I haven’t blogged for a while because I’ve just completely got out of the habit. Anyway I have actually been making lots of nice things so hopefully I’ll get to show you some of them over the next week.
First up Hazelnut macaroons with a chocolate filling. I’m really pleased with these, the recipe is adapted from the original Pistachio Macaroons from Nigella Lawson’s How To Be A Domestic Goddess.
To be honest this is more of a sandwiched biscuit than a macaroon but I like them none the less.
Macaroons
75g ground hazelnut
125g icing sugar
2 large egg whites
15g caster sugar
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Filling
125g Softened butter
125g Icing sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
Whisk the eggs until quite stiff, add the caster sugar and continue whisking until completely stiff (hold the bowl over your head, when it doesn’t fall on your head it’s stiff enough).
Mix the ground hazlenuts with the icing sugar, fold into the egg mixture.
Put into a piping bag and pipe about 30 circles using a 1cm nozzle. (Or just do what I did and pipe from the corner of a plastic freezer bag so you don’t have to wash up the piping bag).
Leave for 10 minutes to form a skin (not sure this really makes any difference but I’m not going to tempt fate and take the step out). Put in the oven for about 12 minutes.
While the macaroons are cooling make the filling.
Mix together 125g of softened butter with 125g of icing sugar and one tablespoon of cocoa powder.
Pipe the filling onto the flat side of a macaroon and squish another one on the other side…and your done. Alternatively just use a palette knife to put the filling on a macaroon.
These are really easy to make. I made the macaroons while Beatrix was in a baby carrier on my front, they baked while I put her down for a nap and I made the filling while they cooled.
Blog post and photography written during her nap – so I’m being completely serious when I say these are VERY simple.
And I leave you with a picture of the not so tiny anymore Beatrix!
Oh my goodness – Bea is really looking like a little girl now!
Glad you’re back by the way!
Soooo happy you are back! You were missed here! But as much as I miss you, I would much rather you are playing with Beatrix and baking cookies than sitting at the computer desk!!!
Just look at how big Beatrix has grown already! Beautiful picture! Beautiful little girl!
And thank you so much for the recipe of the Hazelnut macaroon recipe. A friend made these for me years and years ago and I have always wondered how they were made! These sound pretty darn close!