Nutella Macarons

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup hazelnut meal*
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 egg whites, room temperature
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ¼ granulated sugar
• Filling:
• 1/2 cup Nutella
• 1 cup powdered sugar, optional

Instructions

  1. Separate your eggs and allow them to come to room temperature while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
  2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  3. Mix hazelnut meal, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, espresso powder, and salt until combined. Sift into a medium bowl.
  4. When the egg whites are room temperature, add the cream of tartar. Beat on medium speed until frothy.
  5. Gradually add sugar, beat until stiff, glossy peaks form.
  6. Add half of the dry ingredients and fold with a rubber scraper, then repeat with the other half of the dry ingredients, being careful not to over-fold and deflate the whites.
  7. Place the batter in a large piping bag fitted with a large round tip (Wilton #806), and pipe circles onto lined baking sheets. Tap each baking sheet against the counter once to remove any air bubbles. Let sit 15-30 minutes.
  8. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
  9. Bake the macarons for 15-16 minutes, rotating the pans from front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking time.
  10. The macarons are done when they just begin to separate from the parchment. Cool completely on a wire rack.
  11. You can use straight Nutella for the filling, or mix the Nutella with powdered sugar for a thicker paste. Use an offset spatula or an icing bag to top one macaron, and then find a similarly sized macaron to complete the sandwich. Repeat with all meringues.

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