Nothing Says I'm Sorry Like Chocolate Dipped Almond Macaroons

I wake up early for practice, 4:45 am to be exact, so by the time I get home from breakfast and/or the gym afterwards it's around 10 o'clock. This seems like the middle of the day to me, but for my housemate Viktorija it's pretty early and her room is right next to the kitchen. Those of you who know me can attest to the fact that I am loud. Even when i whisper. You see where this is going? Well, I woke her up for the 57th time this morning talking on the phone in the kitchen. As usual I forgot what time it was and was speaking fairly loudly on the phone for around 10 minutes before Viktorija emerged from her room, eyes shooting daggers at me. That's when I realized my mistake, ended my phone call and got in the shower.

I don't know about you, but I do my best thinking in the shower and decided I would bake something to make it up to her. I knew I wanted it to be done by the time we left for class so it needed to be quick and made from ingredients I had at home. I remembered her eating almond joys on halloween and I always have coconut, almonds, and chocolate at home so chocolate dipped almond macaroons seemed like the best choice. They take about 39 seconds to mix up, 15 minutes to bake, and are made from just 7 simple ingredients. It's simple to change it up depending on what you have at home. Hazelnuts would also be a great replacement for almonds or instead of dipping them in chocolate you could drizzle it on top. I only had some junky semisweet chocolate chips at home and they didn't melt very well but normally I would use a better quality dark, milk or even white chocolate. Lindt melts particularly nicely but for white I like the texture of Green and Blacks' Organic, It's made with real sugar and doesn't leave that syrupy sweetness in your mouth like many white chocolates do. Scroll down for the recipe, try them out and let me know what you think!

Chocolate Dipped Almond Macaroons
Makes 8

• 1/3 cup pure cane sugar
• 1 large egg white
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/4 almonds
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• about 4oz good quality chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk all ingredient until combined. Shape into 8 balls and place on a lightly greased non-stick cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden. They will be just slightly crisp on the outside but still soft to the touch and a bit gooey inside.

Let cool a few minutes then remove from pan to cool completely (I put them in the fridge to speed along the process).

When the macaroons are room temperature, melt the chocolate gradually in the microwave (be careful not to overcook it or it will get lumpy and then there is no going back; Of course it still tastes good with a spoon ;) ).

Dip the bottom of each macaroon in the chocolate and a cutting board covered in wax paper. Refrigerate until firm.