I love black desserts, cause it almost always means it’s chocolate. And one of my besties makes a mean chocolate macaron. Here’s her recipe for macarons that are as dark as your soul. Thanks Andrea!

Ingredients:

• 1 egg white

• 1 tablespoon meringue powder

• 1/3 cup + 11/2 teaspoons almond meal

• 1/3 cup powdered sugar

• 3 drops extract of vanilla

• small dollop of black food gel

For the filling

• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Instructions

Begin by bringing the egg white to room temperature and line a small half-sheet pan with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, sift together almond meal and powdered sugar. In a medium bowl, beat the egg white with an electric mixer. Once frothy, slowly add the merginue powder while beating continuously.

Once the meringue has soft floppy peaks, stop beating. Then, in 3 increments, add in the the almond meal and powdered sugar. Gently fold it in using a spatula. Then, add the vanilla extract.

Once everything is well incorporated, scoop the mixture into a plastic bag or pastry bag and squeeze the mixture down to one side and snip the corner off of the bag. Squeeze gently to make 12 perfectly round circles on the baking pan. Gently press away any peaks.

Let the cookies sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking. Before the cookies go into the oven, they should appear dry. Preheat the oven to 300° while you wait. Bake the cookies in the middle rack of the oven for 15 minutes. They are done when the tops are dry and they have risen up.

Let cool on the baking sheet, then carefully peel them off the parchment paper, and move them to a rack. Meanwhile, whip the heavy cream and powdered sugar to make the filling. Dot it on 6 of the macarons, and top with the remaining cookies to make sandwiches.