Chocolate Macaroon

Another research done...These cookies are quick and easy, made with egg whites, ground almonds, and chocolate chips.

Recipe 1

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

* 3 egg whites
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup ground almonds
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 6 ounces (about 1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips, melted, cooled

Preparation:

~Beat egg whites and salt until stiff but not dry.

~Beat in sugar, a little at a time; beat until mixture is thick and glossy. Mixture should stand in peaks.

~Fold in almonds, vanilla, and melted chocolate.

~Drop chocolate macaroons by teaspoonfuls onto buttered cookie sheets. Bake chocolate macaroons at 350° for 12 to 15 minutes.

*Makes about 48 chocolate macaroons.

Recipe 2

Macaroons

* ½ cup ground almonds, sifted
* 1 cup pure icing sugar, sifted
* 4 tbsp Dutch-style cocoa, sifted
* 2 eggwhites
* ¼ tsp cream of tartar

Ganache

* 75g dark couverture chocolate
* 1 tsp butter
* 4 tbsp cream

Method:

~Preheat oven to 200C.

~Prepare 2 baking sheets lined with baking paper.

~Mix the sifted ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

~Beat the eggwhites with the cream of tartar to snowy peaks. Fold a spoonful of the eggwhites into the sifted mixture to blend and then fold in the rest of the eggwhites quickly but with a light hand.

~Spoon teaspoonfuls of the mixture onto the paper-lined trays, leaving 3cm between blobs. Do this as quickly as possible and place trays immediately into the preheated oven. Cook for 8 minutes or until the macaroons feel firm on the outside.

~Wet a teatowel with cold water, wring out and place on the bench. Remove trays from oven and place on the damp cloth for a few minutes. With a spatula slide the macaroons onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before filling. If not needed immediately, store unfilled macaroons in an airtight container.

*Makes 16 pairs.

Chocolate ganache filling

~Break chocolate into small pieces and pulverise in the food processor to a powder.

~Bring cream and butter to the boil in a pan.

~With motor running pour the boiling cream mixture onto the chocolate in a steady stream. Process until smooth. Refrigerate until just cold and then beat in an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Use straight away.

*Excess ganache will become too stiff to spread. Allow it to return to room temperature and then rebeat for a few minutes to regain spreadable consistency.

Recipe 3

140g/5oz ground almonds
275g/9¾oz icing sugar
25g/1oz cocoa powder
4 free-range egg whites, beaten until stiff peaks form

For the filling

75ml/2½fl oz whipping cream
75g/2½oz mascarpone cheese
25g/1oz icing sugar
Vanilla essence

Preparation method:

~Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

~For the macaroons, blend the almonds, icing sugar and cocoa powder until very fine. (The finer the better - a spice grinder is a great way to achieve this.)

~Fold the egg whites into the mix. Place into a piping bag and pipe 3cm/1in circles onto a sheet lined with baking parchment. Leave to set for 15 minutes.

*Technique: Using piping bags

~Place in the oven to bake for 7-8 minutes with the door slightly ajar.

~Remove the macaroons from the parchment to cool. To do this without them sticking or tearing, lift one corner of the parchment and pour some just boiled water onto the tray. As the water hits the base of the parchment the macaroons will lift off easily.

~For the filling, whisk the cream, mascarpone, icing sugar and vanilla seeds together in a bowl. Spread the filling onto one macaroon, then sandwich with another macaroon. Repeat with all of the remaining macaroons until all are used up.

Source: Recipes & pictures from Google