It’s not the holiday season without orange and chocolate!  These Tangerine and Dark Chocolate Macaron are seriously crave-able!

I’m back for more 12 days of cookies!!  Of course, I couldn’t get through this event without making some macaron.  I mean, any excuse to whip up a batch is a good one for me!!  Then again, does anyone really need an excuse to make these?  I didn’t think so.

For me, it’s not Christmas without chocolate and orange something.  It’s usually those chocolate balls that look like oranges.  You know the ones, right?  The orange that you have to smack on the counter to get the segments to separate.  I can’t remember what they’re called, but they usually only appear for the holidays.

It’s not Christmas without one of those and some chocolate covered cherries, but that’s for another day.  Since I was craving that chocolate orange combination, I thought I’d turn it into a cookie!  But this being 12 Days of Cookies it wasn’t just your standard orange.  I had to make tangerine flavored macaron.

However, I wasn’t sure, outside of orange extract, how I was going to infuse the shells with delicious tangerine flavor.  So, I went to the web.  My first go to is to see if there’s freeze dried tangerines.  Luckily, I found one brand, but not in my area.

The hubs always looks at me funny when I get something out of the norm in the mail; like a box of snack sized packages of freeze dried tangerines, pears, and apples.  Yup. Those flavors will be coming soon, not to worry!

The first thing I did was open the package and see what they tasted like.  Just like I did with the freeze-dried cranberries for these macarons.  There was decidedly some tangerine flavor there, but not as much as I’d hoped.  A few drops of orange extract was in order to make sure they had that delicious tangerine flavor I was looking for.

My husband has been surprising me lately with my food adventures.  All this time he’s not liked the macaron.  He’s not like anything citrus especially for dessert.  To say I was shocked when he thought these were good is an understatement.

I forget sometimes how sensitive his palate is to citrus foods.  I tried one and thought it had a nice hint of orange flavor.  He said it was more than a hint.  I’m sure it’s just a hint.  Or maybe my palate is getting dull.  Does that happen?

So, as fun as these cookies are to make, I have to say that I’ve tried a few different brands of almond meal.  I’ve even tried to make my own almond meal.  Don’t do this.  It’s just not worth it.  Do yourself a favor, and get some Bob’s Red Mill almond meal.

It’s consistently reliable.  I don’t have much waste during sifting, and well, it just has better flavor than all the other almond meals.  It’s the only meal I use now.  I had some already in my pantry to make these cookies with, but they did send me some more almond meal along with some other items to use in my baking.

Even if they hadn’t sent me some to bake with, I’d still brag aboug their products.  Their steel cut oatmeal alone convinced me to start looking for and using their products in everything I do.  I can’t wait to bake with the bread flour I received and the low carb baking mix that I requsted to bake something for Dad.  The products I have tried just tasted better.  I could tell in the cookies I’ll be sharing tomorrow.  Honestly.  I could tell.

Anyway.  Do you enjoy the orange and chocolate confections that are usually around this time of year?  If not, what’s your favorite flavor combination for the holidays?  Maybe someone made a cookie with those flavors today.  Make sure to scroll down and see what #ChristmasCookies are being served up today!

Tangerine and Dark Chocolate Macaron

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

It's not the holiday season without orange and chocolate! These Tangerine and Dark Chocolate Macaron are seriously crave-able!

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Ingredients

• 4 ounces almond meal
• 7 ounces powdered sugar
• 1 ounce freeze dried tangerines
• 4 ounces egg white, room temperature
• Pinch cream of tartar
• 50 grams sugar
• 1 cap full vanilla extract
• 1 cap full orange extract
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon Cointreau or other orange flavored liqueur

Instructions

For the shells:

1. Pulse the powdered sugar, the almond flour, and the freeze-dried tangerine together in a food processor to form a fine powder. Sift three times into a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
2. Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer (or large, metal mixing bowl). Sprinkle the cream of tartar over the eggs and hand mix the two together with the whisk attachment for the stand mixer (or hand mixer). Fasten the whisk attachment and beat the mixture on medium speed until foamy. Slowly add the granulated sugar and continue to beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Increase the speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form.
3. Sift 1/3 of the almond mixture into the bowl with the meringue. Fold the ingredients together with a large spatula until incorporated. Continue sifting and folding until all the almond mixture is incorporated into the meringue and the mixture should drip slowly off the spatula; like lava flowing. (Think conditioner dripping out of a bottle. That works for me.)
4. Transfer the batter to a large piping bag fitted with a 1/2 inch tip and pipe 1 1/3 inch rounds onto a silpat covered baking sheet. There are several different templates out there. Two that I like are here and here.
5. Preheat oven to 325.
6. You’re going to LOVE this next part! Once all the batter has been piped or your sheets are full, grab the edges of the pan, secure the silpat with your thumbs (or any extra batter) and rap the pans on the counter. That’s right! You heard me! Bang them on the counter!! This releases any remaining air bubbles in the meringue. Continue rapping the sheets, turning occasionally, until no more air bubbles surface. Allow the macaron to rest on the counter at least 30 minutes or more depending on the humidity level of your kitchen.
7. Once they’ve rested and the tops are no longer sticky to the touch, bake at 325 for 7 to 9 minutes. Rotate the pans front to back and top to bottom and bake an additional 7 to 9 minutes. Do the wiggle test to see if the meringue is cooked; carefully grab the top of the shell and if it moves easily from side to side when wiggled. This indicates that the meringue isn’t completely cooked. Continue to cook in 2 to 3 minutes intervals until they no longer wiggle.
8. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely before filling.

For the ganache:

1. Place the chocolate and Cointreau into a microwave safe bowl. Heat on high one minute. Stir the chocolate. If there’s still large chunks, microwave on high at 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until all the chocolate is melted. Pour in the cream and stir until combined.
2. Place the filling in a piping bag fitted with a plain tip (or glam it up and use a star tip like I did) and pipe the filling onto one shell, almost to the edge. Top with another shell and allow to rest before serving.

Welcome to the 12 Days of Cookies, hosted by Family Around the Table and Cooking With Carlee.  We will be filling the season with all kinds of delicious cookies.  Be sure to check out some of the recipes below or you can follow along on Facebook or Twitter by searching #ChristmasCookies.  We also have a 12 Days of Cookies Pinterest board where you can see all of the goodness!  May your holidays be sweet!

Day 7

• Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies from Cooking with Carlee
• Classic Sugar Cookies from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Double Chocolate Snowball Cookies from Jolene’s Recipe Journal
• Gingerbread Men from The Freshman Cook
• Gluten-Free Maple Chestnut Cookies from Caroline’s Cooking
• Maple Sugar Cookies from A Palatable Pastime
• Nutty Triple Chocolate Cookies from Family Around the Table
• Tangerine and Dark Chocolate Macaron from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies from Simple and Savory