These sea salt chocolate french macarons are the perfect combination of sweet and salty! They pack rich chocolate, tangy cream cheese frosting, and briney sea salt all into one adorable little sandwich cookie.
Line two sheet pans with parchment paper. Make sure the paper lays flat or your macarons won’t be perfect circles.
Sift together the powdered sugar, almond flour, and cocoa powder. Discard any large lumps that remain in the sifter. If you don’t have a sifter, you can pulse them in the food processor for 10-15 seconds.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg whites on medium-low speed until they are foamy and white. Add the cream of tartar.
With the mixer on medium-high, slowly add in the granulated sugar. I like to add about one tablespoon every 5 seconds. Whip the egg whites on medium-high speed until they form stiff peaks.
Add half of the dry mixture to the egg whites and fold it gently until the dry mixture is incorporated. Add the remaining half of the dry mixture and continue to gently fold until the batter is uniform and no more lumps remain. This should take about 15-20 folds per addition.
This part is counterintuitive, but trust me… you have to deflate the egg whites until you get the batter to the “lava stage”. Smush the batter along the sides of the bowl in a circular motion and then scrape the sides of the bowl and fold the batter back together.
Once the batter reaches the “lava stage” you should be able to draw an 8 with the batter and it should reincorporate within 10-15 seconds. If the batter doesn’t reincorporate, give it a few more folds and try the figure 8 again.
Transfer the meringue to a piping bag fitted with a round tip (I like Wilton #12). If you don’t have a piping bag, you can also use a large ziploc bag with the end cut off.
Pipe 1” circles on the parchment lined baking sheet. Make sure to pipe them at least 2 inches apart.
Immediately after piping one tray, hold it approximately 6 inches off the counter and drop it straight down onto the counter. Repeat 10 times.
Continue piping the second tray and drop it on the counter 10 times as well.
Preheat the oven to 285 degrees F.
Let the macarons sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes, or until they develop a skin. After 20 minutes, you should be able to touch the macarons without them sticking your finger. If they are still sticky, let them sit another 20 minutes.
Bake the macarons on the middle shelf, one tray at a time, for 18-20 minutes. You’ll know when your macarons are finished because they’ll slide easily off the parchment-- if they stick, they aren’t ready.
Remove the macarons from the oven and let them cool on the tray.
Prepare the Cream Cheese Frosting
Whisk together the softened butter and cream cheese until fully incorporated.
Next, whisk in the vanilla and heavy cream followed by the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and instant espresso powder.
The icing should be thick enough to pipe. If it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar ¼ cup at a time.
Assembly
Once the macarons have cooled, place them in similar sized pairs. On one side, pipe a small circle of icing in the center of the shell. Sprinkle the icing with sea salt. Place the top shell on and refrigerate in an air-tight container overnight to age. Bring to room temperature before serving.