About the Recipe
I first made these macaroons when my kids were home sick from school. We always get ourselves into some creative project whether it's art or cooking. Helps to lift spirits and to make the day pass a little quicker. Not easy to be stuck at home 'resting' all afternoon. This particular day they requested cookies. Knowing that the upcoming weeks would be filled with our traditional Christmas cookie making projects, I suggested we try something new. When I asked what kind of cookies they would want, they said Nutella. Nutella has been a reoccurring flavor request ever since they were introduced to the fact that such delicious goodness exists a few months back. Luckily I had just bought some hazelnut flour and so, our chocolate hazelnut macaroons came to be. Some recipes take a few tries to perfect, this one was great off the bat. They are chewy, creamy, chocolaty sandwiches of goodness. Simple ingredients, easy assembly and heavenly to eat.
If you like meringue and Nutella, I have no doubt that you'll love these.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups hazelnut flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cocao powder
3 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla
Filling
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon butter
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate (3 squares)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350F.
Making the meringue-like cookies.
Separate egg whites from egg yolks.
In a large bowl, mix together hazelnut flour, sugar and cocoa powder.
Note: If you cannot find hazelnut flour, you can always make your own by grinding hazelnuts in a food processor.
Add in egg whites and vanilla and mix until well combined. It will look a bit granular because of the texture of the hazelnut flour.
Put dough into a piping bag with a round piping tip. (If you don't have a piping bag, you can just as easily use a zip-lock or sandwich bag and cut one of the corners off).
Pipe 5cm (2") rounds onto a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.
Remove from oven and set on a cooling rack while you prepare the filling.
Making the filling.
While the cookies are baking, you can prepare the filling.
Begin by finely chopping the bittersweet chocolate squares. The finer the chop, the faster it will be to melt.
In a small saucepan, combine the heavy cream, sugar and butter. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and stir in chocolate, vanilla and salt. Stir until chocolate has melted and you have a nice smooth and glossy spread with no lumps.
Cool the chocolate filling in the fridge for 30 minutes until it is less runny and more like a chocolate spread (think Nutella).
Once the chocolate mixture has cooled, you can start building the sandwiches. Spread a spoonful chocolate filling onto a cookie and place another ontop to create your macaroons. I just used a knife to do this, but if you want to be fancy you can pipe the filling with a more decorative tip.
Hope you enjoy these sweet, chewy, chocolate two-bite treats. They only lasted an evening in my household, but they can be stored in an airtight container for 4-5 days.
If you try them, let me know what you think in the comments. Enjoy!
