you had macaron success, Cherie! Thank you for sharing your feedback.
First time trying Macarons and it worked great! Even at high altitude. Just made these for St Patrick’s day and we loved them. Didn’t wait the 8 hours to try one but still great ! Thanks for the tips and tricks. Seeing “feet” made my day.
Here I go, my first time making macarons! Is there ANY vanilla in this recipe? The ingredient list does not include any, but step 3 says to add vanilla and mint extracts, along with the green food coloring.
Hi, Claire. Sorry for confusion. I used to add vanilla extract. But since it’s additional moisture, some people have issues with the batter, so I removed it.
Just tried this and now my kitchen smells like Christmas! Oh. My. Lord these taste like heaven! I had to redo the filling though because I used white chips instead of white CHOCOLATE chips. Though that was my fault. This recipe is amazing! Question, I used parchment paper but the footing of the shells still stuck out! I read that the parchment paper was supposed to prevent that, so I’m just wondering what went wrong. This recipe is great though, I will use it again! Much love to you Shinee!
Hi, Brenna. Your macarons may have been slightly under-baked. Also, I read a great tip in Lauduree macaron book: When you pull out the baking sheet, drop a small amount of water (not too much!) under the parchment paper and let cool completely. The steam will make it easy to remove the shells, once they’re cool. Maybe try this trick next time.
ur tip wig mixing is false, it came out too thick and the baking didn’t turn out as the pictures here…i imagine reversed ur photos, are you sure those are yours??
Hi, Maxine. I’ve shared dozen of macaron recipes for different flavors on my site and make macarons with the same base recipe all the time. So yeah, I’m pretty sure these photos are mine. Instead of being suspicious of the source of my photos, you could have asked what YOU may have done wrong. Macaron is not an easy thing to make, and mixing technique comes with an experience, but with your attitude, I can’t be any help to you. So I hope you’ll find a recipe that you’ll be happy with. Good luck!
hi Shinee i am back with another question. how many macarons does this recipe make?? and if it is a little amount is it possible if i could double the recipe or would that wreck the batter???
Cassie, I get about 20-25 filled macarons (about 40-50 shells). They’re about 1.5-inch rounds, so they’re small cookies. I’ve never tried doubling the batch, so I can’t say for sure if it’ll be the same or not.
thanks shinee for the tips it was so helpful
Awesome! So glad you found it helpful, Cassie!
Hi Shinee,
i am making these Macarons for a school project and i am REALLY NERVOUS because this is my first time making macarons and i need these to be amazing. Are there any tips you can give me???
Hi, Cassie!! So excited for you to try baking macarons. I’ve written a detailed Macaron 101 guide and this helpful tools for making macarons. Hope you’ll find them useful.