Coconut Macaroons

Posted: January 7, 2010 | Author: Bakezilla | Filed under: Bakezilla | 2 Comments »

I love macaroons. Actually, I love what I have been informed are Jewish, as opposed to French, macaroons. French macaroons are these sandwich-type cookies:

I could take or leave this kind. They’re okay. The other macaroon cookies are popular at Passover because they can be made without flour, and have a history in the Jewish community, but they are also some of my favorite cookies. They can be made with ground nuts, but most often, with coconut. A lot of people don’t really like coconut, but I love it – it’s sweet, it’s moist, it has natural saturated fat, which is okay in small quantities and a lot better than animal-based saturated fats like butter. Mmm, butter.

Anyway, my coconut macaroon recipe makes them come out nice and moist, though, I should mention, has a little flour and is thus not Kosher for Passover (if anyone is interested, around Passover time I can try to amend these to make them flourless).

First, preheat to 325. Then, beat 2 egg whites and a tiny bit of salt with an electric mixture until soft peaks form. Slowly add in 1/3 cup sugar and beat for 1-2 minutes. Beat in 1 tsp vanilla. Add 6 ounces of shredded, sweetened coconut (I like Baker’s brand, which also originated walking distance from where I grew up), and 3 tablespoons flour. Mix thoroughly with a spoon or the electric mixer on very low speed.

I use my hands for this part (it’s easier), but make about two tablespoons of the mixture into a ball, and space these apart on a parchment lined sheet. Bake 18-20 minutes.

You could stop here. You’d have tasty macaroons. But I don’t like to stop. Once the cookies are cool, I melt up some chocolate, sometimes I add liquor, like Grand Marnier, if I’m so inclined. Then, I dip the cookies in the melted chocolate and let that thoroughly cool. When they’ve got chocolate, I’m pretty sure these are my favorite cookies of all time.