NOT-tella Macaroons
Continuing my spree of Passover bakes, I wanted to bake something classic, but with a Lottie twist! Macaroons are a classic passover dessert as they naturally have no flour therefore aren't the usual (in my opinion no so tasty) gluten free alternative. Passover macaroons often have coconut however I have never been a fan of the texture of desiccated coconut as I find it doesn't match the taste- This is an issue I have always had surrounding foods that I expect to taste different based off how they look (Eg: I don't like tahini because my brain expects it to taste of hummus)! Instead I thought I would experiment with using nuts- another popular passover ingredient, especially as an alternative to flour. Although macaroons often contain almond flour, I wanted to try something different. I love Nutella (I mean who doesn't) but the passover alternative to Nutella is incredibly expensive so, in order to still have that wonderful sweet hazelnutty flavour, I thought I would make Nutella flavoured macaroons! Although, as I'm sure you can see from the photo, they look like something else, they are super tasty and have become a wonderful passover bake in my house. The blend of hazelnut and cocoa powder forms the most incredible Nutella flour and I am currently experimenting with other, non-passover recipes, using my newfound ingredient. I hope you love this twist on macaroons as much as we all do
Here is my recipe for NOT-tella Macaroons:
Ingredients: (Makes 30)
- 210g Icing Sugar
- 95g Ground Hazelnuts (you can use normal hazelnuts as they are going to be blended but ground will speed up the process!)
- 1tbs Cocoa/Hot Chocolate Powder
- 50g Caster Sugar
- 3 Egg Whites (this is about 90g)
- 1/2tsp Almond/Vanilla Extract
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 175’c, gas mark 4
- In a strong blender, (I use a Nutri-Bullet), blend the icing sugar, hazelnuts, cocoa and sugar until a fine powder/flour forms- it needs to be small enough to fit through a sieve
- In a bowl, whisk up the egg whites and almond extract until airy and fluffy- it should be thick enough so that you are able to hold the bowl above your head and not get covered in egg white!
- GENTLY (you don't want to "break" the egg white mixture) fold the hazelnut mixture into the egg white using a spatula- fold until just combined
- Pour your mixture into a piping bag with a 2A (round end) nozzle
- hold the nozzle in one position, over the baking tray, until you have your desired size- pipe them around 1cm apart (they spread slightly)
- Gently tap the trays in order to give the macaroons a smooth top
- Bake for 12-15 minutes
- Enjoy!!
