Chocolate Dipped Almond Pistachio Macaroons Recipes

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED COCONUT MACAROONS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Combine condensed milk, almond extract, vanilla extract, salt, and egg white in a bowl. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Add about 2 1/3 cups shredded coconut. Mix with a spatula until mixture is sticky and holds together. Form into balls using a sorbet scoop.
• Roll balls in remaining coconut. Space macaroons evenly onto a silicone-lined baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden, about 20 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, at least 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place 3/4 of the chocolate in top of a double boiler over simmering water. Stir frequently, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching, until chocolate is melted, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the rest of the chocolate until it melts.
• Dip the base of each cooled macaroon about 1/8 inch into the chocolate. Place cookies, chocolate-side down, on parchment paper. Let chocolate harden completely.

CHOCOLATE-ALMOND MACAROONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Finely grind the almonds, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a food processor.
• Separate one of the eggs and add the white, the other egg, and almond extract and process until the mixture holds together. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the chocolate.
• Moisten hands and roll mixture into 1-inch balls. Place on prepared cookie sheet. Flatten to 1/3-inch thick rounds.
• Bake until tops puff and centers are still soft, about 12 minutes. Remove to a rack and cool completely. Replace parchment paper for next round of cookies.

CHOCOLATE-PISTACHIO MACAROONS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the egg whites, cherries, sugar salt and the vanilla and almond extracts in a large bowl until combined; fold in the coconut.
• Scoop heaping tablespoonfuls of the coconut mixture about 1 inch apart onto the baking sheet. Use your fingers to form into pyramids. Bake until golden brown around the edges, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
• Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl on medium-high power in 30-second intervals, stirring, until smooth, about 2 minutes. Dip the macaroons in the chocolate and sprinkle with pistachios, then transfer to a sheet of parchment paper and let cool.

CHOCOLATE FILLED ALMOND MACARONS

Steps:

• For the ganache: Combine the chopped chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pot with 1-inch of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth. Stir in the cream, vanilla and salt, and then remove from the heat. Set aside until cooled and thickened, stirring occasionally, 30 to 45 minutes.
• For the cookies: Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a small glass or cookie cutter (1 1/4 to 1 1/2-inch wide), trace 15 circles on each piece of parchment paper, leaving about 2 inches between each round. Flip the parchment over; the lines will be visible through the paper but you will not have to pipe directly onto the ink. Fit a pastry bag with a round tip about 1/4-inch wide.
• Sift the confectioners' sugar and ground almonds into a bowl and discard any larger nut chunks. (If you have more than a tablespoon of bigger chunks, grind those until powdery and then resift.) Combine the egg whites and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or in a large bowl with the whisk attachment of a hand-held electric mixer). Whip on medium-low speed until frothy, and then add the granulated sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high and whip until very soft peaks form. Add the almond extract and a few drops of food coloring if using. Whip until stiff peaks form. Fold about one-third of the sugar-nut mixture into the egg whites until blended, and then fold in the remaining two-thirds. The batter should be a bit fluid but not runny. It should slowly drip off the spatula and sit on top of the batter in the bowl for a bit before eventually oozing back into it. If it seems a bit stiff at this point, fold once or twice more until it relaxes, although be careful not to over fold. This correct texture is the key to the macaron and it is better to have a stiffer batter than a looser one.
• Transfer the batter to the prepared pastry bag. Holding the bag perpendicular over the baking sheet, squeeze until the batter fills a circle drawn on the paper. Release the pressure on the bag and pull towards you to prevent a pointy tip on the center of the cookie. Repeat with the remaining circles. Gently flatten any points on the cookies with a damp fingertip.
• Firmly rap the baking sheets against the counter to release any air bubbles and let stand at room temperature until the tops of the cookies no longer feel wet, 10 to 15 minutes. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until the macarons are slightly crisp and the bottoms release from the parchment paper, about 15 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through the baking time. Cool on the sheet 5 minutes, and then peel off the cookies and cool completely on a wire rack.
• To assemble the cookies, spread a thin layer of the chocolate ganache on the bottoms of half of the cookies, about 1/4 teaspoon per cookie. Top with a second cookie, gently pressing to squeeze the ganache to the rims.
• TIP: The weight of the batter in the pastry bag will force some of the batter out. To stop this, you can stick a mini marshmallow at the end of your pastry tip to block to the batter from running out the end.
• TIP: You can use store-bought almond meal in place of the whole almonds. Sift 2/3 cup with the confectioners' sugar and, if necessary, grind the larger chunks and sift until a tablespoon or less of larger chunks remain in the sifter.
• TIP: You can also spoon the batter onto the parchment lined baking sheets. The cookies may not be as perfectly round but will still taste great.

CHOCOLATE MACAROONS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment or preferably silicon pad.
• Mix egg whites (unbeaten) with the ground almonds, cocoa and powdered sugar until you have a sticky but cohesive mixture.
• Fill a large bowl with cold water and dip your hands in it to wet them before rolling the mixture into little balls the size of small walnuts. You will probably have to redunk your hands to keep wetting them as you go.
• Arrange the macaroon-balls on the lined baking tray and put in the oven to bake for 11 minutes. It's hard to tell when they're ready, as they will seem squishy but they harden up a little as they cool, and anyway, they should be damp within; that's what makes them chewy, so don't worry that the macaroons look sticky underneath.

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED ALMOND-PISTACHIO MACAROONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400-degrees, and line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• Blend sugar and almonds in food processor until nuts are ground to powder, scraping down sides of bowl often, about 4 minutes.
• Add flour and blend 1 minute.
• Transfer to a large bowl and mix in pistachios.
• In a separate bowl, beat egg whites and salt until stiff but not dry.
• Fold nut mixture into whites in 4 additions (batter will be thick).
• Spoon batter by generous tablespoonfuls onto prepared sheets, spacing mounds 1 1/2-inches apart.
• Bake cookies 1 sheet at a a time until dry and cracked on top, about 10 minutes.
• Melt chocolate over double-boiler or in microwave, stirring until melted.
• Dip each cookie halfway into chocolate, shaking off excess.
• Place on foil-lined baking sheets, or on waxed paper- chill for 30 minutes.
• (Can be made 3 days ahead. Store between sheets of waxed paper in airtight container and refrigerate.) Serve at room temperature.

CHOCOLATE DIPPED PINEAPPLE-COCONUT MACAROONS

Steps:

• For the pineapple filling: Puree the pineapple in a food processor and transfer to a medium skillet along with the sugar and 1/4 cup water. Heat over medium-low and bring to a low simmer. Use a rubber spatula to stir and move the mixture around as it reduces and thickens to the consistency of very thick jam, 18 to 20 minutes (you should have about a heaping 1/2 cup). Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Let cool completely in the skillet. The pineapple filling can be made and refrigerated up to 2 days in advance.
• Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and coat lightly with nonstick spray.
• For the macaroons: Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until frothy. Toss the coconut, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon salt together with your hands in another large bowl. Add the coconut mixture to the egg whites and combine with your hands; the mixture should pack together tightly when squeezed. Divide the mixture into 24 slightly heaping tablespoons and roll each into a smooth ball (slightly wet hands can help with rolling). Hold a ball in the palm of your hand and use your thumb to make a slight indentation in the middle. Reshape the edges of the macaroon back into a round if it cracks. Arrange about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, rotating the tray as needed for even browning, 20 to 24 minutes. Let cool completely on the tray.
• Set up a cooling rack over a baking sheet. Combine the chocolate and butter in a small bowl and microwave for 30 seconds; stir. Repeat until all of the chocolate is melted and smooth. Dip the bottom of each macaroon into the chocolate and press into the chocolate about halfway up the macaroon. Use a fork to help lift it out of the chocolate. Transfer to the cooling rack and allow to sit at room temperature until the chocolate hardens and sets up, about 20 minutes.
• Fill each macaroon with about 1 teaspoon of the pineapple filling. Store and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

ALMOND PISTACHIO MACAROONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Grate the almond paste on the large holes on a grater; until you have about 1 3/4 packed cups.
• In an electric mixer (preferably a heavy duty one with a paddle blade), combine the grated paste and the granulated sugar on low speed for about 2 minutes, mixing until it resembles coarse crumbs.
• Gradually add the powdered sugar and keep mixing for about a minute until it's well combined.
• Increase the speed to medium and add the egg whites, vanilla, and salt and mix until it's just combined (the dough will be wet and sticky) then add 1/3 cup of the chopped pistachios to complete the dough.
• Place remaining chopped pistachios in a shallow dish.
• Roll the dough into 1-tablespoon sized balls, then dip one side of each ball into the reserved chopped pistachios to coat only that side.
• Place cookies, pistachio side up and 1 inch apart, on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and press each one lightly so that they adhere to the paper.
• Bake cookies for 25 to 30 minutes and until the tops are evenly colored and the bottoms are smooth and golden brown when lifted carefully with a metal spatula.
• Let the macaroons cool on the baking sheets, then pull them gently off the parchment paper.
• They can be stored for up to 5 days at room temperature in an airtight container.
• Makes about 30 cookies.