Chocolate Ganache Filled Macaroons Food

CHOCOLATE GANACHE-FILLED MACAROONS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325ºF.
• Combine coconut, sugar and salt in large bowl. Add egg whites and extract; mix well.
• Drop coconut mixture into 32 mounds on parchment-covered baking sheet, using about 1 Tbsp. coconut mixture for each mound. Press indentation into center of each.
• Bake 20 min. or until edges are golden brown. Cool completely on baking sheet. Meanwhile, microwave chocolate and COOL WHIP in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 min. or until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring every 30 sec. Cool.
• Spoon melted chocolate into resealable plastic bag; snip small piece off one bottom corner of bag. Use to fill centers of macaroons; top with nuts.

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.

LADURéE MACARON RECIPE WITH CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY GANACHE F

Steps:

• For Macarons:.
• Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C). Line two baking trays with parchment paper.
• If using whole almonds, pulse in a food processor until very finely ground, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add the confectioner's sugar and process to a fine powder. Sift to remove any lumps.
• Beat the egg whites in bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed, adding the food coloring as you go until you reach the desired shade. Then increase speed to high and continue to beat until the whites just hold stiff, glossy peaks.
• Quickly and carefully add the almond-sugar powder. (Meringue will deflate.)
• With a wooden spoon, mix from the center of the bowl outwards, turning the bowl as you go. You want to achieve a smooth, lightly colored mixture.
• Spoon batter into a piping bag with a 1/4-inch round tip. If you don't have a piping bag, use a plastic freezer bag, pressing out excess air. Snip off one corner to create a 1/4-inch opening. Pipe inch-wide macaroons onto the baking trays, about 1-1/2 inches apart. You should have peaked mounds of batter, about the size of a chocolate kiss.
• Cook for eight to nine minutes, leaving the door of the oven slightly ajar.
• Remove the macaroons from the oven. Pour a little water between the baking tray and the parchment paper; this makes the macaroons easier to lift off when they have cooled. Cool completely on racks, about 30 minutes.
• Carefully peel macaroons from parchment; they are fragile. Sandwich a thin layer of fillings between two macaroons-ganache, marmalade, jam or whipped cream. The two bottoms face the filling.
• If you can, leave the finished macaroons in the refrigerator for 24 hours. This allows the flavors and texture to develop and intensify.
• Whipped cream macaroons must be stored in the refrigerator; others can be kept in airtight tins at room temperature for up to three days after production.
• For Chocolate Raspberry Ganache:.
• Melt chocolate with cream in the top of a double boiler, stirring until smooth. If you don't have a double boiler, use a metal bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water. The bottom of the bowl should not touch the water.
• When the chocolate is melted into the cream, remove bowl from heat. Add the butter and raspberry extract, stirring until butter is melted.
• Let stand at room temperature until cooled completely and slightly thickened.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE

Steps:

• Bring cream to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour cream over chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Let stand for 2 minutes. Add butter, then whisk mixture until smooth. Let cool, stirring often. Use immediately.

GANACHE FILLED COCONUT MACAROONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 if using a convection oven preheat to 300. Line baking pans with parchment paper.
• In large bowl combine coconut, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and salt. Toss to evenly coat coconut with the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Set aside.
• In mixer bowl combine room temperature egg whites and sugar. Using preferably a stand mixer, beat on high speed till stiff peaks form.
• Now gently fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture. DO NOT OVER MIX
• Preferably using a cookie scoop, drop scoop fulls onto parchment lined baking sheets. With your thumb make indentations into the center of each bound.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until light golden brown. Allow macaroons to cool before removing from parchment. I just slide the parchment off the baking sheet if I need to use the sheet again.
• Ganache- combine sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips into a small sauce pan, Cook and stir over medium low heat just till all the chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and add vanilla and mix in well. Top each fully cooled macaroon with a spoon full of ganache. If they don't just all get gobbled up store in air tight container.
• Optional method of making Ganache, Place chocolate chips in a glass or metal bowl, set aside. In small sauce pan bring cream to a boil. Pour over chocolate chips, cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Whisk till smooth and add vanilla. This is only stable at room temp for a max of 48 hours, so you only want to use this method if your macaroons are going to be eaten in that time. Macaroons do not do well in refrigeration. But I wanted you to have the recipe for typical ganache.