Almond Joy Cookies Chocolate Macaroon Thumbprint Recipes

ALMOND JOY COOKIES (CHOCOLATE MACAROON THUMBPRINT)

Steps:

• Beat butter, sugar and salt.
• Add cocoa, melted chocolate and vanilla.
• Add eggs and beat until creamy.
• Slowly add flour and blend only until combined.
• Chill in refrigerator several hours.
• Meanwhile combine macaroon ingredients by hand in a small bowl.
• Form dough into balls using a small cookie scoop or tablespoon and drop onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Flatten each ball with your thumb, leaving a depression in the center of each.
• Fill each depression with 1 tsp of macaroon.
• Bake at 350 F for 8-10 minutes, until cookies no longer look wet on top.
• Cool completely on wire rack.
• When cookies are cool.
• Melt chocolate for drizzle.
• Add shortening and stir well.
• Drizzle over cookies.

ALMOND JOY MACAROON COOKIES

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare cookie sheets by lining them with parchment paper. Set aside.
• 2. Combine egg whites, sugar, coconut and almond extract in one heat proof bowl (I used pyrex) and set it over a few inches of simmering water (basically a double boiler). Stir mixture with wooden spoon making sure to scrape the bottom to prevent burning. Continue heating and stirring until mixture and the egg whites have thickened about 8-10 minutes. Mixture is ready when a scoop placed on cookie sheet will hold its shape without a puddle of syrup forming around it.
• 3. Now take a measuring Tablespoon and scoop a full tablespoon onto the parchment paper about 2" apart of each cookie, (I only got 20 cookies because I filled the Tablespoon pretty good)and place one to two almonds on top. Bake for about 20 minutes watching carefully so that you don't burn the edges. The edges should turn a golden brown and the top part of the cookie should have golden brown on the tips..
• 4. When done... remove cookies once they are slightly cooled from the parchment paper onto a cooling rack or waxed paper as I have done...when cooled completely drizzle with Chocolate mixture.
• 5. Chocolate mixture for topping: In a heavy saucepan put 1 cup of chocolate chip morsels along with 2 T. vegetable oil over low heat until chocolate is melted..stir to combine with the vegetable oil. Drizzle or cover the entire top of the cookie with this chocolate. Cool completely so the chocolate sets up nicely, this takes a while for the chocolate to set up several hours, so don't get discouraged, and now enjoy! These cookies will store well up to 5 days.
• 6. *NOTE: I did not use parchment paper and this is what the cookie sheet looks like trying to scrape the cookie off it without ripping it apart...lesson learned!

ALMOND JOY MACAROONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Mince 1 1/2 cups of coconut in a food processor and transfer to a bowl.
• Add remaining ingredients, EXCEPT kisses.
• Mix gently with your hands until combined.
• Chill dough at least 1 hour (but no more than 24).
• Shape a heaping tablespoon of dough around a kiss. Make sure it is enclosed completely. (This takes a little practice).
• Place 1 inch apart on lined baking sheet.
• Bake until firm and deep golden on the bottom and light golden on the top--about 16-18 minutes.
• Cool on pan for 5 minutes and transfer to cooling rack.
• These are a little sticky so I keep them in mini muffin papers or paper bonbon cups.