*cross posted*
As the 7th night and Erev Shabbes approached, which SD committed to preparing dinner for, I got a little adventurous, and went outside my comfort zone. Although I decided to indulge in my homemade carby Passover meals, I did not buy any premade Passover treats. Which means I didn't buy any canisters of the various flavored coconut macaroons. I kept hearing how easy they are to make, and that fresh made are much better than the ones in the canister. I decided to give them a try.
Sucralose and saccharine are available as kosher for Passover sweeteners, but neither are really acceptable for me.. However, birch xylitol is also available as k4p, and that is acceptable for the way I eat. While I'm enjoying having matzah and potatoes during the festival, I really didn't want to add sugar where I could avoid it, such as in my coffee. Plus, birch xylitol is a 1:1 substitute for white sugar, so birch xylitol it is.
I could not find k4p sugar free chocolate chips, as the sweeteners used are not k4p, so I adapted an online recipe for ganache using unsweetened chocolate, subbing the xylitol for the sugar to sweeten the chocolate. I found a coconut macaroon recipe which uses unsweetened shredded coconut, egg whites, powdered sugar, and various extract. I adapted that to xylitol as well.
Here is what I came up with:
Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons
For the macaroons:
3 egg whites, medium not large
3/4 cup powdered xylitol
2 and 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
I tsp extract, various flavors (optional)
Preheat oven to 325F (160C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites and powdered sugar until foamy. Add extract, if using and mix in.
Add in the shredded coconut and stir gently with a spatula. Try to make a ball with your hand, squeezing the ball a little. If you think it is too dry and doesn't hold together, add one small egg white. If you think it is too moist, add a little extra coconut.
Using an ice cream scoop or a measuring tablespoon, drop macaroons on the parchment paper. You can make balls using your hands too.
Bake for 20 minutes. Open the oven and place them on the top shelf. Bake for another 2-3 minutes or until their top gets golden.
Cool for about 10 minutes before serving.
Dip in to ganache and set on parchment to dry. Pipe ganache over top.
Keep them in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
For the ganache:
100 grams (3.5 oz) 100% dark chocolate
50 grams (1/4 cup) xylitol
1/3 cup whipping cream (any heavy cream will do)
1 tsp extract (optional)
Chop the chocolate into 1/2 inch cubes, or use chips and place in a medium bowl (use microwavable safe just in case you need help getting the chocolate to melt).
Pour your cream into a small saucepan and place on an element on the stove top. Heat on medium high. Add the sugar and stir, heating and stirring until it dissolves. If using, add the vanilla, mint or coffee extract.
Do not let the cream boil, just bring it to nearly a simmer then immediately pour half of the cream over the chocolate. Stir until you get a smooth and dark chocolaty-looking mixture, but with large lumps of chocolate in it.
Then reheat your remaining cream and pour into the mixture. Stir until smooth. If lumps still remain, microwave for five seconds (not more!) and stir again until the mixture is smooth.
Cast of characters for the coconut macaroons. I forgot to put out my homemade vanilla flavoring I make for Passover using potato vodka. You'll see the jar I store it in later.
The chocolate chips are 100% dark chocolate with no sugar or sweetener from Trader Joe's. They're not certified k4p, but as it has nothing but chocolate, it works for me.
I could not find confectioners birch xylitol, not even online. Instead, I use my spice grinder to powder my own. I found a half a cup of granular birch xylitol came to about the 3/4s cup of powdered birch xylitol I needed. Sweetness worked out perfectly.
A quarter cup of the birch xylitol after being "blitzed" in my spice grinder. You can see the expansion. I did this twice to get about 3/4s cup of powdered birch xylitol.
The macaroon ingredients, minus the vanilla: egg whites, shredded coconut (actually, I used flaked coconut, which gave me some issues), and the powdered birch xylitol.
The egg whites and powdered birch xylitol whisked until foamy, and then homemade vanilla flavoring stirred in. I tried to whisk by hand. First lesson learned: use the whisk attachment for my hand mixer in future.
Shredded (actually flaked) coconut gently folded in. Second lesson learned: the texture of the flaked coconut may look more elegant, but it does not absorb the liquid mixture well and is very difficult to shape. Be certain to get shredded unsweetened coconut in future.
Macaroons shaped using an ice cream scoop and pressing to mold and extrude liquid.
The recipe made an even dozen macaroons.
I forgot to take a photo after the initial 20 minutes. This is after browning on the top rack.
Cast of characters for the chocolate ganache:
100% dark chocolate chips
Heavy cream (Internet recipe called for a quarter cup, but that resulted in a thick spreadable ganache. I heated more cream to thin it out for dipping and piping, but am uncertain as to how much more I added. I adjusted the recipe above to say a third of a cup, but that may need to be adjusted yet again)
Xylitol
Homemade vanilla flavoring made from potato vodka (Regular extracts are made using alcohol derived from one of the five forbidden grains, so is considered "chametz." Of course use any extract if not observing Passover strictures.)
The ganache was made so quickly I didn't get any photos of the process. Here are the macaroons after the bottoms were dipped in the ganache.
The rest of the ganache put in to a zipper bag. The corner was then snipped for piping.
I'm terrible at piping. But, I'm still happy with how they look.
Xylitol that is corn derived is not k4p and is known for causing tummy issues. Birch xylitol is k4p and is not known to cause tummy issues as much, but SD seems to react negatively to it, possibly due to surgery years ago on his digestive track. So, I recommend having one at a time. At least until one sees how one personally reacts to it.
I'm really happy with the flavor, level of sweetness, and the texture. Far superior to the cannister ones!