I crave a pop of colour in my food sometimes. Shopping at farmers’ market in summer satisfies that visual longing with rainbow array of fruit and vegetable. Alas, we are in the waning days of March. The best nature can muster is the intense blue sky on the occasional sunny afternoon. I decided to take matter in my own kitchen.
Not long ago, smitten kitchen made raspberry coconut macaroons with fresh raspberries. I did a double-take at the girlishly pink orbs and marvelled at Perelman’s creativity. Everyone makes coconut macaroons but who would come up with the idea to crush some berries in the batter? Motivation is a funny thing. Although I was incredibly drawn to the recipe, it simply did not rise to the top of my to-bake list. In fact, I totally forgot about the pink macaroons.
A couple of nights ago, I browsed around my cookbook library for baking inspirations. More specifically, I was searching for simple things to make with my (still very big) bag of sweetened shredded coconut from Costco. First thing that caught my attention was Raspberry Dark Chocolate Macaroon from Serious Eats. Same idea as smitten kitchen but also throw in almond and dark chocolate to the party. I put on my apron without further delay.
There is nothing tricky about this recipe if you’ve ever made coconut macaroons before. Everything went into the food processor for a quick spin and the snow white batter was tinted to vibrant purple with the addition of fresh blackberries and raspberries. I was careful not to brown the cookies to maintain that gorgeous hue. I let the macaroons cool on the counter overnight before dipping them in white chocolate the next morning.
Why dip when I can drizzle? I have my reason. You see, the crunchy exterior gave way to a moist chewy centre. The bottom of each cookie was just a little sticky. By sealing the bottom with white chocolate, I could stack the macaroons without sticking to each other.
The berries made their presence known. I could not get enough of these fruity macaroons! The occasional pieces of berries added pops of juicy tartness. And that combination of purple on white? Totally a feast for the eyes. If you are looking for dessert ideas this Easter weekend, I highly recommend these Rasp-Blackberry Macaroons with White Chocolate!
Previously on macaroons:
