Coconut and almond munchies

These are basically macaroons. They are dry and definitely need the chocolate coating. 

It involves a lot of work and a few hours of waiting but they are worth it. Maybe bake them for a special occasion?

They need to be eaten as fresh as possible. Two days later they had a more chewy bite to them.

Another recipe from Scottish Cookery, a Flame Tree Publishing book. 

Serves: 84 munchies (the recipe said 26-30!!!).

Ingredients:

• 5 egg whites
• 250g icing sugar, plus extra to sprinkle
• 225g ground almonds
• 200g desiccated coconut
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• 100g dark chocolate (the recipe called for milk chocolate but I prefer dark)
• 100g white chocolate

Method:

1. Line several baking sheets with nonstick baking paper.
2. Place the egg whites in a bowl and whisk until stiff and standing in peaks.
   
   
   
   
3. Sift the icing sugar, then carefully fold half of the sugar into the whisked egg whites together with the ground almonds. Sift the ground almonds as well!! I didn't do so and then there were lumps in the mixture which made my pipping a hell!
   
4. Add the coconut, the remaining icing sugar and the lemon zest and mix together to form a very sticky dough.
   
   
   
   
5. Place the mixture in a piping bag and pipe the mixture into walnut-sized mounds onto the nonstick baking paper, then sprinkle with a little extra icing sugar. I forgot to sprinkle with the icing sugar! Advice list:
1. Twist the pipping bag near the nozzle and hold on to the twist as you fill the bag to avoid mixture falling through the nozzle.
2. Use a nozzle with a wide opening as the mixture is thick and you need quite a lot of strength to push the mixture through the nozzle.
3. Make sure you've read point# 3. If not, you'll end up with lumps and enable to push the mixture through the nozzle. Once the lump is by the nozzle, the only way to get it out is removing the mixture from the bag and starting again. Don't end up like me, swearing and having to go through 3 pipping bags!!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. Bake in a 150⁰C oven for 20-25 min or until set and golden on the outside. I baked the 1st batch for 20 min and I thought they looked quite dry. So the 2nd batch was baked for 15 min. Definitely 15 min is more than enough!
   
7. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly. Carefully transfer to a wire rack and leave until cold.
   
8. Break the dark and white chocolates into pieces and place in 2 separate bowls. Melt both chocolates in bain-marie. Stir until smooth and free from lumps. Melt one chocolate at a time as you'll need to wait for one to dry on the munchies before you dip into the other.
9. Dip one edge of each munchie in the dark chocolate and leave to dry on the wire rack. Keep the chocolate in the bain-marie whilst you dip the munchies to avoid the chocolate solidifying. On the underside of the munchies there will be a mark of the wire rack but worry not, it's the top that needs to be aesthetic. 
   
   
   
   
10. When dry, dip the other side into the white chocolate and leave to dry on the wire rack.
    
11. Serve as soon as possible.