MACAROONS:
2 cups blanched almonds
1/2 cup Swerve (or erythritol and 1 tsp stevia glycerite)
3 large egg whites
3/4 tsp Celtic sea salt
3 TBS Swerve (or Erythritol)
GANACHE:
3 oz unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1/3 cup vanilla almond milk (or heavy cream)
Swerve or stevia glycerite (to taste)
1 TBS coconut oil or butter, softened
1/16 tsp raspberry extract
Place 1/2 cup Swerve or erythritol in a coffee grinder/food processor and blend until a fine powder.
Macaroons: Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Pulse almonds with 1/2 cup Swerve in a food processor until very finely ground, 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a bowl (or use blanched almond flour).
In another bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer at medium speed until they just hold soft peaks. Add Swerve and salt, a little at a time, beating, then increase speed to high and continue to beat until whites just hold stiff, glossy peaks. Stir almond mixture into meringue with a rubber spatula until completely incorporated. (Meringue will deflate.) Spoon batter into bag, pressing out excess air, and snip off 1 corner of plastic bag to create a 1/4-inch opening. Twist bag firmly just above batter, then pipe peaked mounds of batter (the size of a chocolate kiss) onto lined sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Let cookies stand, uncovered, at room temperature until tops are no longer sticky and a light crust forms, 20 to 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 300°F. Bake cookies for 20-30 minutes or until crisp and edges are just slightly darker. Cool completely on sheets on racks, about 30 minutes.
GANACHE: Melt chocolate with cream in a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water or in top of a double boiler, stirring until smooth. (Bowl should not touch water.) Remove bowl from heat, then add coconut oil or butter and raspberry extract, stirring until butter is melted. Let stand at room temperature until cooled completely and slightly thickened.
Carefully peel cookies from parchment (they will be fragile). Sandwich a thin layer of ganache (about 1/2 teaspoon) between flat sides of cookies. Makes 24 sandwich cookies.
NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per serving)
Traditional Macaroons = 105 calories, 6.5g fat, 2.6g protein, 12 carbs, 1.6g fiber
"Healthified" Macaroons = 71 calories, 6.4g fat, 2.6g protein, 2.8 carbs, 1.6g fiber
I'm having a nervous breakdown. Making these TODAY!
ReplyDeleteLooks fabulous!! Maria, what brand of Stevia is that - or where can one purchase it on the internet? Thank you.
ReplyDeleteIt is the NOW brand of stevia.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Maria. (((HUGS)))
ReplyDeleteHaha @ Rachel. I'm having the same reaction. Gotta make these. Thanks for posting Maria! Would you might if I posted this recipe on my site http://www.vitalityadvocate.com with a link back to yours? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYes, please do. Thanks! :)
Deletewould the recipes fall-apart / not work if the 1 tsp stevia glycerite was omitted?
ReplyDeleteThat should still work. :)
Deleteis xylitol and erythritol interchangeable? (1 for 1?)
ReplyDeletealso...what do you think about these two articles:
1) http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/xylitol-not-as-sweet-as-its-cracked-up-to-be/
2) http://www.westonaprice.org/modern-foods/sugar-free-blues?qh=YTo4OntpOjA7czo1OiJzdWdhciI7aToxO3M6ODoic3VnYXJpbmciO2k6MjtzOjY6InN1Z2FycyI7aTozO3M6Nzoic3VnYXJlZCI7aTo0O3M6Nzoic3VnYXIncyI7aTo1O3M6NToiYmx1ZXMiO2k6NjtzOjQ6ImJsdWUiO2k6NztzOjExOiJzdWdhciBibHVlcyI7fQ%253D%253D
would love to hear your thoughts.
thank you and have a really nice day <3
Hi, Erthritol isn't as sweet as xylitol so the conversion I use is 1 cup Erythritol and 1 teaspoon stevia glycerite = 1 cup xylitol.
DeleteAs for the articles, here is what I believe:
Here is what I wrote to someone on facebook that asked about the same link:
Here is the original source of that critique.
http://www.naturalnews.com/022986_xylitol_health_sugar.html
The first couple comments you see are:
"Misinformation by someone who sells a product that Xylitol competes with. Yes, Xylitol is heavily processed, because that's cheaper than getting it directly from plants. It doesn't matter - It's a chemically pure product, and therefore identical regardless of source. It's bad for rats, and also for dogs. So is chocolate. Luckily we are not rats or dogs. It is also bad for bacteria, which is why it's effective at preventing caries. And it's bad for yeast, so don't use it for making bread. There are plenty of studies showing it to be safe for human consumption, and none saying otherwise. Yes, it will give you diarrhea if you eat too much, but so will cherries, plums, berries, etc - because guess what - most fruits contain xylitol. So don't eat too much of it. It's a fantastic sweetener, that has 1/3 less calories than sugar, prevents caries. It's also much slower to be absorbed, so it does not cause spikes in insulin, which lead to health problems (whether you are diabetic or not).
I wonder if this comment will even be allowed to be posted?"
and:
"I agree with Alicia. Based on the data in this page, the LD50 is 16.5 gr of xylitol per kg. An adult human has an average weight of 80 kg. That means that to reach the LD50 dose, a person should eat 16.5 g x 80 kg = 1,320g or 1.32kg of xylitol in a day. That's close to 3 lbs. By the way, the LD50 of sucrose (table sugar) is 29 g/kg. So table sugar is about 1/2 as toxic as xylitol... which means it is considered NON TOXIC... and that means IT IS SAFE."
I tend to agree with what is said here and think it is more accurate:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/sugar-alcohols/
Thanks!