Chocolate-Dipped Almond Macaroons

These are similar to the Grand Marnier-double chocolate macaroons except that the chocolate is a luscious hardened waterfall coating an almondy interior.

yields about 25 macaroons

Ingredients

400 grams sweetened, flaked coconut
2/3 cup sugar
3 egg whites
dash of salt
dash vanilla extract
dash almond extract
about half a cup of sliced almonds
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (I used Guittard)

Process

Preheat your oven to 325. Line a baking sheet or two with parchment paper.

In a food processor such as the Tipsy Crumpet's brand-new Cuisinart, blend the coconut for one minute.

Pour in the sugar. Blend for another minute.

Add the salt, vanilla, almond extract, and egg whites (I crack the whites into a bowl separately first to make sure there are no shells). Blend until combined.

Pour in the sliced almonds. Blend again.

Either empty the batter into a bowl or remove the blade from the food processor and shape the batter from there. You can scoop out the batter with an ice-cream scoop, but what's the fun in that? Using your bare hands like the Tipsy Crumpet, plop golf-ball sized mounds of batter onto the baking sheet. No need to shape them.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or, if you have a more sluggish oven than mine 15.

Remove and keep in the pan for 10 minutes, then cool on a wire rack.

When the macaroons are fully cool, obtain a double boiler or use the Tipsy Crumpet's smaller-pan-in-a-larger-pan-of-heated-water trick. Pour in the chocolate chips and melt. Arrange the macaroons on a piece of waxed paper. Spoon melted chocolate lavishly over half of each macaroon. Or drizzle the chocolate in ribbons. Either way, use up all the chocolate. You can store the macaroons in the refrigerator if you want, but the chocolate will harden eventually either way.

Notes

• Remember, unsweetened chocolate; sweetened coconut.
• These macaroons turned out nicely, but they would have been even nicer with a dash of amaretto or Frangelico.
• They would also have been better with a half-cup or so of marzipan. Next year.
• You could forego chocolate and grate in some lemon or orange zest instead. Adding some white chocolate chips to the batter would give your desserts an Eastery decadence.

 

Verdict

3.5 stars. Not bad, but missing some substance. Trying these with the variations in the Notes section would make the macaroons ambrosial.