Chocolate-Dipped Hazelnut Macaroons

Coconut macaroons (not to be confused with French macarons) are a classic spring holiday dessert with origins in 18th century Italy. The flourless cookies are served at Passover seders and also shaped into “nests” to fill with Easter candy.

I am not a fan of the store-bought variety, which is often sticky and overly sweet. After years of making the same two desserts, chocolate bark and chocolate hazelnut truffle squares, for Passover, I decided to give homemade macaroons a shot.

I used unsweetened coconut and added finely ground hazelnuts, one of my favorite dessert flavors. Borrowing a technique from an excellent macaroon recipe on the blog Love from the Oven, I added egg whites to bind the dough together. These are especially delicious dipped in dark chocolate.

Chocolate-Dipped Hazelnut Macaroons

3  cups (8 oz) shredded, unsweetened coconut
1 ½ cup whole hazelnuts
2 egg whites
1 can (14 ounces) condensed milk
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
6 ounces dark chocolate (around one and a half bars) for dipping

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Toast hazelnuts until golden and fragrant. Set aside to cool, then grind in a food processor.In a large mixing bowl, combined coconut, hazelnuts, and condensed milk. Add remaining ingredients, stirring until well-combined.
3. Scoop dough using a tablespoon or small ice cream scoop, and place on prepared baking sheet; the macaroons will retain their shape as they bake, so feel free to arrange them closely together.
4. Bake for around 23-25 minutes until surfaces begin to turn golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.
5. Break chocolate bars into pieces and melt in microwave for around 1 minute. Be careful not to overcook, or the chocolate will lose its shine. (If not all the pieces have melted, set bowl aside at room temperature for a few minutes and then stir; the heat from the melted chocolate will melt the remaining chunks.)
6. Dip the bottoms of the macaroons into the melted chocolate, and place on wax or parchment paper to set. If room is warm, place in refrigerator to set.
7. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Yields approximately 35 macaroons