Talk about a recipe morphing! I have been wanting to make a macaroon with a ganache center for a while now. But I like my macaroons fresh out of the dehydrator. They get a wonderful crunchy exterior and a soft interior. If you want a ganache center, that presents a problem. Here is a peek at my “interesting” creative process. Hopefully it will give you a chuckle. Know that some times I have lazy days, too!
Here’s how it goes:
“If I roll a ball of cold raw ganache, surround it with the macaroon dough, that could work.
No…it won’t work. The ganache will melt in the dehydrator.
How about if I just dehydrate a sheet of macaroon dough and then wrap it around the ganache ball (I have not ruled this out for the future)
No…I don’t want to wait. Besides, I am craving Nutella. Hey…I wonder if I can do a raw nutella center?
I am soooo not in the mood to make a raw Nutella. That is too way much work for today. There has to be an easier way.
Wait…I don’t have to do a nutella center, I can do a whole nutella macaroon!
Ok…what should I put in it. I had better start with hazelnuts and chocolate.
(I finish the dough and sit looking at it.)
Now what. I could make two small disks, dehydrate them and then put a layer of ganache in-between…
No..that is a lot of work. I don’t feel like a lot of work today. How about if I just put a divot in the cookie and add the ganache later (like in the Thumbprint Cookies)
Sigh. I don’t feel like dehydrating anything. Besides, a lot of people don’t have dehydrators. I hear about that a lot.
I know, I will just melt the ganache and roll the macaroons in it! Whoo hoo!!”
And just for fun, I tried making ganache with Raw Coconut Nectar
Note that maple syrup is not raw but used in many raw food recipes. Also, I did use raw dried coconut that I found at Whole Foods. Hopefully soon my store will be up and running and finding these products will be as easy as going there!
Raw Chocolate Covered Nutella Macaroons
- 1 1/2 cup hazelnuts, ground very fine in food processor
- 1/2 cup almonds, ground fine in food processor
- 1 cup dried organic, unsweetened coconut
- 1/3 cup maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener of choice)
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, softened
- 1/4 cup cacao powder
Ganache:
- 1/2 cup cacao
- 1/2 cup raw organic agave nectar or raw coconut nectar
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
Yum!!!! These sound seriously amazing! I love the idea of a nutella macaroon, and the ganache is the perfect finish! They are lovely
!
Oh my gosh! I’m in food photo heaven! If I had any of the ingredients required to make these right now, i’d leap out of bed at 12:40 a.m. and do it!!! <3 Soon… very soon
OMG! Must. Buy. Hazelnuts. Immediately.
amazing! I have to try it!!:)
HaHaHa! I love your process! I can definitely relate! I look forward to preparing these one lazy day soon
Thanks, Christine! Looking back on my thought process made me laugh. I wanted to share… Cheers!
Milena, thank you!
I think these look fantastic! The chocolate looks like it will melt in your mouth and the inside looks decadent and delicious. Once again, you are da bomb!
These are soo amazing!! thank you for sharing. my hubby loved them alot.
Maybe I’m having a culinary senior moment (no offense meant to anyone), but it calls for 1.5 cups of hazelnuts finely ground. Are we measuring before or after grinding? (I should know this, I’m a cooking instructor…. old age is setting in.) I can’t wait to try these with my class. We have made several variations of your raw truffles, and they just love them. <3
1 1/2 cups hazelnuts, finely ground to me is done as stated. You take 1 1/2 cups and grind them. If I would have written 1 1/2 cups finely ground hazelnuts, then you would have ground them before measuring. I will try to be more clear. Cheers!
Are the almonds and hazelnuts supposed to be soaked first? Sorry if a stupid question—-am new to this. Would like to make them today (sounds exquisite—move over Godiva, with your overpriced, less-than-healthy, mass produced chocolates!) but do they need to be soaked for 12 hours, etc.?
I recently found out that I am allergic to coconut and finally figured out how I will replace dried coconut – it will taste different to be sure, but I want to replace this great coconut fibre with something that is equal – I am going to shred carrots in my food processor with the shredding disc and then dehydrate the carrots. Not sure when I will get around to doing this but will post about it when I do. I absolutely love hazelnuts, my favourite; this recipe looks fantastic and great to not have to dehydrate them.
what a delightful creation – and thank you for sharing the ‘inside’ story as you go through your creative process. I can relate to all of it – the chocolate urge, the twists and turns of the process and the glorious VOILA! that happens when it comes together. I imagine that you do a ‘happy dance’ as I do when something new emerges from your kitchen. Thank you for sharing so generously. I will put this in my go-to file when the chocolate craving strikes – and it’s so cool not to have to wait for the dehydrator
Blessings to you.
If you want to presoak and dehydrate your nuts for enzyme reasons you can do that but they need to be completely dry for this recipe. I will always state in the recipe if the nuts should be wet. Cheers!
YUM!! This is a must try! Ps have you tried making the ganache center by using a pastry piping bag? Like how they fill donuts? just a thought. Thanks for the great new recipe!
Its a Dream!!!
The ganache is quite sticky with the coconut nectar!…..the little balls are very difficult to cover or to Roll in it. But the taste is amazing!
Yes…as I noted above, it is more sticky. I didn’t have trouble coating the balls, but they really needed to be chilled a long time and always stayed a little sticky. Glad you liked them! Cheers!
These are a great idea! I didnt have enough hazelnuts, so I ended up using a cup of Brazil nuts and the taste was amazing! Great little healthy treat to help hit the sweet spot!
Hey Susan, Thanks for all your hard work. I would like to know how long these last for and where to store them. What is the general rule with raw food and life span?
It’s just food. Treat it as you would regular fresh ingredients that don’t have preservatives. If there is something that has oils in it, I always refrigerate as oils can go bad. These will last a few weeks, if they don’t get eaten first. They are perishable and won’t last forever.
These are AMAZING!! I make these at least once a month!!! Everybody loves them. Thank you for such a delicious recipe!!
Lana…so happy to hear that!
Made these today, they were really delicious, They did not last a second as everybody eat them up very fast! Will be making these again very soon, thanks for sharing all your lovely recipes!
Suzy, Glad you liked them!
These are absolutely delicious! I made them for everyone in the office and instantly people were asking for the recipe and diving in for seconds. Tasty (and easy) treats like this definitely make eating raw more desirable.
Just put the macaroons together. They almost did not make it to ganache stage. They are awesome! Put them in the garage fridge so I don’t have to see them until I make the ganache.
Joy…I love hearing that!