Hello friends! Today let’s make Samoa Cookie Macarons, my special new macaron recipe! As you know, I love making macarons!
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From all of the Girl Scout Cookies, my favorites are the Samoa Cookies.
And initially, I wanted to make a recipe for homemade Samoa Cookies. That’s when I had the sudden realization: why not make it a macaron recipe, and a Samoa cookie recipe, all in one?
Perfect!
I made the macaron shells into donuts, to keep the shape of the original Samoa Cookies.
I have a template of the donut macarons here for you.
Click below to download the pdf for the Donut Macaron Template.
Basically you go about making the macaron the same way, and when you pipe the batter, make sure to pipe an even ring.
Let macarons dry, as usual. I let mine dry for about 20 minutes depending on how dry or humid the weather is. It’s usually pretty dry where I live.
Make sure to always do those successful tips that will help you have better macarons, such as tapping the baking trays against the counter. And not so much tapping, but more like banging your trays against the counter.
These donut shaped macarons were so fun to make I want to create more flavors with this shape!
After you bake your macarons, once they have cooled down, you may start dipping half of the batch in melted chocolate.
That’s when I thought: those Samoa Cookie Macarons are coming out just fine!
Not to mention the caramel. This toasted coconut caramel is for the Gods. Seriously no kidding, best thing ever! You are going to want to eat it by the spoonfuls.
And remember to quickly place the top shell of the macarons, before the caramel starts to dry and set. Because then, the top shell won’t stick to the caramel.
Voila! Samoa Cookie Macarons!!
Well, before the drizzle of chocolate, which I didn’t photograph because I was probably too happy doing a dance of how beautiful my macarons had turned out. Yes I’m proud of them.
Seriously, check out that thick caramel filling. Tell me these aren’t the best!
Now, if you like these Samoa Cookie Macarons, you might want to check out some more of my French macaron recipes.
And here are some of my favorites:
- Strawberry Macarons
- Brigadeiro Macarons
- French Vanilla Macarons
- Pecan Macarons
- Dulce de Leche Macarons
- Pomegranate Macarons
- Raspberry Macarons
These Samoa Cookie Macarons just made my favorites list, also! You can imagine why. I absolutely love caramel, dulce de leche, and chocolate anything!
I will confess, I put them on top of cupcakes. Check back tomorrow for the recipe of my Samoa Cupcakes!
If you are new to making macarons, check out my Matcha Macarons post, where I go over some main tips and techniques. On my Raspberry Macarons post, I talk about Almond Flour, brands, sifting methods, etc. On my Espresso Macarons post, I answer common questions about making macarons. On my Lemon Macarons post, I talk about macaron shelf life and storage. Check them out! And also, there are tones of other resources online that can help you.
Have a great day and thanks for reading my blog.
Samoa Cookie Macarons
Ingredients
Chocolate Macaron Shells
- 100 grams egg whites
- 100 grams granulated sugar
- 105 grams almond flour
- 75 grams powdered sugar
- 14 grams cocoa powder
Toasted Coconut Caramel Filling
- 27 soft caramel candies unwrapped (about 1 cup, 170 grams, 5.9 oz)
- 1 cup toasted coconut flakes*
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
For the chocolate drizzle/macaron bottom
- 2 cups chocolate chips 350 grams, 12.3 oz
Instructions
Chocolate Macaron Shells
Before you start, get all of the ingredients ready. Prepare a large piping bag, fitted with a large round tip.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mat.
Measure out all of the ingredients.
Sift the powdered sugar, almond flour, and cocoa powder together. Set aside.
Place the egg whites and granulated sugar in a heat proof bowl or in a double boiler. Over a pan of barely simmering water, whisk the whites and sugar until frothy and the sugar is completely melted. It will take a couple of minutes. You can test by touching the mixture between your fingers, and if you feel any sugar granules just keep whisking the mixture over the water bath.
Make sure the bottom of the bowl isn’t touching the simmering water because you don’t want the whites to cook.
Also, don’t overheat the sugar syrup, this may cause issues down the line, such as wrinkly macarons.
Transfer the syrup to the bowl of a stand mixer.With the whisk attachment, start whisking mixture on low for about 30 seconds, then gradually start increasing speed to medium. Whisk on medium for one to two minutes, until the mixture is white and starting to become fluffy. Raise the speed to high for a few minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Best way to check this is to keep your eye on the whites. Once they get glossy and you start seeing streaks formed by the whisk, it might be time to stop.
Whisk until stiff peaks have formed. When you pull your whip up, the peak should be stiff and shooting straight up, with possibly a slight bend at the top, but not bending to the side.
Pour the sifted powdered sugar and almond flour into the stiff meringue.
Start folding gently forming a letter J with a spatula.Add the food coloring at this point, if using.
How to know when to stop folding the batter: It’s time to stop folding when the batter is glossy and has a thick and flowing consistency. There are several ways to test this.
First, pick up some batter with the spatula and try to draw a figure 8 with the batter that is dripping off the spatula. If you can form several 8 figures without the batter breaking up, that’s one indication that it might be ready.
There’s another test you can do. I call it the Teaspoon test.
Grab a teaspoon of batter and spoon onto the parchment paper or silicon mat. Wait a minute to see how it behaves.
If the batter stays stiff, forming a point and doesn’t spread out, fold a little bit more, about 3 folds. Test again.
Once the batter spreads out a bit and starts to look glossy and smooth on top, on the parchment paper, it's ready.
You don’t want your batter to be too runny either. So be careful not to overmix. It’s always best to undermix and test several times until the proper consistency has been achieved.
When you hold the spatula with batter on top of the bowl and the batter falls off the spatula slowly but effortlessly the batter is ready. The batter will keep flowing off the spatula non-stop, but not too quickly.
Transfer the batter to the piping bag.
- Once you’ve piped as many 1 1/2” disks as you could (check the post above for a template of the donut shape macaron), bang the trays against the counter a few times each. This will release air bubbles that are in the batter and prevent your macaron shells from cracking.
Let the trays sit for a while so the shells will dry out a little bit. I usually leave about 20-40 minutes, depending on how humid the day is. You’ll know they’re ready when you gently touch the surface of a macaron and it seems dry.
- Pre-heat the oven to 325F.
- Bake one tray at a time.
Bake for 5 minutes, rotate tray.
Bake for 5 more minutes. Rotate again.
I bake each tray for about 15 to 20 minutes.
When baked, the macarons will have a deeper color and formed feet. If you try to move a macaron, it shouldn’t feel jiggly. If the macaron is still jiggly, keep baking.
- Remove from the oven and bake the other tray.
- Let the macarons cool down before proceeding with the filling.
Toasted Coconut Caramel Filling
- Mix caramel candies, coconut flakes, and heavy cream in a small saucepan. Place pan over medium heat, and stir constantly while the caramels melt.
- Keep stirring until the caramels have completely melted.
- Set mixture aside to cool. You want it to be at room temperature at the time you assemble your macarons. If the caramel mixture is cold from the fridge, simply let it sit at room temperature until it has softened.
- For the chocolate drizzle/macaron bottom
- Melt chocolate in the microwave, 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until the chocolate has completely melted.
To assemble
- Dip half of the macaron shells in melted chocolate. Let them sit, on a parchment paper lined pan until completely dry. You can put shells in the fridge to speed up this part.
- Place about 1 teaspoon of caramel filling on top of the chocolate covered macaron shell.
- Top with another shell.
- Place remaining melted chocolate in a pastry bag (you may need to re-melt it if it has been sitting for a while), cut a little hole at the end, and drizzle some of the melted chocolate on top of macarons.
- Let macarons mature in the fridge overnight before serving. Best served at room temperature, or after sitting out of the fridge for about 15 minutes.
Storage
- Macarons will freeze well. Keep them in the freezer, in an air-tight container, for up to 1 month.
- Macarons will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Recipe Notes
To toast the coconut flakes, simply spread them in a non-stick pan, and place over medium heat. Keep swirling the pan around, and tossing the coconut flakes, so they brown evenly. Do this for a few minutes until your coconuts are toasted and brown.
Food coloring: Make sure to use gel food coloring. If you are a beginner macaron baker, I recommend going easy on the food coloring, as it can alter your batter a lot, and it can take extra mixing time, specially if you continue to add the food coloring as you do the macaronage.
Scale: Please use a scale when measuring the ingredients for accuracy.
Macaron amount: it will vary greatly depending on how big you pipe the shells, and on how runny or thick the batter is.
Baking time/temperature: Baking time and temperature will vary according to your own oven. I recommend experimenting with your oven to find out the best time, temperature, position of the baking tray.
Oven thermometer: Make sure to have an oven thermometer to bake macarons. It’s one of the most important things about making macarons. Home ovens aren’t accurate at all at telling the temperature, and even a slight 5 degree difference can make or break your whole batch.
Tray rotation: Lots of bakers don’t have to rotate the trays 180 degrees in the oven every 5 minutes, but I do have to with my oven, or I will get lopsided macarons. Please adjust this according to your oven.
Storage: This
is the Storage Container I use to store my macarons.
Seus doces são maravilhosos Ca, muito mais que fantásticos!!!!!!!
Obrigada de coração! 🙂
Simply gorgeous! worth all the effort! Perfect step by step tutorial – thanks!
So scrumptious! Love your bakings Camila and happy that you also have vegan, gluten free, paleo, etc., options on your blog m. Something for everyone!!!.
Thanks for sharing deliciousness!
Thank you so much, Mary!! I appreciate it!
These may be my favorite yet! I love Samoa’s!
Thank you Patrick!
I have a list as long as my arm of all the treats on your site that I want to make! But these are now topping that list! I’ve never made macarons, but I’m starting with these. They just look too darn delicious not to make! And that caramel filling really looks amazing!
haha Leanne you’re the best. thanks for the support!!
these sound scrumptious! i was wondering what brand of caramel candies do you use?
I used Werther’s 🙂 thank you so much.
Have a great day!
Do you have to use almond flour for macaroons?
Some people use sunflower seed flour, or all-purpose flour, and others… but I have never experimented with them. I have only experimented with adding pistachio flour to the almond flour.
I melted only 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips and it was way to much. Next time I’d use 3/4 cup of chips and that will be more than enough. Macaroons came out beautiful and delicious. Thanks.
Thank you so much Audrey!!!
The Samoa macarons were delicious with the exception that I should of made TWO batches. One was not enough!!! Will be trying some of your other as soon as I can.