My Almond-Coconut Macaroon Concoction

I’m on a roll.  I’ve got to make hay while the sun shines.  That means I’ll probably be posting a lot this week while school’s out.  I know you don’t mind, do you, especially when it comes to bacon.

I came across a recipe for chocolate bacon truffles.  but realized I didn’t have enough dates.  That’ll have to wait until tomorrow.  Then, I remembered seeing a recipe for almond macaroons.  That’ll work.

There I was, mixing up the ingredients when I noticed there was no coconut in the recipe.  Aren’t macaroons all about coconut? I learned they can be either almonds or coconut.  Okay, so why not make a macaroon combo.  And, while I’m at it, let’s add the bacon.

I was expecting to roll them in a ball like the recipe said, but they ended up more like haystacks.  The egg whites and  honey made them looser than I expected.  They held up pretty good while baking.

I wanted to add chocolate, so I used the idea from the chocolate bacon truffle recipe.  Rather than dip them in chocolate, I just drizzled chocolate over them, then gave them a little shake of sea salt.

Oh boy.  These things look scrumptious.  I just knew I was going to have a party in my mouth.  Well, it wasn’t quite like that.

After downing a couple, I was forced to become my own judge and jury.   Was putting all my “eggs” in one basket a smart move?

As the “Chopped” judges would have said, my flavors were competing.  There wasn’t any “oomph” going on and I like “oomph”.

There was a faint hint of lemon, but the cinnamon was nowhere to be found. The bacon added a slight hint of saltiness.  (I just ate one more.)  Maybe if I up the lemon zest a bit and do away with the chocolate: it’s either one or the other, not both.  If I choose to dip or drizzle with chocolate, it would probably be better to use almond or vanilla flavoring.  As far as texture, there’s a good balance between crunch and chewiness.

My concoction was a little disappointing, but it was fun experimenting.  After all, isn’t that what cooking and baking is all about?