French Chocolate Macaroons

So, I've always been curious about these french macaroon things. I've never actually ate one before. But, they look so darn pretty. I had to give them a try.

I got this recipe from David Lebovitz. 

What you'll need for the Macaroon Batter:

1 cup (100 grams) powdered sugar

1/2 cup powdered almonds (50 grams sliced almonds, pulverized)

3 tbsp (25 grams) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

2 large egg whites, at room temperature

5 tbsp (65 grams) granulated sugar

What you'll need for the Chocolate Filling:

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tsp light corn syrup

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Also, have a pastry bag with a plain tip (1/2 inch) ready. Unfortunately, I didn't have a pastry bag on hand, so I cut a 1/2 inch hole in a ziploc bag. As a result, my macaroons turned out a bit more "rough" looking than other peoples, but I had to make do with what I had. 

Using a blender or food processor, grind together the powdered sugar, almond powder, and cocoa powder until there are no lumps. This mixture needs to be very fine. I read a tip on another blog about sift the mixture a few times to increase smoothness.

Now, set the dry ingredients aside while you beat the egg whites. I used a handheld electric mixer. You need to beat the egg whites until they rise and hold their shape. Beat in the  sugar until the mixture is stiff and firm (about 2-3 minutes). You can check this by tipping your bowl upside-down —the mixture should be firm enough to stay in the bowl (see, I was able to tip the bowl upside-down and take a photo haha —don't be afraid to give it a try).

In two batches, use a spatula to fold the egg whites into the bowl containing the dry ingredients. When the mixture is smooth and appears to be mixed well, put the batter into the pastry bag or ziploc bag. 

Pipe the batter into one-inch circles on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Leave about a one-inch space in between macaroons. To flatten the macaroons, smack the baking sheet on the counter a few tops, then place in the oven to bake for ~15 minutes. Before removing the macaroons from the baking sheet, let them cool completely.

While you're waiting for the macaroons to cool, you can prepare the chocolate filling. To do this, heat the cream and corn syrup in a saucepan. As soon as this mixture begins to boil, remove from heat and add in the chopped chocolate. Stir until smooth, add in the pieces of butter, then stir again until smooth. Let the chocolate filling cool completely before assembling the cookies.

Now, for the fun part!! Once the macaroons and chocolate filling are both cool, you can assemble the cookies. To do this, you simply spread the chocolate filling on the inside of one macaroon then sandwich it together with another macaroon. Ta-da —all done. Now, enjoy them with a cup of tea :)