Chocolate And Raspberry Macaroon Bars Recipes

CHOCOLATE FRENCH MACARONS WITH RASPBERRY FILLING

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 325F. Use an oven thermometer to be sure your oven temperature is exact. Slight variances will cause large changes in your results.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the powdered sugar, almond flour, and cocoa powder. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy with an electric hand mixer fitted with wire whipping beaters and set to medium high speed. (You're looking for the consistency of bath tub bubbles.)
• Add the cream of tartar and beat for a few seconds more.
• While beating, slowly add the granulated sugar. Continue to beat until you have nearly stiff peaks, 1-2 minutes. (To tell if you have nearly stiff peaks, stop beating, and lightly dip the beaters into the meringue. When you pull the beaters out of the meringue, the peaks that form should stand up, with the tips folding over only slightly.)
• Sift half of the almond flour mixture into the bowl with the meringue. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the meringue for a few strokes, using a circular motion around the bowl and under the batter. Sift in the remaining almond flour mixture and continue to fold, until the dry ingredients are completely incorporated into the meringue. The batter should be smooth and glossy. It should slowly shift if you tip the bowl, but it should not be too runny or liquidy.
• Fill a large pastry bag fitted with a ½ inch tip with the batter. (If you don't have a pastry bag, you can use a quart Ziploc bag with one corner snipped to create a ½ inch hole.)
• Gently pipe the batter into 2 inch circles spaced 1 inch apart onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. To pipe, hover your tip a 1/2 inch above the cookie sheet and squeeze the bag gently. The meringue should flow in an even circle outward from your tip. Stop piping when you have a 2 inch diameter circle. Gently lift your tip. The batter should flatten into itself after a few seconds, but if it forms a small beak, that's ok. We'll take care of those in a minute.
• After piping your cookies, if they still have a small beak, dip your finger in a bowl of cool water to slightly dampen it. Gently pat the piped meringue to flatten the beaks and create a smooth top.
• Let the piped cookies rest until a dry film forms on the macaron, the batter should lose its shininess and become dull in color. You should be able to lightly touch the cookies and the batter shouldn't stick to your finger. This could take anywhere from 20-40 minutes, depending on the batter and the moisture level of your kitchen.
• Bake the rested macarons at 325F for 14-15 minutes until crisp on the outside and dry to the touch. (The foot should not squish or wiggle when you lightly touch them.)
• Remove the macarons form the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for 15-20 minutes before gently removing them from the parchment paper to cool on a wire rack completely before filling.
• While the cookies are cooling, make the filing. Beat butter and jam with an electric hand mixer fitted with wire whisk beaters on medium speed until the butter is fluffy and the two are combined. Slowly add the powdered sugar until a thick and fluffy frosting forms. It should be spreadable but firm.
• When cookies are completely cool, spread about 1 tsp of filling on the bottom of one cookie. Gently sandwich the filling with a second cookie, pressing until the filling nearly reaches the edges of the cookies.
• Store the filled macarons in a sealed container on the counter for up to a week or in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
• We recommend filling the sandwiches no more than 1 day before you plan to serve them. If you want to make your cookies ahead of time, keep the cookies, unfilled, in a sealed, dry container, until you are ready to fill them.

CHOCOLATE AND RASPBERRY MACAROON BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Butter and flour a 13 x 9 inch Pyrex baking dish.
• Melt butter with chocolate over low heat.
• Beat in ½ cup sugar and egg.
• Stir in 1 tsp of vanilla, the flour and a pinch of salt.
• Spread mixture in prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes.
• Let cool 5 minutes.
• Whisk liqueur into jam until smooth and spread over chocolate layer to with a ½ inch of the edge of pan.
• Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees F.
• In processor, grind hazelnuts fine with remaining sugar and salt.
• Add whites and remaining vanilla and blend.
• Spoon carefully over jam topping, covering it completely.
• Bake 25-30 minutes, or until top is firm to touch and tester comes out clean.
• Let cool.
• Cut into 36 bars.

CHOCOLATE-RASPBERRY MASCARPONE BARS

Steps:

• For the crust: Place an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.
• Spray the pan with vegetable oil cooking spray. Lay a 6-by-18-inch piece of parchment paper in the pan, allowing the excess paper to overhang the sides. Spray the parchment paper lightly with vegetable oil cooking spray.
• Blend the biscotti, butter, cocoa powder and brown sugar in a food processor until the mixture forms moist crumbs. Firmly press the crumbs onto the bottom of the pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool the crust completely, about 25 minutes.
• Spread the jam in an even layer over the crust using a spatula.
• For the filling: Place the chocolate in a small bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
• Beat the cheese, sour cream, eggs, granulated sugar and vanilla until smooth, using a whisk, in a medium bowl. Pour the batter over the cooled crust. Randomly spoon the melted chocolate over the batter. Swirl the chocolate into the batter, using the tip of a knife. Bake until light golden and the center of the filling jiggles slightly when the pan is gently shaken, about 40 minutes. Transfer the baking dish to a wire rack and cool for 1 hour. Cover the pan with plastic and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight until firm.
• Run a thin spatula around the sedges of the pan to loosen the filling. Cut the bars into 1 1/2-by-2-inch bars using a damp knife. Serve at room temperature.

CHOCOLATE MACAROON BARS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the wafer crumbs, confectioners' sugar and butter; press into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. In a large bowl, combine the milk, coconut and almonds. Drop by spoonfuls over crust; spread evenly., Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Cool completely on a wire rack. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chips and cream; stir until smooth. Drizzle over top. Refrigerate until firm. Cut into bars.

CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY BARS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine flour and confectioners' sugar; cut in butter until crumbly. Press into an ungreased 9-in. square baking pan. Bake at 375° for 15-18 minutes or until browned. Spread jam over warm crust. , In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and milk until smooth. Add white chips; beat until smooth. Spread carefully over jam layer. Cool completely. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until set. , For glaze, melt chocolate chips and shortening in a microwave; stir until smooth. Spread over filling. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. Cut into bars; chill 1 hour longer or until set. Store in refrigerator.

RASPBERRY CHOCOLATE FRENCH MACAROONS

Steps:

• Make macaroons:
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Pulse almonds with 1/2 cup confectioners sugar in a food processor until very finely ground, 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a bowl. Sift in remaining cup confectioners sugar, stirring to combine.
• Beat egg whites with salt in another bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until they just hold soft peaks. Add granulated sugar, a little at a time, beating, then increase speed to high and continue to beat until whites just hold stiff, glossy peaks. Add drops of food coloring to reach desired shade and mix at low speed until evenly combined. Stir almond mixture into meringue with a rubber spatula until completely incorporated. (Meringue will deflate.)
• Spoon batter into bag, pressing out excess air, and snip off 1 corner of plastic bag to create a 1/4-inch opening. Twist bag firmly just above batter, then pipe peaked mounds of batter (the size of a chocolate kiss) onto lined sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Let cookies stand, uncovered, at room temperature until tops are no longer sticky and a light crust forms, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 300°F.
• Bake cookies, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until crisp and edges are just slightly darker, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool completely on sheets on racks, about 30 minutes.
• Make ganache while macaroons bake:
• Melt chocolate with cream in a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water or in top of a double boiler, stirring until smooth. (Bowl should not touch water.) Remove bowl from heat, then add butter and raspberry extract, stirring until butter is melted. Let stand at room temperature until cooled completely and slightly thickened.
• Assemble cookies:
• Carefully peel cookies from parchment (they will be fragile). Sandwich a thin layer of ganache (about 1/2 teaspoon) between flat sides of cookies.