{coconut macaroons}
You know the old adage, your tastes change every 7 years? I completely back that statement, but, it’s not the most common phrase in our house. I believe instead that we’ve more likely been exposed to an undesirable preparation of the food we think we “hate.” Let me give you some backstory.
My husband and I were friends long before we started dating, and the one thing that stood out to a food obsessed girl like myself was the fact that he never ate anything but meat and potatoes. Oh sure, he’d eat a salad, but he refused any cooked fruits or vegetables. And he wouldn’t touch any sort of casserole, fish, or most any food with a sauce. It was limiting to say the least. I’ll give him full credit here and say that from the moment we started dating, he agreed to try what I made. I didn’t expect him to like it all, or even eat more than a bite of most of it. Surprisingly, he and I both found that he didn’t actually dislike many foods (we both still have a vendetta against mushrooms), but he disliked the original preparation. I think we can all relate to that. Your grandmother stuffs canned asparagus down your throat for years, so when someone grills fresh asparagus for you, you’re understandably apprehensive. So how on earth does this relate to coconut? Well, my husband has now surpassed me in terms of having an adventurous appetite. And this irks me to my core.
I grew up with a mother who was obsessed with all things coconut. But when I say coconut, I should really say “coconut.” What she loved was that imitation coconut flavor. Things that tasted like sunscreen smells. Everything was coconut. So I grew up thinking I hated coconut, when come to find out, this isn’t true at all. Once I realized my husband was beating me at the trying old things again game, I began trying incorporating real coconut into things. I started out with homemade granola, then became obsessed with yogurt with coconut, walnuts, and dark chocolate. And now I realize I freaking love coconut. So when the idea came to me to make some macaroons, I was on it.
The original recipe had to be modified quite a bit as I rarely have sweetened coconut in my pantry. I prefer to keep unsweetened as it can be used in sweet and savory dishes. If you’re using sweetened here, omit the milk and reduce the sugar to a ½ cup to account for the extra moisture and sweetness of the sweetened coconut.
Total time: 30 minutes
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 15-20 minutes
3 cups unsweetened coconut flakes
¼ cup milk
4 large egg whites
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup milk chocolate chips (semi or dark would be nice here too, depending on preference)
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Place your coconut in a large bowl with the milk and stir to combine. You’re using this milk to moisten the coconut, so make sure it’s thoroughly incorporated. Let this mixture continue to rest while you do the next step.
Combine the egg whites, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk until the whites and sugar are completely combined and the mixture is frothy.
Combine the coconut and egg white mixture. Pour the coconut over the egg white mixture and stir until the coconut is evenly moistened.
Use either your hands or a small ice cream scoop to make ½ to 1 inch balls of the mixture. My personal preference is to drain some of the liquid off of the macaroon before placing on the parchment. Place them about an inch apart.
Bake the macaroons until golden, 15-20 minutes. Let the macaroons cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
While the macaroons are cooling, place 1 cup of chocolate chips in a microwave proof bowl. Microwave for 15 seconds at a time, stirring in between until the chips are mostly melted. They will continue to melt once you remove them from the microwave and keep stirring. This took me 45 seconds of microwave time total. If you’re worried about blush (the white hue chocolate can get when exposed to extreme temperatures) then melt your chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water until melted. You can use this melted chocolate to drizzle over your macaroons, or do like I do and just plop it on there.
not a professional. 