Apricot Tahini Dark Chocolate Macaroons (Dairy Free)

Passover is one of my favorite holidays. In years past, it always meant lots of family and friends gathered together— usually a mashup of our immediate family, extended family, friends who were like family, and people who clearly had no idea what they were in for when they said they’d love to join for a seder. Usually my dad keeps it short and sweet, but we hit all the important notes. To be grateful for our family and to count our blessings, whether they be few or numerous that year. Whatever we have, as long as we have each other, it’s enough.

Last year, there was a lot lost, but also a lot to be grateful for. I honestly don’t even remember what I served for Passover 2020— it felt ridiculous to think of making a big meal when store shelves were still bare in New York and it was hard to find basics let alone the ingredients for a holiday meal.

This year, it’ll still be just the three of us, but I’m determined to make a big deal of our small meal. These macaroons are adapted from my aunt’s recipe, studded with apricot and dipped in chocolate. I kept those flavors and adjusted it to be dairy free, smaller batch, and measured by weight. Mostly because it’s more precise, but also because I’m lazy about cleanup and like to use as few dishes as possible. Weighing ingredients directly into the bowl makes this much easier.

It makes about two dozen, enough for a small gathering or a single sweet lover, and can be readily adjusted to use what you have on hand. Dried cherries, raisins, or dates work here in place of the apricots, as does almond butter in place of the tahini. You can make them smaller if you want more bite-sized treats, or divide the mixture in half before you add the apricots and make different flavors. Take advantage of not having to please the whole family and do whatever floats your pandemic Passover boat.

Heading into another year of Zoom seder, it’s still hard to not have everyone together, but with (fingers crossed) the end in sight, we can be a bit optimistic. Next year in Jerusalem…or at least hopefully not on Zoom.

Recipe

Yield: Two dozen macaroons

Ingredients

227g unsweetened shredded coconut

200g granulated sugar

150g dried apricots

3 large egg whites

30g tahini

¼ tsp salt

100g dark chocolate, for decorating if desired 
Note: if you are strictly dairy free or serving these to someone who is, make sure to check the label on the dark chocolate carefully as not all chocolate labeled as dark chocolate is dairy free.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325F and line a baking sheet with parchment.

If your coconut is in large shreds, pulse it in a food processor with sugar until fully combined and the coconut is finely shredded. Add apricots and pulse until they’re in small pieces but still visible. Add the egg whites, tahini, and salt, and pulse to fully combine.

If you don’t have a food processor, or your coconut is already finely textured (like the Bob’s Red Mill Unsweetened Shredded Coconut) you can do this part by hand, just pre-chop the apricots into fine pieces before mixing. If you’re using a long-shred coconut and mixing by hand, the texture of the macaroons will be slightly less chewy and slightly more craggy from the bigger coconut pieces. Some people prefer it this way, so feel free to go this route if that’s you.

Drop the coconut mixture in scoops (about 1 tablespoon each) on to the parchment lined baking sheet. You can place them fairly close together since they don’t spread.

Bake for approximately 15 minutes until they are just starting to brown. Remove from the oven and allow to fully cool on the baking sheet.

If desired, you can decorate them with the chocolate. 

Melt half of the dark chocolate in the microwave in 15-second intervals until it’s melted but not too hot (about 115 degrees), then add the remaining chocolate. Allow to sit for a few minutes, then stir the chocolate to fully incorporate. Stir a bit longer until the chocolate is fairly cool. Dip the bottoms of the macaroons in the chocolate, or drizzle it over the tops. 

The chocolate may need some time in the fridge to set depending on how warm your room is. You can store the macaroons in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days, or in the fridge if your room is too warm.

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