In the interest of full disclosure, I actually made these chocolate-hazelnut macarons a few months ago, before our Spring vacation in Paris and before I tackled the chocolate ones for the third time. I just wanted to finish the saga behind the making of those chocolate macarons before talking about variations of it. But a few months ago, after I had successfully made hazelnut macarons (which I love), I thought it'd be fun to combine the two and make chocolate-hazelnut ones.
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I had a delicious chocolate-hazelnut macaron at Bouchon Bakery in The Time Warner Center in NYC several months ago. They have some seriously delicious food and baked goods there. The chocolate-hazelnut macarons were screaming my name (or I was screaming for it) and it sure did not disappoint.
At the time, Bouchon Bakery only sold the rather large macarons, which I had no problems with. In fact, we thought one of those was just the right portion as a satisfying snack. The thing that struck me about their macarons was, not only were they delicious, they were so "perfect". As in they looked perfect - perfectly smooth and uniform, each one looking like an exact replicate of the other, like compacts lined up behind the glass at a cosmetics counter. Thinking back, it was around Christmastime when we visited (time sure flies) and they had a candy cane flavor macaron. Of course, the little guy wanted one of those and wouldn't you know they even managed to make that tasty! Kudos to them.
At the time, Bouchon Bakery only sold the rather large macarons, which I had no problems with. In fact, we thought one of those was just the right portion as a satisfying snack. The thing that struck me about their macarons was, not only were they delicious, they were so "perfect". As in they looked perfect - perfectly smooth and uniform, each one looking like an exact replicate of the other, like compacts lined up behind the glass at a cosmetics counter. Thinking back, it was around Christmastime when we visited (time sure flies) and they had a candy cane flavor macaron. Of course, the little guy wanted one of those and wouldn't you know they even managed to make that tasty! Kudos to them.
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These chocolate-hazelnut macarons are literally a combination of the chocolate and hazelnut versions - two flavors that are pretty tied as my favorite. I use cocoa powder and a mix of hazelnuts and almonds in the batter. For the filling, I made gianduja (chocolate-hazelnut) ganache again. As my husband noted, the overall taste is reminiscent of a Ferrero Rocher (which I love), particularly when you eat one that has some crunchy hazelnuts sprinkled on top. I love it!
