Chocolate Covered Macaroons and Taza Chocolate Tour

Leave it to Alton Brown to come up with the quintessential macaroon recipe! These macaroons were dipped in a cinnamon chocolate from Taza where I recently went on a factory tour with some fellow food bloggers (see details at end of post). The result is a cookie truly meant for anyone who loves coconut & chocolate!  I am now a devout fan of Taza chocolate and will be heading back to the factory store to purchase more items for future recipes such as cacoa nibs, chocolate extract and other chocolate treats!

Ingredients

4 Egg Whites

1/2 Cup granulated Sugar

1 pinch salt

8oz. shredded coconut, toasted
2 bars of cinnamon Taza chocolate

The round Taza chocolate bar!

Melt chocolate in double boiler under medium heat

Directions

Preheat oven 350F

Whisk egg whites until glossy. Add in sugar in three parts. Add one part and mix, two and three. Fold in toasted coconut. Fill pastry bag fit with no. 96 tip with cookie mixture. Pipe cookies about 1-2 inches apart on parchment paper or silpat on a cookie sheet.

Bake until golden brown, about 15min. Cool.

Melt chocolate in double boiler and dip cookies in chocolate. freeze for about 5min until set. Store in refrigerator until ready to eat.

Touring through the Taza chocolate factory located in Somerville, MA. with the Boston Food Bloggers  (organized by fellow bandmate and creator of Fork It over, Boston, Rachel Leah Blumenthal) was educational and fun! Sporting some fancy hairnets, we learned a great deal about this small bean-to-bar chocolate company. For one, Taza supports the well-being of the Cacao growers and has established a reputation for having a positive impact on local and distant communities. The Cacao beans are purchased directly from growers in the Dominican Republic and Bolivia. Using their own machinery including a winnower purchased from an old candy maker in Italy and a roaster found in an old factory in Germany, Taza is a very hands on company where the chocolate bars are still wrapped by hand in biodegradable, minimal packaging! The stone grinding process is the most crucial step in making the chocolate. Alex Whitmore, one of the founders of the company, studied under a stone miller in Mexico to bring the art to Taza in creating the chocolate. The resulting granular texture and fruity natural flavor is unlike anything I have ever eaten.  I was really impressed with the company and I was fortunate enough to sample many of the various flavors of the chocolate they produce. Some include salted almond (a crowd favorite), cinnamon, ginger, chipotle and sat and pepper to name a few. Stop by the Taza factory and store located in Somerville, MA. They are especially welcoming to bikers as they frequently deliver chocolate to many of the local farmers markets via bike courier! 

Cacao Beans from the Dominican Republic

Dried Cacao Pod 

Winnower machine from Italian candy factory

Molinos from Oaxaca, Mexico used for grinding the chocolate