Friday, October 23, 2009

Cleo Coyle's Mocha-Dipped Rum Macaroons (with video!)




My recipe today was inspired by one of my favorite Halloween candies.
But first I have a quick, happy announcement...


Espresso Shot is
#3 in Mystery Nationwide!
My editor just informed me that Espresso Shot hit the #3 position on Barnes and Noble's paperback mystery bestseller list. As we sophisticated mystery writers like to say on such occasions: "Wee-haa!!!" The book is also ranked #31 on B&N's overall fiction list (Wee-haa! x2).


For anyone new to this blog,
Espresso Shot is my
7th Coffeehouse Mystery.
You can read
more about

Espresso Shot,
including a
free excerpt by
clicking here.

Needless to say, there will be much rejoicing and dinking of coffee in the Coyle household this weekend. This weekend also marks the one week countdown to one of my favorite holidays: Halloween! And thoughts of that holiday actually inspired this recipe...


Cleo's Mocha-Dipped Rum Macaroons

(with video!)



Do you have a favorite trick or treat candy? After hours trekking our chilly, dark, “haunted” neighborhood in Southwestern Pennsylvania, my sister and I loved upending our pillow cases and dumping our sweet loot out on the living room floor. Sorting and ranking would follow.

Clark Bars were popular when I was growing up (no surprise since they were made in nearby Pittsburgh), but I didn’t really like them much (so I ranked them as a "dud" candy). Baby Ruths, Peanut M&Ms, and Mallow Cups (remember those?!) were big winners, and I especially loved Almond Joys and Mounds bars.

Did you rank your candy, too?! My husband said Clark bars were not a dud for him. He loved them! His dud candy was Good & Penty. (Woops, dating ourselves!)

Given my Almond Joy and Mounds addictions, I still think coconut and chocolate are a superior combo. My little macaroon recipe for you today includes both of those flavors along with the more mature flavor notes of rum and coffee. I especially like drenching those little coconut haystacks in mocha glaze, which really dresses them up for the dessert plate of anything from an elegant dinner party to a simple family supper (at least it does at chez Coyle, lol).



These cookies also pair extremely well with a hot, fresh pot of French roast or a demitasse of espresso.

In fact, "espresso with rum" is such a classic combo I included it in the Recipes and Tips section of my upcoming release, Holiday Grind, along with "espresso coconut-rum" and 80 pages of other coffee and non-coffee holiday recipes.



(You can read more about my 8th Coffeehouse Mystery, Holiday Grind, and read brief summaries of the rest of the books in my series by clicking here.)

Back to the cookies! Today's recipe gives you two ways to make my Mocha-Dipped Rum Macaroons. The first is with rum extract and the second is with real rum (dark not light).

While the rum extract is quicker and easier and does give you a nice flavor, I do think the real rum version is well worth making. The flavor is truly amazing, especially when paired with coffee.


The real rum version also gives your cookie a moister inside--another bonus because the trademark of a truly great coconut macaroon is a crispy exterior and a soft, chewy, moist center.

So here without further ado is my recipe of the week. (Just click the link below and the recipe will appear in PDF format)…



To get Cleo Coyle's recipe for...
Mocha-Dipped Rum Macaroons

Click here


The recipe will appear in PDF format.
You can print it out or save it to your computer.


For more of my recipes or to find out more
about the books in my culinary mystery series,
click this link to my virtual home at
http://www.coffeehousemystery.com/



CLEO'S HOW-TO VIDEO

Once again, in my ongoing bid for
this year's Academy Award, I give you (below) the
happy 50's homemaker version of a helpful how-to
foodie video
or HOW TO DIP CLEO'S MACAROONS!

(And, kids, if you try this at home,
don't foget the retro music!)



To see video,
click the play arrow in the lower left
of the frame above...



Until next time
~Cleo Coyle
"Where coffee and crime are always brewing..."




18 comments:

  1. Oh, I don't have any chocolate in my house right now and I am *suffering*! I'll be at the store in a couple of hours and I think I'll be getting the ingredients for mocha dipped run macaroons! This looks SO yummy.

    And I totally rated my Halloween goodies. Gave the ones I didn't like to my little sister. :)

    Elizabeth/Riley
    Mystery Writing is Murder

    ReplyDelete
  2. The recipe sounds great and easy to prepare. The mocha glaze sounds like it would be delicious on just about anything.
    I have to start checking out the blog later in the day. Reading these mouthwatering recipes early in the morning keeps me hungry all day.
    And Halloween goodies should always be rated, otherwise how did you know which houses not to visit the next year.

    ReplyDelete
  3. These sound wonderful! Yum! Where do you find the time to make a movie, as well?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh, wow, Cleo... have I ever told you how much I love your posts? So much fun, so full of info. But... I need one of these ... *NOW*...

    ;-)
    Julie

    ReplyDelete
  5. Elizabeth - Little sisters are convenient for "dud" dumping, aren't they? LOL. My big sis (Grace) and I did a lot of swapping. All I can say is: Good thing she liked Clark bars. (And thanks again for stepping in this AM to fix the post. You're the best.)

    canyonson - Hey, there. So nice to see you dropping by again. LOL on the "candy ranking" helping us figure out which houses to visit next year! Perfect!

    Avery - These fun, little movies are so easy to make. The inexpensive Flip camera is what we use (Marc always helps). As it turns out, uploading the darn things takes more time than shooting them. :-)

    Julie - Shout-out to our award-winning cook! I'm munching one of my macaroons as I type this. These are sooooo good with coffee. I have to stop myself from eating the whole batch - my "mysteriously" tightening waistband should help!

    ~Cleo

    Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    "Where coffee and crime are always brewing..."
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

    ReplyDelete
  6. "Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't!" I suffer the same Mounds/Almond Joy addiction, Cleo. In fact, I buy several bags at Halloween every year to insure that there are leftovers for me! But now I have your recipe, so perhaps I can give up my hoarding ways...um, maybe.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Congrats on the bestseller list, Cleo!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Congratulations on being #3, Cleo!

    Your macaroons look delicious. We traded Halloween candy, too, but I hung onto Almond Joys and Mounds. I always got rid of bubble gum.

    ~Krista

    ReplyDelete
  9. Congrats on the great rankings!

    I was a Snickers, Almond Joy and PB cup fan. Anything else was pretty much wasted on me. Oh, and Hershey Special Dark minis! These macaroons sound like the perfect adult treat.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Jenn, Shel, Krista, and Janel - Thank you for dropping by today! And Happy Halloween (a little early).

    ~Cleo
    Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    "Where coffee and crime are always brewing..."
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

    ReplyDelete
  11. oh my ... Coconut? Chocolate? What's not to love?

    molly

    ReplyDelete
  12. great little cookies! I love halloween candy especially when I get a lot of chocolate candy bars

    ReplyDelete
  13. Molly - could not agree more! Thanks for dropping by...

    Jessie - you have a great blog! I'm going to make your Pumpkin Spice Cookies this weekend. For anyone who wants Jessie's recipe... Click Here for Jessie’s pumpkin spice cookies

    ~Cleo Coyle
    Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    "Where coffee and crime are always brewing..."
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wow, chocolate, rum and coconut...3 of my favorite food groups! :)
    These look awesome, filing away for the holidays!
    thank you so much!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh man! This is incredibly delicious looking! My husband would just love it if I made those for him!! heheh Should I?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Ah..heaven...they look so inviting!

    Congrats on #3 too, how exciting :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. I am realy impressed with the video, very cool and informative. (Have passed on)

    These little Macaroons look delicious. I think I can freeze them--will give this recipe a try. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Love mysteries & love food - must check out your books. Mocha Rum Macaroons? I didn't know you could make anything more heavenly than a Chocolate dipped macaroon, but this takes it up a notch!

    ReplyDelete