Cocoa Macaroons with Dark Chocolate Ganache

These little guys were inspired by the macaroon craze we encountered recently in Paris. While they are nowhere near as good as those at Laduree, nor as beautiful, they are a very yummy treat that you should definitely try once.*

Here's how:

Macaroons
1/2 cup ground almonds
1.5 c. confectioners sugar
3 egg whites
8 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cocoa powder (unsweetened)

For chocolate ganache
.5 cup heavy cream
1 cup dark chocolate (or any chocolate of your choice)
Special equipment: parchment paper; a gallon-size plastic bag

To prepare:

Preheat oven to 300.

Grind whole almonds in a spice grinder until they are very fine. Then grind in .5 cup of confectioners sugar until the mixture is smooth and integrated.

Pour almond and confectioners sugar mixture with remaining confectioners sugar and the cocoa through a sieve until it is smooth and not at all lumpy. Make sure all these ingredients are well incorporated and reserve.

Whisk egg whites until they have soft peaks. Then add the granulated sugar a little bit at a time. Don't let the peaks get too hard though!

Fold in the dry mixture and any food coloring you may wish. The batter deflates a bit here, but try to use the old fashioned turn and fold method to keep it as fluffy as possible.

Pour ingredients into the gallon bag, cut a small hole at one of the corners and make little 2-3 inch disks.

Allow to rest for at least 10 minutes, then bake for about 15 minutes or until the tops are starting to gently turn golden.

Take them out and let them rest on a cooling rack for atleast 10 minutes before adding the ganache.

Make the ganache while the macaroons bake. Heat .5 cup of heavy cream over medium heat on the stove. Put chocolate in a stainless steel or glass bowl.

When cream starts to simmer take it off the heat and pour it on top of the chocolate. Gently stir together the cream and chocolate until combined and allow to cool.

When macaroons and the ganache is cool, assemble using a small dollup of chocolate on each. (About a .5 teaspoon, but you can be the judge of that.)

*There are many other blogs, sites, chefs that have similar recipes with similar results. My favorite so far has been these adorable macaroons from Tartelette who has certainly mastered the art.