Kris' Coconut Mararoons

THESE MACAROONS ARE A COCONUT LOVER'S DREAM!

I'm surprised by how many dessert lovers dislike coconut, and even more surprised by those disliking chocolate.  But among my friends there are many with skewed taste buds.  These are two of my very favorite ingredients and the desserts they grace are some of the world's best.

I've tried many macaroon recipes.  Some incorporate sweetened condensed milk or ingredients that I think detract from a simple, basic recipe that should showcase quality ingredients.

The recipe below is the one that satisfies me best and bakes into the loveliest macaroons.  And, although they do have a goodly amount of sugar, there is no fat, except that naturally in the coconut.

My absolute favorite way to eat these cookies is when they have been dipped into dark chocolate...oh my, what a divine treat!  I could eat an entire batch.

 Kris’ COCONUT MACAROONS

Preheat oven to 350^
Line baking sheets with parchment paper or non-stick mats

Ingredients:
1 C     Egg Whites, room temperature   (about 8 large)
½ C     Cake Flour, Sifted
2 C     Sugar
1 tsp.  Salt
2 tsp.  Vanilla
8 C     Shredded Coconut, loosened and with no clumps

Procedure:
Whisk together:
In a large bowl, whisk together Flour, Salt, and Sugar.  Set aside.

Whip:
In a mixer bowl, whip the Egg Whites until stiff, shiny and peaks form, taking care not to let them get dry.

Fold:
First combine about 1/4 of the beaten egg whites to the dry ingredients, stir to lighten.  Then fold in remaining egg whites.  (For folding, less is more.)
While folding, add Vanilla & sprinkle Coconut over the top, continuing to fold until incorporated.  (Again, remember that less is more and a few streaks of uncombined batter are OK.)

Using a small ice cream type scoop (1 teaspoon size is great, but slightly larger is OK), drop batter onto lined baking sheets, allowing space for spreading and rising.

Bake about 20 minutes or until golden brown and dry on surface.

Remove baked macaroons from oven and let cool in pans 10 minutes.  Remove from pan and finish cooling on wire racks.

When completely cooled, store in air-tight container.  Will keep 3-4 days, or a week in the fridge.
These cookies freeze well for 2-3 months in air-tight container, separated with parchment or waxed paper.

This recipe will make about 60 macaroons, depending on size.

Fun mix-ins:
Miniature chocolate chips
Finely chopped nuts
Chopped candied cherries and ½ tsp. almond extract

My favorite:
While holding cooled macaroon by one side, dip opposite side in melted chocolate.  Allow dipped cookie–chocolate-- to set up while resting on parchment or waxed paper.