IMBB/SHF - Cookie Swap: Twice As Good Macaroons

That time of month - and that time of year. The creators of, respectively, Is My Blog Burning and Sugar High Fridays have joint together to create a virtual Cookie Swap!

This was the theme for November's IMBB last year, and for that, I made Pepparkakor. (Swedish gingerbread cookies.) While delicious, I couldn't very well make that again, so I had to think of something else. Luckily, my trusty Buffé magazine (from Ica stores) arrived in the mail, and they had a cookie called "Twice as good". Twice as good as what, you might ask? Well. In essence, this is a hazelnut-almond macaroon with a coffee-buttercream filling. Yum! Given my previous experience with macaroons, my hopes weren't very high, but it actually went a lot better this time. The key? Don't overbeat the eggs! And don't even TRY to pipe them out unless your piping skill are way good. I used a teaspoon this time, and it worked a lot better. They're still rather flat compared to Pierre Hermé's - but who's comparing?

These keep very well in the freezer and just need a few minutes to de-frost. Recipe made about 30.

Twice As Good Macaroons

100 g hazelnuts
100 g almonds
4 dl powdered sugar (1.6 cups)
4 egg whites

Filling:
1 tbsp cornstarch
100 ml cold strong coffee (I used espresso)
1 egg yolk
125 g butter, softened
½ dl powdered sugar (3½ tbsp)
1 tsp vanilla sugar

Preheat the oven to 175 °C (about 350F). Grind the nuts and almonds in a food processor until very fine. Add the powdered sugar and blitz for another couple of seconds until well combined. Beat the egg whites until very stiff but not TOO stiff, and fold in the nut mixture. Form small rounds on a cookie sheet - either pipe them out, or just use a teaspoon. Make sure not to place them too closely. You should have about 60. Bake for 10-12 minutes, and let cool on the cookie sheet before you try to remove them.

Meanwhile, make the filling. Cream the butter with the powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Pour the espresso into a small saucepan and whisk in the cornstarch. Heat and simmer until thickened, whisking all the time. Remove from heat and let cool a little bit, then whisk in the egg yolk.

Combine the coffee cream with the buttercream, and mix until smooth and uniform. Then it's time to assemble the macaroons. Take one cookie, place a little dollop of filling on the underside of it, and cover with another cookie, of similar size.


I also created a little movie about this... my second vlog entry! Click the image below to watch it! (Sorry, you need to have Quicktime installed.)



Thank you Alberto and Jennifer! Can't wait to read the round-up! And, if you REALLY can't wait, go read last year's cookie swap round-up, there are some really tasty-sounding cookies in there!