Gluten Free Almond Cherry Chocolate Meringue Cookies with Dairy Free Chocolate Ganache for Passover

Medically reviewed by Abbey Sharp, Registered Dietitian (RD), BASc.

These Gluten Free Almond Cherry Chocolate Meringue Cookies with Dairy Free Chocolate Ganache are perfect for your Passover seder or any time of year!

Passover is a-coming and for my Jewish brothers and sisters that means 8 days of constipation. Lol Okay, and it means a lot of great things too, like celebrating the Israelites liberation from Egyptian slavery! It also means a SUPER amazing massive meal (aka. the seder) – if you’re lucky you get two nights of that eating in a row!

Okay back to that constipation. I’m kinda joking, but also, kinda not. During the 8 days of Passover, we refrain from eating any risen grains, legumes or peanuts (hence the backing up issue) and also don’t mix dairy and meat products. Eggs are considered neutral (pareve) so they’re cool to mingle with anyone else on the plate. So if you get tasked with making dessert, it can be a little tough. No grains means you’re definitely going gluten free, but also since we tend to eat a meat based dinner, dairy is off the table too. Eggs again are fair game.  So for this Passover, I decided to make these beautiful Gluten Free Almond Cherry Chocolate Meringue Cookies sandwiched with a Dairy Free Chocolate Ganache. They’re absolutely divine for Passover, but honestly, a beautiful dessert any day of the week.

How to Make Gluten Free Almond Cherry Chocolate Meringue Cookies

Making meringue requires very few ingredients, but a bit of time and patience. It takes about 40 minutes for these babies to bake off, but when they’re done, they’re an absolute dream. I personally like my meringues with little shaved almonds inside which give them an addictive crunch to balance out the marshmallowy interior.

These Gluten Free Almond Cherry Chocolate Meringue Cookies are flavoured up with a little maraschino cherry juice but you can totally skip this if you want to let the vanilla aroma shine.

Cherries + almonds are BFF’s with chocolate so I HAD to turn these into meringue sandwiches with a decadent chocolate ganache. Okay, so truthfully, I would say everyone is BFFs with chocolate, you really can’t go wrong no matter what you add to these meringue cookies. I make a simple dairy free chocolate ganache by melting down some dark chocolate and beating it up with rich coconut cream. It’s hard to not just eat that stuff out of the bowl.

These Gluten Free Almond Cherry Chocolate Meringue Cookies are easy to make ahead and can be stored in an air-tight container until you’re ready to indulge. They will definitely be a huge hit at any Passover seder, but will for sure become a recipe you’ll bust out any time of year. Make ahead dessert = the BEST for entertaining.

Now, tell me what are some of your go-to Passover friendly desserts?

Have you tried making these Gluten Free Almond Cherry Chocolate Meringue Cookies?

Leave me a comment below with your thoughts!

Gluten Free Almond Cherry Chocolate Meringue Cookies

These Gluten Free Almond Cherry Chocolate Meringue Cookies with Dairy Free Chocolate Ganache are perfect for your Passover seder or any time of year!

5 from 4 votes

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 18 Cookies

Calories: 280kcal

Author: Abbey Sharp

Ingredients

Meringues

• ▢ 4 room temperature large egg whites
• ▢ Pinch salt
• ▢ 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• ▢ 1 cup superfine sugar
• ▢ 2 tsp maraschino cherry juice
• ▢ 1 tsp artificial vanilla extract
• ▢ 3/4 cup sliced raw almonds

Ganache:

• ▢ 300 g dairy free dark chocolate chopped
• ▢ 1  cup coconut cream

Instructions

• Reduce the oven temperature to 250°F.
• Line two baking sheets with a silpat or a greased piece of parchment paper. Using a standmixer,  beat the egg whites, salt and lemon juice at low speed until foamy.
• Increase the speed to medium, and add the sugar one tablespoon at a time until glossy and firm peaks form. This can take about 8 minutes. Beat in the cherry juice and vanilla. Gently fold in the almonds.
• Drop in two-tablespoon balls (about 2 inches apart) on the baking sheet and bake for about 40 minutes, just until very lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to fully cool and harden.
• Meanwhile, place the chocolate in a glass bowl set over a saucepot with an inch-high of simmering water. Allow to melt fully, then transfer all but about 1/4 cup of the chocolate to the stand mixer. Allow the chocolate to cool slightly to room temperature, then add in the coconut cream. Beat until very smooth and creamy, like cake frosting. Transfer to a piping bag.
• To assemble drizzle the tops of the cookies with the residual melted dark chocolate. Pipe a generous dollop of the ganache onto one of the cookies and add the other as a sandwich. These cookies can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for two days.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 280kcal

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Updated on April 30th, 2020

Abbey Sharp

Abbey Sharp is a Registered Dietitian (RD), regulated by the Ontario College of Dietitians. She is a mom, YouTuber, Blogger, award winning cookbook author, media coach specializing in food and nutrition influencers, and a frequent contributor to national publications like Healthline and on national broadcast TV shows.