Quinndulgences

NUTELLA MACARONS

Nutella is, in my opinion, a reason for waking up in the morning. Simply, it’s one of those rare items in life (or in your cupboard) that is plainly perfect. So naturally, when I stumbled across Baking Bites’ nutella macarons, I was inspired. Baking these is an involved process, but makes for some messy fun, with plenty of finger-, beater-, and mixing bowl-licking along the way!

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups hazelnut meal (180g)
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar (200g)
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder (30g)
• 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar (180g)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup Nutella

Directions:

1. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Sift together hazelnut meal, confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder into a large bowl. Add two egg whites and stir mixture until it comes together into a very thick dough.
3. In a small saucepan, bring granulated sugar and water to a rolling boil.
4. Meanwhile, in another mixing bowl, beat remaining two egg whites until frothy. Slowly drizzle the hot sugar mixture into the egg whites while beating. Incorporate and beat until thick and fluffy, resembling meringue.
5. Add the meringue mixture in thirds to the chocolate dough, folding and smoothly incorporating between additions.
6. Transfer batter to a piping bag (or plastic bag) with a 1-cm opening. Pipe dough onto prepared baking sheets to form 1-inch discs; batter will spread slightly after piping. Leave about 1-inch between discs on the baking sheet. Once all of the batter has been piped out, let the macarons sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes; this will give them a smooth, shiny top during baking.
7. Bake macarons for 11-12 minutes, until the tops are set. Cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to dry out for 30 minutes.
8. Sandwich them together with about 1 teaspoon of Nutella. Serve immediately, or store air-tight at room temperature for a day. Yields about 36 delicious sandwich cookies.