italian dessert recipes

Chocolate Macaroons

"Not that hard to make!"


chocolate macaroons
These chocolate macaroons were my first macaroon adventure! Macaroons have always been one of my favorite cookies and I didn't want to ruin the magic of my memories.

But *poof*! These were easy! All that trepidation for nothing!

And removing them from the baking sheet inspite of the fact I used aluminum foil - wasn't as a big deal as I thought it would be. And the aluminum foil only happened because I didn't feel like making a trip to the store for parchment paper. And really now that I'm thinking about it, it's more about the fact I have a hard time parting with the money for parchment paper when cheaper things around the house seem to work.

Unfortunately they didn't last long enough for me to enjoy - neighbors, my four kids, company, and Santa. So next week, my next macaroon venture will be coconut macaroons, now that I have my confidence.

And yes, these look marbled because I didn't fully blend the chocolate. But hey, it made for an interesting photo.

Have fun. Eat a little sugar everyday and thanks for stopping by.
Lisa



Chocolate Macaroons

Ingredients:

* 2 cups almonds

* 1 cup white sugar

* 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

* 1/8 teaspoon salt

* 1 egg

* 1 egg white

* 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

* 3/4 cup melted chopped semisweet chocolate

Directions

* Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Or I use aluminum foil sprayed with Pam.

* Finely grind the almonds, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a food processor.

* Mix egg white and egg with the almond extract.

* In a bowl add the egg mixture and the almond mixture. Stir.

* Add the melted chocolate to the bowl and mix together so that it holds.

* Moisten hands or spray with Pam and roll into 1-inch balls.

* Place on prepared cookie sheet (with your aluminum foil or parchment paper).

* Press the balls and to 1/3-inch thick rounds.

* Bake about 12 minutes.

* If on aluminum foil gently peel back after 8 mins or so and transfer to wire rack.






What else can I use instead of almonds?



Nothing. That's what a macaroon is. It's an almond based cookie.


Is the almond extract overkill?



Ya know, I wondered the same. BUT, I stuck with this recipe. I actually found it on allrecipes and only modified the directions ever so slightly. And the flavor was nice.

Do the almonds need to be blanched?



Nope, but it's OK if that's all you have.


Back to the top of this Chocolate Macaroons

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lisa gianotti I love sugar and I eat dessert EVERYDAY! Ok, not MASSIVE amounts. But I do have to finish off the evening meal with a little sweet something.

When I was a kid my health conscience mother would ration my Halloween candy. Her mantra was, "white sugar will kill you". But my Italian grandma always told me, "Everybody needs a little bit of sugar." :-) So, to get my October Halloween sugar fix I will make the traditional Italian cookie recipe, Venetian Bones of the Dead. Italians make these for the Day of the Dead on November 2nd. So - hey, our holiday in America - Halloween is the closest.

So - while the neighborhood is slamming down a bunch of gross mass produced candy on October 31st, I'll have a real goodie. Oh yeah, I'll have to post it too! (Eventually!) You know how it is. Work. Kids. Clean. Cook.



I'll see if Bones Of The Dead is in my grandma's first recipe file she started when she married in 1932. Most of the recipes on my site came from her influence. If they aren't in her file - then I got them from her friends. And the remainder I experimented with adapting her style.

I hope she looks down and smiles this Halloween.

Lisa


Would you like to share this page? You know how to do it! Thanks for sharing the sugar love!



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Recipes on this site are from family cookbooks, family traditions, or intentional adaptations from traditional recipes to add an Italian flair. If a recipe was adapted or used from another cook - it is mentioned on the recipe page and the recipe author is given credit.