Best Chocolate Almond Macaroon Bars Recipes

CHOCOLATE-ALMOND MACAROONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Finely grind the almonds, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a food processor.
• Separate one of the eggs and add the white, the other egg, and almond extract and process until the mixture holds together. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the chocolate.
• Moisten hands and roll mixture into 1-inch balls. Place on prepared cookie sheet. Flatten to 1/3-inch thick rounds.
• Bake until tops puff and centers are still soft, about 12 minutes. Remove to a rack and cool completely. Replace parchment paper for next round of cookies.

CHOCOLATE MACAROON BARS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the wafer crumbs, confectioners' sugar and butter; press into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. In a large bowl, combine the milk, coconut and almonds. Drop by spoonfuls over crust; spread evenly., Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Cool completely on a wire rack. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chips and cream; stir until smooth. Drizzle over top. Refrigerate until firm. Cut into bars.

ALMOND MACAROON BROWNIE BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom of 9-inch square pan with shortening or cooking spray. Make brownie batter as directed on box. Spread in pan. Bake 28 to 31 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out almost clean.
• Meanwhile, in medium bowl, mix filling ingredients. Remove brownies from oven. Carefully spoon and spread filling evenly over brownies. Bake 15 to 18 minutes longer or until light golden brown. Cool completely on cooling rack, about 1 1/2 hours.
• In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips on High 30 to 60 seconds, stirring halfway through, until chips can be stirred smooth. Spoon into resealable food-storage plastic bag; partially seal bag. Cut small tip from corner of bag; drizzle over top. Let stand about 2 hours or until set. Cut into 4 rows by 4 rows.

CHOCOLATE FILLED ALMOND MACARONS

Steps:

• For the ganache: Combine the chopped chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pot with 1-inch of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth. Stir in the cream, vanilla and salt, and then remove from the heat. Set aside until cooled and thickened, stirring occasionally, 30 to 45 minutes.
• For the cookies: Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a small glass or cookie cutter (1 1/4 to 1 1/2-inch wide), trace 15 circles on each piece of parchment paper, leaving about 2 inches between each round. Flip the parchment over; the lines will be visible through the paper but you will not have to pipe directly onto the ink. Fit a pastry bag with a round tip about 1/4-inch wide.
• Sift the confectioners' sugar and ground almonds into a bowl and discard any larger nut chunks. (If you have more than a tablespoon of bigger chunks, grind those until powdery and then resift.) Combine the egg whites and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or in a large bowl with the whisk attachment of a hand-held electric mixer). Whip on medium-low speed until frothy, and then add the granulated sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high and whip until very soft peaks form. Add the almond extract and a few drops of food coloring if using. Whip until stiff peaks form. Fold about one-third of the sugar-nut mixture into the egg whites until blended, and then fold in the remaining two-thirds. The batter should be a bit fluid but not runny. It should slowly drip off the spatula and sit on top of the batter in the bowl for a bit before eventually oozing back into it. If it seems a bit stiff at this point, fold once or twice more until it relaxes, although be careful not to over fold. This correct texture is the key to the macaron and it is better to have a stiffer batter than a looser one.
• Transfer the batter to the prepared pastry bag. Holding the bag perpendicular over the baking sheet, squeeze until the batter fills a circle drawn on the paper. Release the pressure on the bag and pull towards you to prevent a pointy tip on the center of the cookie. Repeat with the remaining circles. Gently flatten any points on the cookies with a damp fingertip.
• Firmly rap the baking sheets against the counter to release any air bubbles and let stand at room temperature until the tops of the cookies no longer feel wet, 10 to 15 minutes. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until the macarons are slightly crisp and the bottoms release from the parchment paper, about 15 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through the baking time. Cool on the sheet 5 minutes, and then peel off the cookies and cool completely on a wire rack.
• To assemble the cookies, spread a thin layer of the chocolate ganache on the bottoms of half of the cookies, about 1/4 teaspoon per cookie. Top with a second cookie, gently pressing to squeeze the ganache to the rims.
• TIP: The weight of the batter in the pastry bag will force some of the batter out. To stop this, you can stick a mini marshmallow at the end of your pastry tip to block to the batter from running out the end.
• TIP: You can use store-bought almond meal in place of the whole almonds. Sift 2/3 cup with the confectioners' sugar and, if necessary, grind the larger chunks and sift until a tablespoon or less of larger chunks remain in the sifter.
• TIP: You can also spoon the batter onto the parchment lined baking sheets. The cookies may not be as perfectly round but will still taste great.

MACAROON BARS

Steps:

• Sprinkle 1-1/2 cups coconut into a well-greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Combine milk and extract; drizzle half over the coconut. Unroll crescent dough into one long rectangle; seal seams and perforations. Place in pan. Drizzle with remaining milk mixture; sprinkle with remaining coconut. , Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack before cutting. Store in the refrigerator.

CHOCOLATE ALMOND MACAROON BARS

Steps:

• 1. To toast almonds: heat oven to 350^. Spread almonds on shallow baking sheet. Bake 5 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned. --- Keep oven at 350^. Grease 13x9-inch baking pan. Combine crumbs, melted butter and sugar; firmly press mixture on bottom of prepared pan. Stir together sweetened condensed milk, coconut and almonds; mix well. Carefully drop mixture by spoonfuls over crust; spread evenly. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until coconut edges just begin to brown. Cool. Place chocolate chips and cream in medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at high(100%) 1 minute; stir after 10 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, until chips are melted and mixture is smooth when stirred. Cool until slightly thickened; spread over cooled bars. Sprinkle top with white chips. Cover; refrigerate several hours or until thoroughly chilled. Cut into bars. Refrigerate leftovers.

FUDGY MACAROON BARS

Steps:

• In a microwave, melt chocolate and butter; stir until smooth. Cool slightly. Stir in the sugar, flour, salt, vanilla and eggs. Spread half of the batter into a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. , In a large bowl, combine the filling ingredients. Spoon over chocolate layer. Carefully spread remaining chocolate mixture over filling. , Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until the sides pull away from the pan. Immediately sprinkle with chocolate chips. Allow chips to soften for a few minutes, then spread evenly over filling. Sprinkle with walnuts. Cool completely before cutting.