Yield: About 2 Dozen Macaroons
There are many recipes for Coconut Macaroons. Although many think of macaroons as a combination of ground almonds (or paste) and egg whites, in North America we like our macaroons to contain sweetened coconut. Bite into one of these, still warm from the oven, and you will enjoy the contrast of a crispy exterior to a soft and chewy, coconut flavored interior. Although not often used in Coconut Macaroon, adding flour gives these cookies a dense texture and a dome-like shape, rather than the more common haystack-like shape. You can also add various food colorings to make a variety of fun colors for your macaroons. Coconut Macaroons store very well in the refrigerator. In fact, they are sometimes better after a day or two, when their flavor has softened.
Ingredients
- 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup cake flour, sifted
- 3 cups sweetened shredded coconut
Directions
- In a stainless steel bowl, placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the egg whites, sugar, and salt.
- When this mixture is warm to the touch, and nice and creamy, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract, flour, and coconut.
- Cover and refrigerate for about two hours, or until firm.
- Preheat oven to 325° and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place small mounds (heaping tablespoons) of the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing several inches apart.
- Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from oven and let cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes and then place on a wire rack to cool.
For the chocolate lover: You may want to add either 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips or 1/2 cup of small chunks of chopped semi sweet chocolate to the batter or, better yet, dip the bottoms of the baked and cooled cookies in melted semisweet or bittersweet chocolate.
Another great idea would be to make the macaroons in miniature and then take two macaroons and sandwich them together with melted chocolate.
