Valentine's Cookies: chocolate-dipped orange macaroons

by Nick Vagnoni, Posted Feb 2nd 2006 @ 10:56AM

Some of you may argue that macaroons aren't cookies, in the strictest sense of the word. Still, they turn up in the cookie sections of most of my cookbooks, so that's good enough for me. The basis of this recipe comes from Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything. As with raspberry thumbprints, I made a few adaptations. First, I added the grated zest of one small orange to the basic macaroon recipe. Then, after the macaroons had cooled, they were dipped in melted dark chocolate, Callebaut to be specific. As you can imagine, the orange and chocolate play very well off one another.

¾ cup sugar
2½ cups shredded unsweetened coconut
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
grated zest of one small orange
pinch of salt
4 to 6 ounces dark chocolate

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix until well combined.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and, using wet hands or a tablespoon, portion small piles of the coconut mixture about 1 inch apart. Each pile should be about 1 heaping tablespoon. Bake until light brown, about 15 minutes. Cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes, reserving parchment lined baking sheets.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler until smooth. Dip cooled macaroons in chocolate and return to parchment-lined pans. Allow chocolate to set.

Previously on Fourteen Days Valentine's Day Cookies:
Raspberry Almond Thumbprints
Fourteen Days of Valentine's Cookies

Filed Under: Methods
Tags: baking, bittman, chocolate dipped, dessert, macaroons, orange, valentine's day